Re: [NTLK] Newton R&D

From: Andrew Thiel (aothiel_at_unity.ncsu.edu)
Date: Thu Dec 05 2002 - 14:23:55 EST


Sorry to add something so late after a thread has died, but I think I
might have a good idea:

We want a new newton, but we:
-Can't reverse engineer or copy or sell Apple's ROMs or anything else
that is their's
-Don't want to pay too much
-Want to keep the large screen, OS interface and storage structure, HWR
and all our old software

Thus it is impossible to make a new Newton legally, and we can't
transfer our screen size or HWR to another platform legally. What's
left? Upgrading our old Newts. What I suggest is that we manufacture new
motherboards.

"But wait," you say: "That would take years to develop and and cost an
exorbitant amount of money!". Yes it would. UNLESS someone has already
dome most of the work for us. It's at this time I'd like to draw some
attention to a PDA platform that I haven't seen mentioned on the list
before: The Compaq Itsy.

http://www.research.compaq.com/wrl/projects/Itsy/index.html

A high-powered PDA that has complete instructions on how to build one
available on their site (though the average joe could never build one
from parts from Radio Shack). It uses a StrongARM processor, has higher
limits as to memory, and every conceivable scrap of information on how
it works is available. Why not make an Itsy motherboard for the Newton
2x00 case with appropriate modifications for a larger monitor and two
PCMCIA slots. After that, you'd have a weird thing that looks like a
Newton but behaves like an Itsy... a "Newtsy". Itsy uses a Graffiti-like
input system (which I suppose is necessary considering the tiny screen).
We're halfway there, we have the improved power, but no HWR and it runs
Linux. This would be cool in itself, but it wouldn't be a MessagePad
3000.

The final step is to put in a slot for a 2x00 ROM card. This would
probably be the most difficult part [1]. Then you would have the OS,
HWR, faster processor, higher RAM and storage ceilings, and all you had
to do was remove your old motherboard and transfer the PCMCIA carriages
from the old board to the new. This gives us all that we need without
doing anything illegal with the existing Apple technology. We'd finally
have our MP3000.

Would Compaq object to us producing these? I don't think so - They made
the Itsy as a research tool to advance the state of pen computing
through open-source development of both hardware and software. I think
they would perceive the Newton derivative as an admittedly odd but very
valuable way of expanding their research community. After all, what
group of PDA users is more concerned about the future of the PDA as a
whole?

Would it take a while? Yes. Would it be expensive? Yes. But I think it
would give the right results without having to start a new company or
new platform from scratch. Plus a motherboard replacement would be much
easier to make than a whole new Newton. I'd bet that just like the
SER-001, there would be one person (Not necessarily PCBman[2]) who made
and sold them, and several people around the globe with the expertise to
install the if you visited a NUG meeting or sent it to them or whatever.

Just my $.02

-Animal

[1] If it proves impossible, maybe a Newtsy wouldn't be that bad, with
some Newton-style modifications.
[2] Not that I would complain if it was him.

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