[NTLK] Hello! [Was: "Re: Goodbye"] (Think "Beatles")

~~~ On 2007/11/29 12:18, Jack Mottram at jack@submitresponse.co.uk wrote ~~~

>> I've been reading this thread with a bit of sadness. And I don't know if I
>> am the last heavy user or the rest just aren't commenting. I use my 2000U
>> everyday.
>
> Well, I'm probably still in the honeymoon period when it comes to the
> Newton (I only started using one last March) but it has very quickly
> become indispensible, and I use it daily, and pretty heavily - a
> surprise to me, as I bought one to tinker with as a treat for my 30th
> birthday, being a fan of, as others on the list obviously are,
> obsolete/esoteric technology in general, beyond the Newton.
>
> Somehow the Newton just insinuated itself into my life, almost
> instantly, and I now use it as a sort of standalone planner for all
> meetings, deadlines, etc. - I just decided syncing beyond what NCX
> offers wasn't necessary when the Newton handles everything so well,
> and so iCal on the MacBook Pro now only deals with emailing me
> recurring tasks (watering the plants and such). I do make a lot of
> backups to be on the safe side, though ;-)
>
> And, since I bought a keyboard from a list member (er, along with
> another MP2100 to play with!) it's become a limited laptop
> replacement, which, with no temptations to muck about on the web,
> watch videos, etc. lets me write quickly without distractions, and no
> real risk of the battery dying when I'm out travelling for work
> (unlike my Nokia, it must be said). I suspect the main reason for
> daily use is that the Newton doesn't, for whatever reason, feel like
> just a tool to get stuff done, though it certainly is that - using it
> is good fun, a pleasure.
>
> One last slightly off-topic observation: I have a terrible tendency to
> tell my non-techy friends tales of my current gadget obsession, boring
> them stiff in the process, but as soon as you show someone who has
> little interest in technology a Newton, they can't keep their hands
> off it, and can't stop asking questions, which says something about
> the device's immediately understandable usability, I think.

Jack,

IMIO there's nothing even slightly off-topic about any of that, not here.
It's pretty much what happened to me, 2 summers ago. I like that word
"insinuate": that happened to me too. At first I thought: OK, it's cool,
but what'll I do with it? Next thing I knew, the answer was: pretty much
everything. Like you, I soon found I was using my Newton for the daily
things I used to do on my computer. Don't get me wrong; I still love my
Pismo, and she takes care of things I don't have (and don't want) on my
Newton -- like music and the internet, and stuff I have to be able to synch
with people who are Newton-deprived. But day by day, Newt is able to be
with me in situations where I could never take a laptop. And when I use my
Newton, it does things -- and lets me do things -- the way I want them done,
and easily, almost without thought. Using a Newton is almost like having
the electronics grafted into me, it's so natural.

Also like you, I've found that people who wouldn't normally be interested in
hearing me talk about my gadgets (including women I know who still think
electronics is a guy-thing) are interested when they see what a Newton can
do. And people who've had the task of reading a hand-written letter from me
love watching Newt turn my scribbles into "real words".

I know HWR is a little controversial here: some people can't seem to get on
with it. For me it was the first thing that made me want to get one, after
I tried a friend's Newton and it "just worked". And now that I have my own,
I've never regretted it. The freedom to make notes or set up an
appointment, even standing up, by scribbling away on my Newton as if it were
a pad of paper, is a pleasure that never grows old. A few weeks ago I stood
on a London underground platform (fellow-Yanks: think "subway" platform)
and started writing the notes for a talk I was preparing. When the train
arrived, I got on the standing-room only train and stood in a corner, and
kept writing. I was slowed down only slightly by the jostling people and
the jarring of the train, and a guy who wanted to talk about my Newton. By
the time I got off I'd finished the notes. Try that with a keyboard!

It's irrational to personalize this, I know, but it's quite gratifying --
almost flattering -- to use something that feels as though it's trying to
help and please so completely. People can call it "charm" if they like; by
any name, it's the ability of the Newt to adapt to me, rather than making me
adapt to it.

 
Shalom.
Christian

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

³Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from a Newton.²
            -- What Arthur C. Clarke meant to say

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1ZzpdPJ7Zr4
(With thanks to Chod Lang)
http://tinyurl.com/29y2dl

~~~ ~~~ ~~~
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Received on Thu Nov 29 10:12:28 2007