> So -- can anyone fill me in on more details on what went on between=20
> Jobs,
> Skully, the Apple II line, and the Newton. I mean, my impression has=20=
> been
> that Skully killed Jobs' pet project and, in return, Jobs eventually=20=
> killed
> Skully's Newton. Is that just old rumor -- or any truth to it?
I believe that is a rumor. Although Jobs is said to have a bit of an=20
ego, when I talked to Woz he said that tose rumors were very inflated. =20=
In my personal opinion, Jobs killed the Newton so he could re-structure=20=
the company. Remember, when Jobs came back to AAPL, they were hurting=20=
pretty bad. Jobs helped turn that around.
> Was the Newton line hurting financially by that time? I mean, did =
Jobs=20
> think
> he was making good financial decisions, do you think? Or was Jobs ego=20=
> just
> getting back at Skully in a spiteful way?
I think it had more to do with the Newton getting in the way of his=20
vision. I don't think that Jobs views PDAs as useful devices, but I=20
don't know that for sure.
> Did the Newton "fail" because of high Palm sales in 1996 (I believe=20
> they sold
> like 350,000 of them the first year)? Or was the line canceled when=20=
> still
> going strong financially?
Couple of issues with the Newton. Acceptance in the marketplace, size,=20=
stability, etc. Wether any of this was actually true does not matter. =20=
It's just the markets perception that matters. I still remember that=20
SNL sketch on the Newton...
> Also -- was the decision to kill the Newton pretty much Jobs' alone? =20=
> Or did
> he have to talk a Board of Directors into it? I mean, I see people=20
> blame Jobs
> for the death of the Newton -- I just want to know if that is fair --=20=
> or if
> there is more to the story...
I have no idea. I would assume that it was a mutual agreement, but I'm=20=
guessing.
> Anyone more involved and/or knowledgeable want to fill me in on the =
gory
> details?
To put it simply, the Newton was too far ahead of it's time. Think=20
about this... 4 years after the Newton was *discontinued* PocketPC and=20=
Palm still can't read your handwriting. Try putting your Palm on an=20
802.11 network, or adding a 10GB Hard Drive to your PocketPC device. I=20=
can do all of this with my Newton. People did not understand the=20
technology or what it could be used for in 1996. Now in 2002, people=20
understand it, but no one is making a PDA that actually fits the needs=20=
af regular people. It's a shame.
Just my $0.47
Benjamin Higginbotham
draco_at_silverdragonden.com
www.silverdragonden.com
"I sense much NT in you, NT leads to Blue Screen.=A0
Blue Screen leads to downtime, downtime leads to suffering.=A0
NT is the path to the darkside."
- Unknown Unix Jedi
DC2.Dw Gm L W T Phwlt Sks Cag^\bl^ B- A++ Fr^ Nw M++
O H Ff R+++ Ac+++! J+++ S+++ U-- I--# V Q Tc+++! E
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