Re: [NTLK] Newton Goes to Wage Peace.

From: Dale Raby <daleraby_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed Jan 31 2007 - 04:45:40 EST

Good Morning Marine,
I was there in 1990. Obviously, I didn't have a Newton, but it woulda been
useful. Instead I took a camera... negatives now in a local museum.

My suggestions:

Take plenty of batteries, a AA battery pack, and a good flash memory card
for backups. Military generators do not always produce the best quality
power. Local power is likely to be intermittent and also not of the best
quality.

The "sand" in that part of the world is more like dust, being
limestone-based. It gets into absolutely everything, and it WILL adhere to
your stylus tip, so get a good screen protector. Most CA teams operate in
an urban environment, and I doubt that you will be setting up any refugee
camps, but should you get tasked to go to a desert environment (can you say
Iran?), the dust will be a problem. Maybe put the Newton into a zip-lock
freezer bag. You can still use it, but it will be proof against dust.

Wireless Ethernet is not secure. Never forget that.

There is no public key encryption protocol for Newtons that I am aware of.
There is, however, an encryption application called "The Fish" which uses
the Blofish algorithm. It is a password protected encryption device that
will resist most methods of decryption for quite some time. The only
problem with it is that one must know the password in order to decrypt and
there is no way to securely transmit the password, so it can't be used for
secure commo. It can be used to encrypt sensitive notes stored on the
Newton, however. The Fish is available on UNNA. I'd suggest you download a
copy. You might also want to adopt a paranoid password changing regimen if
you are storing sensitive data.

Put a "top sling" on whatever version of the M16 they are using these days
so that if you need to drop the Newton to return fire, it will be ready at
hand. It really sucks to have to pull it off of your shoulder when somebody
is shooting at you. If you can rig some kind of lanyard and harness out of
550 cord or something, you will be less likely to lose the Newton when you
drop it.

Thieves are everywhere... and some of them wear the uniform of US
servicemen. Your name prominently in indelible ink is not a bad deterrent.

Finally, an LCD screen turns black when heated. If you leave your Newton in
the sun for any length of time, you won't be able to use it until it cools.
If you leave it too long, you might not be able to use it ever again.
Inside a Hummer is not a good place to leave it. It is, however, a good
place to warm up an MRE. Stationary Hummers make really good ovens.

Now, its Injun country out there, so keep your powder dry and your head
down.

Dale

(formerly SSG Dale A. Raby, USAR, 432nd CA BN)

On 1/30/07, Edward Johnson <radar9999@aol.com> wrote:
>
> Looks like Newton is going to get it's chance to participate in the
> Global War On Terror. I am planning on taking two newton 2100's to Iraq
> with to serve in Civil Affairs. My job will be to assist in the
> economic planning and development of one of the provinces over there.
> (spend $$$$$) I plan to use newton to take copious notes that I can
> archive and use on my Mac
> Powerbook G4. I plan to use a serial connection for most things but
> also to set up an wireless ethernet connection AND a wired ethernet
> connection. While I can still use OS-9 on this laptop, I am looking
> forward to experimenting with OS-X sync'ing software. I have read some
> posts about problems, and am willing to wait until software matures
> some, before risking any critical data.
>
>
> Ed Johnson
> MSgt, USMC (Reserve)
>
>
> A Smart man learns from his mistakes. A Wise man learns from other
> peoples mistakes. Be Wise!
>
> --
> This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries
> Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
> WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles:
> http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/
>
>

-- 
This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries
Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/
Received on Wed Jan 31 04:45:42 2007

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