Warning, possible self righetous rant ahead!
I don't think the article on their study of us is all bad. There are parts
that I like. I do take offense at the whole how do we justify our choice of
handheld part.
It sure sounds like they (Amuniz, and Schau) haven't used the messagepad
enough themselves. I think partially their analysis of what we like about
the community is true, it's fun being the underdog. It's like being in on a
really cool underground club. However I think they missed the key point;
There wouldn't be a community if the Newton wasn't still one of the most
useful tools in the market, corporate support or no. People rally behind it
because it is a great product. I think we're not rallying behind a 'brand'
or a community. I find that implication to be a bit demeaning to our
intellegence. Like we're a group of stubborn old gaffers that just won't,
"let go".
I also think the idea of the hardware availability dwindling is a bit off as
well. We've already had community members create replacement parts and
improvements for the Newton. I think, if hardware started to get scarce,
there would be enough profit in it for one or several of us to make
replacements for many parts of the Newton system. Some chips are going to be
obsolete or impossible to get new. I can see that, but I think with the
resources we have, our community can sustain it's self for many years to
come. At least for the true lifespan of our products (when they really do
become "outdated," which I think is a few years off yet).
I think they put way to much emphasis on rumor-mongering. I think it is more
of an interesting side note to the newt community, which might make an
interesting converstaion piece. I also think that if we were resisting the
obsolescence of technology there would be a pattern that would be
manifesting itself in other areas of our lives.We'd all still be using
Amigas, the 68040 and the 486 (not that there is anything wrong with that if
you do use those, or other older devices) as much or more as our newer Macs
/ PCs etc. Or better yet, let's break out the 6502 based units, it's still a
great proccessor!
I have this question to ask, the MP130 with OS 2.0 is a good planner.
However, would there be a community this large without the 2k series devices
(leaving the emate out of it for right now as it is a different beast)? I
tend to think not. What they're missing is that the Newton has many pros and
cons when compared to more current devices. However, for many of us it is
the pros of the Newton that outweigh the cons of other current devices. If
it were truly outdated, I don't think nearly as many of us would be using
it.
(this is assumption here, but...)How much did they actually use the later
newton models from day to day during their study? I think their
understanding about the viability of the Newton as a platform would go well
beyond "outdated" if they were consistantly using the product, don't you
think? IMHO only the earlier Newtons qualify as truly outdated hardware at
the moment. IMHO again, having a truecolor display does not a better planner
make (and I've owned a MP2000, then a Palm, then Windows Ce, then PocketPC,
and finally I'm back to being a MP user (2100), and have no remourse about
giving up the other products at all (and I only found out about the
community after I had made the decision to go back)).
Though I could care less about a new apple pda, they might be right about a
new apple pda being bitter sweet. However that just confirms more to me that
the only reason people would leave the newt/community is not because of
brand name bias or the need to be part of an underdog community, but because
the Newton was and is useful hardware. If someone were to make a PDA that
did as much as the newton and did it as well as the Newton does, AND have it
be technologically superior, then I'd buy one in a heartbeat. I'd keep the
newt on my shelf for a keepsake. However, if the new apple PDA happens to
fall short of my high expectations having used the Newton, I don't think
I'll be the one rushing out to buy it.
A little less over analysis of the Newton user psyche please. We're not a
group of neurotic superfans, we're intellgent consumers that know a good
thing when we see it.
Just my $0.02.
-Eagan Rackley
P.S. That said, I don't mean any offense to the people doing the study. I do
think it very amiable that they would want to study the community in the
first place. I just don't agree with everything that was said, and I am
stating my opinionated opinion only.
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