Re: [NTLK] New member, new user

On 8/1/06, maynard@jmg.com <maynard@jmg.com> wrote:

> could someone give me a bit of advice in meeting these simple
> requirements?

First off, welcome to Newtonville. You can find the answers to most of
your questions in the Newton FAQ and Wiki linked at the bottom of this
email, or by reading the list archives at http://newtontalk.net.

> - D/L and display pdfs. *BIG* plus if it will allow me to highlight and
> annotate as well.

Nope. I think there is an app that lets you convert a pdf to little
picture files, but you won't be highlighting or annotating. I've never
used it, so YMMV.

Here is a thread from Newtontalk a while ago trying to figure out the
details on the PDF reader: http://tinyurl.com/ft6k7

> - A Word viewer / editor would be very helpful, as would a powerpoint
> viewer (yeah, I know this is unlikely)

This is possible, although limited. You can't use a Word doc with the
Track Changes feature, for instance, and put it on your Newt as a .doc
and see those changes. Newton Works can import and export .rtf files,
and with some add-on packages (like Works Better), you'll be able to
edit in Works without a keyboard. For Powerpoint, there are some
options, I think, but not direct syncing--you need to convert your
slides to something else that the Newton can handle.

Here are links to the packages that are available on the web:

Newton Works (freeware):http://tinyurl.com/lxqbj

Works Better (commercial): http://tinyurl.com/zuggt

> - print to postscript printers using lpr: we have .ps printers here.

This you can do. See Paul Guyot's brilliant lpr driver at http://kallisys.com:

LPR Driver: http://www.kallisys.com/newton/lpr/

> I also want it as an ebook reader, but I know it already has software
> for that.

Yup, Newtonbook reader is built in. You can download plenty of premade
books or make your own using the buggy Classic software Newton Press.
There is also an online Paperback book maker (another press
application) that takes a text file upload and spits out a book for
you. Newton Press books allow annotation and better formatting, while
Paperback has scalable fonts.

Newton Books at UNNA: http://www.unna.org/view.php?/books

Newton Library:http://www.newtonslibrary.org/

StillNewt Library: http://www.stillnewt.org/Library/

Newton Press (freeware):http://tinyurl.com/gvp4y

Online Bookmaker:http://misato.chuma.org/paperback/

> I really just need a device to take notes and manipulate text
> that has long battery life, is small enough to fit in my shoulder bag

Well, I think you may have found your device. The Newton can do a lot,
but it doesn't always do it easier than a new, expensive handheld.

> BTW: can I sync with my powerbook (OS X 10.4.x) over
> 802.11?

Syncing works for some people, and not for others. Not everything gets
moved over, largely because Newton developers have to reverse engineer
the various APIs. There are some apps out there that kludge (NewtSync,
for instance), and since I don't run Tiger, I can't verify whether or
not they work. However, if you search the list archive, this topic has
been beaten until bloody like the proverbial dead horse:

NewtSync: http://www.thenowhereman.com/hacks/newton/index.html

MARC List archive: http://marc.10east.com/?l=newtontalk&r=1&w=2

If you don't have to have the latest and greatest, and you have
Classic running on your machine, why not just use Claris Organizer?
Here's a thread that explains how easy it is to use, even in the
twenty-first century: http://tinyurl.com/kqm9x

Best of luck, and welcome to the fold!

-- 
-----
Matthew Reidsma
mreidsma@post.harvard.edu
"Give me an underground laboratory, half a dozen atom-smashers, and a
girl in a diaphanous veil waiting to be turned into a chimpanzee, and
I care not who writes the nation's laws." -- S. J. Perelman
(1904-1979)
-- 
This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries
Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/
WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/