[NTLK] Semi-OT - Magic Cap vs Newton?

From: Vaguely Radio (vradio_at_maine.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 21 2004 - 15:10:54 PST


Hey everyone... since getting my Newton, and being the owner of a HP
200LX palmtop computer ("Wow! I can run DOS on this thing!"), it seems
I've begun a sort of personal gadget-collecting renaissance. I've
heard rumblings about Magic Cap devices, and I'm sure at least one of
you out there has one or many. I've found I can get a pretty
reasonable-seeming deal on a DataRover 840 and I'm wondering what
others may think of this particular device or others of its ilk. A few
specific questions just for ease-of-reply:

  - Is Magic Cap fairly Newton-like? If so, how - graphical interface,
object-oriented data soup structure?

- Is it slower than dirt or is it responsive?

- Are there better devices to consider than the DataRover, or is that
the "top of the line" as my limited research findings would indicate?

- Is it expansible or is it hard to find packages on the net? Is there
a fairly useful backcatalogue of software available? How are the
built-in applications in terms of functionality, and are they usable in
the modern world (i.e. is its e-mail system proprietary and therefore
unusable as an e-mailer now that there are more clear standards)?

- any other caveats or encouragements?

- What makes the Newton kick Magic Cap's metaphorical ass? It
definitely seems to have won the battle of the PDAs of that time
period, so I'm wondering what the Newton does right that Magic Cap
apparently did wrong (apart maybe from bad marketing)?

Thanks for any and all input,
Dan

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