From: MKow1234_at_aol.com
Date: Fri Apr 02 2004 - 05:57:58 PST
Hello Everyone:
There are a million and one (or so it seems to me) software fixes and
programs out there for people to customize the Newton to their own tastes, but I am
curious about physical modifications. Other than the serial interface and the
motherboard hop-up, there doesn't seem to be much going on. So, here are a
few things that I am pondering:
1. Would the Newton MP 2X00 take well to a painted chassis? If so, would
this be a difficult endeavor? What type of paint would be least likely to harm
the plastic housing? Is there some form of paint that has the characteristics
of a powdercoat, yet would not be harmful to the Newton's plastic casing?
I'd love to have a Newton in a nice bold primary color (ala Peter Max).
2. If we can't bring the Newton to the Windoze platform, what about the
other way around? Or at least, could a Pocket PC be incorporated into the
Newton's casing? Could the Pocket PC be adapted to work with a Newton's screen?
What I was thinking was the possibility of routing the wiring that would normally
go to the Pocket PC's screen and connect that to a Newton's screen. Then,
mount all the PPC guts inside the Newt's housing (If it fits; the Toshiba e310
is very small, and without its casing or screen, would be downright tiny). The
result would a quasi-integrated (at least on the physical plane) device.
As I am not a hardware or software developer, I am sure that I am overlooking
something here. I assume that the wire leads from the Newton screen won't
correspond to those of the PPC connector. And there is probably an issue with
regard to how the PPC output would look on the Newton's display screen. Still,
it seems possible.
3. Stupid science project idea two: How feasible would it be to install a
very small FM receiver within the body of the Newton and wire its audio output
to the speaker? I'd probably try to add another tiny speaker, too.
Either of these projects would not require a great deal of space within the
Newton's housing. It seems like there would be quite a bit of room inside the
housing, if one were to sacrifice the use of one of the PCMCIA slots.
Any thoughts on these musings? We now return to the grand debate as to
whether it is more politically correct to address your computer by one name than
another. :O)
Matt K.
mkow1234_at_aol.com
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