From: Frank Gruendel (fg2_at_pda-soft.de)
Date: Thu Oct 30 2003 - 13:43:42 PST
Eric asked...
> Seriously is there any way to extract that OS 1.4 and upload it and
then flash
> it into a newton OS 1.3?
It is probably not much of a problem to extract the OS. I bet Paul Guyot
could
do that if I sent the ROM his way. Most likely David Humphreys would be
able
to do it, too. The problem would be where to get a ROM card that fits
into
the 120 with Flash memory on it.
Len said...
> That's pretty neat. How completely does this seem to be implemented?
Doesn't seem to be that much different from 1.3 as far as I have
checked. But I
haven't played that much with it yet. I didn't find the alien icons
(those that
are in the calendar if you triggered this easter egg, not sure how this
is
invoked). But maybe these aren't in 1.3, either, not sure.
> Before I looked at your web page and saw that you were talking about
actual
> working code, I thought perhaps you were referring to simple textual
> references to the OS's version number, somewhat like the reported
references
> to OS 8.7 which can be found throught OS 9.
No, this is an actual working Newton 120. Well, kind of, I modified it a
bit
to test displays with. See
http://www.pda-soft.de/front.jpg and http://www.pda-soft.de/back.jpg
The strange item located where the backup battery spring usually is (big
white circular area) is a reset switch from a Newton 2100 mainboard.
Makes
resetting a 120 that has long lost its case much easier...
Simon asked...
> Is that a german Rom?
> I always thought the German version of 1.3 was 1.4.
Nope, this is definitely an English ROM. I did a brainwipe and it came
up in English.
By the way, I also took pictures of the ROM board:
http://www.pda-soft.de/rom_front.jpg
http://www.pda-soft.de/rom_back.jpg
It might happen that further digging will bring up some more of these
boards. I will refrain from descriptions like "sensational", "one
of a kind" and whatever one is likely to read at eBay these days when
items like
that are described. It is just a plain old ROM board, although probably
one that is in fact quite rare.
If I can dig up another, I'd be willing to trade if anybody is
interested.
I'm short of a 9 Watt power adapter. Or an EZVGA card, but nobody would
probably be stupid enough to trade such a beast for a simple ROM.
If anybody happens to be interested, please mail me off-list in a day
or two. But be warned: If I ever see this thing put up for auction at
eBay, I will start appearing in your dreams. The unanimous opinion of
all in whose dreams I'm currently appearing is that this is something
that should be avoided at all costs.
Cheers
Frank
PS Tip of the day: If your Newton won't power on no matter which kind
of reset you try, this might well be because its ROM is still snickering
under the camera...
-- Newton Software and Hardware at http://www.pda-soft.de
-- 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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