From: Ed Kummel (tech_ed_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Jul 08 2003 - 15:09:38 PDT
The method of manufacture for the NIC (also known as
the Dongle port)is designed for failure. The stress is
downwards, pulling the port away from the Mobo, it's
plastic and the only thing holding it down are two
plastic bumps and solder. It will fail. This was the
main reason that the San Fransisco bike police stopped
using Newtons. They strapped the Newton to their
handle bars (using a shock mount) and ran a connector
to an external CDPD modem using a dongle (the cdpd
modem hung from the center bar near the bike seat).
The constant downward stress on the port invariably
caused ALL their Newtons to fail. When I last talked
to the rep for Motorola (who supplied the CDPD modems
and custom cables and software) The police department
abandoned the Newt for the HP OmniGo (and we know
where that device stands in the history books).
Ed
web/gadget guru
--- Ferdi <fozguner_at_ualberta.ca> wrote:
> I have religiously been using my Newton 2100 for the
> past 3 years and have never had any problems with my
> interconnect port. I feel that the ser-001 is a
> good investment when (and only when) the
> interconnect port fails.
> I don't know what kind of stress you put your
> interconnect ports through...they seem to be failing
> all over the place from what mentioned on the list.
>
> simple insertion and removal.
>
> Cheers
> Ferdi
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 10:25:15 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Ed Kummel <tech_ed_at_yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [NTLK] ser-001
>
> I think the correct question should be: "Who doesn't
> use a SER-001 and why don't you?"
> With the flakeyness of the Dongle port, it is not a
> matter of "if" but instead "when" the port will
> fail.
> Chances are it will fail at the moment of most
> need...and it's not repairable...at least, not
> permanently.
> So, if you don't have a SER-001, then that's like
> skydiving and not being really sure that the pack on
> your back actually has a parachute!
> Ed
=====
"Liberals don't care about the environment. The core of environmentalism is a hatred for mankind. They want mass infanticide, zero population growth, reduced standards of living and vegetarianism. Most crucially, they want Americans to stop with their infernal deodorant use. "
- Anne Coulter Op Ed piece on Global Warming
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