> it is notable that both registration cards had small stickers with the
> messagepad 2000 model number "H0136Z/B" (its probably some other code for
> other models) there is no serial number printed in those cards, however. i
> think that print-on-demand was not ripe for party at that time.
>
> so, judging from my findings, we can conclude that apple wanted
> international users to send their cards to their local apple representation.
I don't think we're gonna actually fool anyone at Apple (confuse
momentarily, perhaps), but at the same time, thinking about it, little
details like the serial number being on a sticker and international
registrations being sent elsewhere. It's probably been 4-5 years since an
Apple employee saw a Newton registration card, and given the turnover in the
IT industry, those people are probably far, far away now.
If Cupertino get a lot of Newton reg cards over a 2-3 day period. then
someone's going to notice it. If we really want to make some noise why not
leak/maufacture a suitably weird story for a couple of the Mac rumour sites
too.
If we all include a note along the lines of "Hey Steve, dude - I love my
Newton, thanks for a great product. I especially love the way it syncs with
MacOS X." then people will get really confused.
So here's my suggestion for a plan:
[1] Somebody send me 300dpi 100% scans of each type of Newton Registration
card. I will clean these up and put them into a PDF file that will output at
the correct size and allow anyone with a colour inkjet to print off a good
looking double-sized card. Whether or not you use printable card or just
some heavier paper is up to you - again, little details don't matter.
I will blank out the serial number box - for the same reason above, I reckon
it will be "good enough" if you simply hand write in your number. Anyone
with a labelmaker is free to go nuts though.
[2] Someone pick a date - Xmas, the next Macworld, Chinese New Year,
whatever.
[3] A week before this date, listers in the Europe/Asia/Australiasia/South
America mail their cards in by standard air mail. Let's face it, sending
plain air via FedEx is gonna be expensive anywhere outside of the US.
There's also no point in mailing everything from a central point - too much
of a give away.
[4] 1-3 days before this date, US/Canadian listers do the same. This way all
cards should arrive over the same 3-5 day period, which will make it seem
less like a bunch of people on the Newtalk list schemed this whole thing up.
[5] Anyone got a mate at Apple? Quote that person quoting another person
quoting Steve Jobs to Macrumours or whoever stating that Steve is
reconsidering bringing back the Newton due to unprecedented sales in the
last month.
I also like the idea of a Newton iCard too - they're just HTML emails aren't
they?
Ben.
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