Re: [NTLK] Meetings in Hand -- and other AbandonWare

From: Steve Vander Ark (vderark_at_bccs.org)
Date: Tue Sep 10 2002 - 07:05:21 PDT


I'm a librarian and a free-lance writer, which means that I'm about as
fanatic about copyrights as anyone can get. Just ask my staff. And I
know that copyright questions can generate plenty of fierce debate. But
let's take this whole question of Meeting In Hand in another, more
constructive direction.

I can't buy the software from Burr Oak. I can't get it for free. That's
fine. I wasn't suggesting that someone hack it or that we are entitled
to have something for free because they don't support it anymore. There
are other options here.

First of all, if someone happens to own a copy, is it possible to sell
it to someone else, or would Burr Oak have to generate a registration
code for it, which they won't do?

If no second hand copies are available, are there similar programs out
there which anyone can suggest? I mentioned Great Meetings. I just
vaguely remember that name, but I know nothing about it. Does anyone
know of any other titles or where they might be found?

Third, is there enough demand for a tool of this kind that someone might
be actually write some small software which would let Names and Notes
work together to do what we're talking about here. I'm guessing that it
would be too much work for too little return, but it's worth thinking
about.

Lastly, how can other software be used creatively to accomplish the same
goal, which is planning a meeting, inviting participants, creating and
distributing an agenda, and so on. This is probably the most promising
angle, since there are a lot of very clever packages out there. DateMan,
MoreInfo, and others come to mind immediately. Maybe a custom stationery
would do the trick.

With a platform like the Newton, there will always be software that has
vanished completely. There will always be things that we could do once
that we can't do anymore due simply to lack of developer support. And
there will be things we can imagine doing but which no one will write
code for because it's just not worth the time. So part of the fun, it
seems to me, is finding ways to do it anyway, using what we have.

I'm not a typical Newton user. I don't have a lot of money to put into
it or a high level of tech expertise. I probably will never be using
Paul's ATA driver with a whopping big memory card, since I don't have
one of those cards. And I suppose that means that I won't be playing
mp3s either. What I will be doing is planning Yet Another Meeting. Hey,
no one's very interested in developing that kind of thing, with no
gee-whiz factor and very few potential users (just me, maybe). That's
okay. But there are some intersting options. I immediately think about
how can I creatively work with what I have.

That's the challenge for many of us, I expect. And in a way, it's part
of what makes the Newton such a delight to use. There are such great
tools out there for people like me to invent and create with: HyperNewt,
DateMan, and so on. I'll be a Newton user for quite a long time to come.
No, I'll be a Newton innovator.

Yeah, I like that.

Steve Vander Ark
Librarian.
Writer.
Coffee drinker.
Newton innovator.

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