From: Compte Free de Gégé (gerard.evrard_at_free.fr)
Date: Thu Apr 24 2003 - 14:00:37 PDT
Hello to all list members,
I recently sent by mistake a message with just the topics I wanted to
adress in this message - now I will care more to not click the "Send"
button instead of the close button...
So on to the said topics :
First, I want to thank everyone for maintaining such a great resource
for Newton users. It makes a real difference for us. Keep the Green !!
After having used a little am MP120, I got 3 OMP2100s last year from
Mr2ndHand. Service was great as well as the machines, in perfect shape
with chargers and styluses. He probably sold out his wonderful stock,
but if you have the chance to deal with him do it in confidence (not
affiliated of course). $150 for a perfect 2100 : good deal.
I then resold one, as the purpose was to have a backup unit plus one for
a possible further deal. It was not hard to convince and interested
friend. He said he was interested in using the ATA driver and in surfing
the Web. As a Mac user, he fears that the cable I got with the units
(the dongle-killer kind) can't support the RS422 protocol used by Macs.
Is that true ? I have Macs at home, and while not doing backups at this
time, I'd be annoyed if this were true (I loaded packages from PCs at
work).
This year I also acquired an eMate from Wegener media, who probably
still has them on stock (see their Web site). So far, I'm very happy
with the machine, but I don't use it for fear of the dreaded hinge
problem. I'll take care of it ASAP. The only problem with this machine
is that it came with a modified Powerbook charger instead of the usual
9W Newton charger. The first time I tried to power on the eMate, the
battery was dead, so I plugged the charger, but after a few minutes of
correct Newting, I got a message like "this adapter provides too much
power..." and the eMate switched off. Should I worry about this ? Well I
can use my other 9W adapter... I was really pleased with this deal, but
this problem is a lot disappointing, in part because as I'm
French (...), no return is practically feasible. So I would have
expected something better from Wegener. Anyway as I stated, the deal was
very nice (bulletproof packaging for instance), even if on the expensive
side. By the way, thanks to Julie Armstrong for pointing me in the right
direction for the eMate : I'm a happy camper now !
Thanks to the list i received a SER001 two days ago, it'll be in my
main 2100 soon. What a nice extension !! Kudos to PCBMan, I hope he's
not bugged to death by those unfortunate not to have seized the chance
to get one (I rushed on the site - litterally !). We would like other
adapters of this kind, for example an Audio adapter ? The problem is
that there is only one internal 'slot', but the choice would be made
quite easily by those interested. I heard last year that PCBMan had
projects : we want to know more ! $42.50 - a price but money very well
spent I think.
At present for everyday use I have a Palm V (not x) - well I know, but
read on. My experience is that this little machine has some strong
points and should be used accordingly. First, its metal case is great.
Palm makes these no more, what a pity. Even the Tungsten feels fragile
in my hands in comparison. Then, Crapfiti is actually not usable for
real text entry (past a few words), but it's easy to use, and I never
look at what I'm scratchiing, while it's very reliable. Not fun, just
efficient. So what is this platform good at ? Mainly PIM, and 95%
read-only mode. The B&W screens rule on the battery life side of things.
Why do everyone want to watch videos on palm-sized devices ? This is
beyond me. As the Gadgeeter said once (see her nice site), these
multimedia features are just for boasting with friends. No REAL use
IMHO. For multimedia get a TIBook. 12' iBooks rule here.
Another rant : how on earth can anyone use a PocketPC ? These things
can't keep your data without a daily recharge. Any software
consideration aside, just this is a no-no. Also buying a "PPC2002" reads
for me like "obsolete past 2002". So on for the (paying) continual
update chore !
Well, enough of this.
I could also say that Tablet PCs sound dumb to me, is it necessary to
say so ?
- costs more, has a keyboard less : uh?
- note taking limited to one application, not integrated in the OS :
uh2 ? Newt is correct in being stylus-centric.
I tell you now, but time will tell. Has anyone sales figures?
It was a pleasure to see the Irak-focused thread die very very quickly,
rest assured that we all have strong political opinions AND that we
don't care about this here. NTLK is way beyond this, it shows.
On the 'next' MP from Apple, I think there are good harware
implementations ready now, like for instance the new Zaurus (reference
escapes me at the moment). It has a foldable keyboard, doesn't go in the
way but is here if needed. The horsepower is adequate, so now what we
need is a NOS for this beast...
That's it. I read all NTLK messages, and while a little bit overwhelming
at times, all or most messages carry some interesting bit. Keep on
going !
The best.
-- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries List FAQ/Etiquette/Terms: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
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