[NTLK] I found my old Newton after more than 10 years...

Yes, stuck in a closet. Dead to the world. Waiting patiently. Sort of
like the Tinman in OZ, waiting for Dorothy to use the oil can.

I was looking for something else and stumbled across one of the two
Newtons I owned. I had two because someone had one he didn't want
anymore and sold me the whole package for like $100 (years ago when
Apple still MADE Newtons.). I got a modem with that second one. The one
I had bought new wasn't working properly and I just didn't know what
was wrong with it. So I had a second one for a backup. I remember the
thrill I got years ago sending an email from my Newton in a hotel room
at some trade show. Back when you couldn't send emails from hotel
rooms.

Anyway, for some reason I can't remember I turned off my Newton all
those years ago and never turned it back on. I don't know why. So
imagine my surprise when I see my old Newton sitting in a box. The
power cable still plugged in. Rechargeable batteries at least 10 years
old. I looked at it and wondered... would it still work? Is it
possible? I quickly plugged it in and it BOOTED INSTANTLY TO THE SCREEN
OF NOTES I STOPPED TYPING MORE THAN TEN YEARS AGO! It was so freaking
strange. It just fired up instantly. No delay. There were these notes I
had taken during some meeting. Lists of JPG files for something or
other. Probably for an interactive CD or web site. So I typed those
notes and... stopped. Turned it off. Never turned it back on. And then
years later there it is just as I left it. Like Scotty trapped in the
transporter in that STTNG episode.

Of course it babbled on about needing a battery. I have to get new
rechargeables and one of those shiny round... disky thingy batteries.

I played around with it for about an hour. I still am shocked that it
has held up for all these years, sitting in a box, in my closet. The
batteries never leaked thank goodness. I never thought in a million
years there were actually people still using it! I can actually get
this thing up to date! I can't wait! WoooHooo!

I have so many questions to research: how do I get stuff on it? Can I
hook it up to my router? etc etc... I will be scouring the FAQ's and
archives. It's been so long I've almost completely forgotten how to use
it.

Side note: The other Newton I own? I found that one years ago. The
batteries had leaked and... well... it wasn't pretty. It wasn't working
anyway. I remember looking a little bit for the second one but never
found it till today.

p.s. I still have my Mac IIci and it works too.

-vern

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Received on Tue Sep 23 15:27:20 2008