[NTLK] Newbie Experiences

From: Thomas Hofts (thofts_at_mac.com)
Date: Mon Mar 18 2002 - 18:02:42 EST


Hello everyone from the home of the University of Kansas Jayhawks.

I'm Tom Hofts and while I'm a Newton "newbie", I've been using Apple
products since...(this dates me) 1984. I met Woz in '82 at his infamous
"US" music festival and had the privilege of talking to him for a while
about computing and Apple. I've been hooked on Apple/Macintosh ever since.
My home computer is a heavily upgraded Performa 6400 running OS 9.1. I've
done all the upgrades myself and can pretty much solve and software or
hardware problem that arises.

I just purchased an upgraded 2100 off eBay from Variety-Shop. Cost $123 w/
33.6 fax/modem and 32 mb. flash storage card. Thought it was a good deal.
They threw in a serial adapter for $10 and I gave them an extra $10 with a
note to "pick out a really nice one".

A week later it arrived. The case looked like heck at first glance and had
a patch of very gooey adhesive on the back. The screen was filthy with
embedded crud in the corners and edges.

I cleaned it up with Q-Tips, cotton pads and alcohol and carefully
refinished the case by using Armor-All vinyl protectant.
One hour later it looked like new. Just one tiny nick in a corner the
screen.

My one concerns was the condition of the Ni_Cad batteries. They advertised
that they may not hold a charge. I plugged in the AC adapter and turned on
the MP. I entered all my personal info and started playing with it. 10
min. later I knocked out the AC plug and it immediately went dead! Thought
the batteries were shot..but re-plugged it in and after 2 hours had a full
charge. It appears I'm getting good battery life at this time as I can run
it for about 22 hours with back light without it going dead.

My Newt came with no software disks or manuals but in anticipation of
getting my MP I hit the web hard, sorting through dead links, looking at and
downloading software and a bunch of PDF's.

So far I've installed Works, Pocket Quicken, Newt Scape and Eudora Mail but
I haven't tried to hook up to the net yet as I can't find my DSL provider's
dial in number!

It took me a while to figure out how to sort the items in Extras into
folders. My 3 year old grandson (a true computing wiz!) was playing with it
and pressed the pen on that little black dot in the lower right corner
and... viola!...my extras icons turned into list that could be sorted into
folders, deleted etc.

I also purchased a keyboard and Newton case (both appear to be new and
unused) so I can use Works effectively. The 2100 is replacing a PowerBook
3400 that will go to my 14 year old daughter. After lugging the PowerBook
around airports I developed a very sore neck and shoulder last month and
needed something that better fits my needs and weighs less.

I haven't had any problems yet that I haven't been able to solve using FAQ's
or postings. If I do I'm sure someone her can provide the answers.

It's a privilege to be a member of this group although I am somewhat
surprised by the volume of email it generates each day.

Thanks for all your help.

---
Thomas Hofts
Lawrence, KS  USA
 

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