As important as the PDA is in itself it's the presence of the community behind it is of equal importance. If I've learned nothing else about the Newton platform then I've learned this.
Newton users have some of the best people I've come across in the "computer" community. whether it be simple support and opinion or whether it boils down to getting down to actually writing apps and drivers dedicated to furthering the platform as a whole.
You might wonder what this has to do with the Palm community. Well today I decided to check out some of the Pilot's presence on the web in a bid to get a "feel" for where the Palm is right now.
There are of course many similarities, despite the Palm and Newton's obvious differences they are closer in relation to each other than many other types of PDA.
The fundamental difference between them however is their current state. The Palm as opposed to the Newton is "live" technology while the Newton is a discontinued platform.
So what you might say, a good deal of devices in the computer industry survive long after the plug has been officially pulled.
..
In my observations while checking out the Palm sites however it does lead to a difference in the way a platform is represented through its users.
While the Palm community does a good job of maintaining a presence on the web, the level of urgency for want of a better word that Newton users give doesn't seem to be there.
After all why should there be?
At present the Palm is up and running fine with new models on the shelves and a healthy supply of software coming though.
What's the reasoning for my rambling?
Quite simply its brought home to me the finite existence of the Newton. Despite the fabulous efforts of the community it cant go on forever.
Sitting on the Palm bench for a week has reminded me of the fact.
Still even if the Newt wont last forever, we can at least have a damn good try!
Cheers
Adi
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