On Wed, 2001-10-24 at 12:16, Byron Han wrote:
>
> Because at the time Apple was bleeding red ink? Because if Apple didn't
> focus on core competancies at the time, there would be no Apple today?
In itself an incomplete explanation. This article gives a fuller
account:
http://pencomputing.com/Newton/AppleKillsNewton%28PCM22%29.html
*Opportunity squandered*
The general feeling among those who worked at Apple or who watched
closely is that Newton represents "a textbook case of mismanagement and
opportunity squandered," as Jim Floyd of Microsoft so aptly put it.
"Steve Jobs set back the state of handwriting recognition two years by
killing Newton," said Conrad Blickenstorfer. "He shelved the best HWR
technology on the planet, and canned the most compelling device ever
made to deliver it. It is a giant leap backwards."
"The Newton could have been a multi-billion dollar success had Sculley
and I stayed," Gaston Bastiens told me. "After Sculley left, Spindler
had no commitment to Newton at all and he basically killed it. People
blame Jobs for this, but it was really Spindler. Apple had a unique
opportunity because we had everything in place to make the Newton a
worldwide standard for a wireless intelligent communications device that
could do everything."
Gil Amelio's recent book seems to support this assessment. Spindler was
the first to suggest that the Newton group should be sold off or axed.
Amelio wanted to keep Newton alive because he thought it would
eventually be profitable, but Jobs eventually overruled him.
---I'm of two minds about this. The Newton was so incredibly revolutionary (people are still gobsmacked in 2001) that if it had continued it could have been so universally popular that PDAs based upon free operating systems (such as Linux distributions) may never have got an opportunity to gain a large foothold. Imagine Apple having as large a market share of the portable market as Microsoft on the desktop? It could have been a distinct possibility.
Now the future is bright for Linux-based PDAs:
http://www.linuxdevices.com http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT8728350077.html http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT4936596231.html
Has anyone matched Rosetta's handwriting recognition yet? (and it worked adequately at 20MHz).
The other thing Byron is that ongoing R&D does bleed red ink. But given Apple's enormous lead in this area I imagine the payoff could have been handsome (if they persisted and were able to demonstrate their full commitment to the platform).
It's now possible to install a Debian GNU/Linux distribution on a Compaq iPAQ (an IBM Microdrive is desirable). But I bet the interface isn't as user-friendly as the Newton OS is for a handheld.
Regards, Adam
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