[NTLK] Visiting the Apple Store with my Newts

[Steven Frank]

I may be alone in this but I don't like when things attract unwanted
attention toward me, like whipping out a Newton in public does.  I
guess at the core I'm pretty antisocial and would rather just be
getting on with whatever I was doing than having an awkward
conversation.  :)

It's one of the "little frictions" that keeps my Newtons in safe
storage except for occasional tinkering.

For me, Notes is the one Newton app that nobody has been able to top.
I know I've read that many times on the list too.  With HWR relegated
to the industry's "well, that didn't work so well" pile, I don't think
anybody's looking back, least of all now that finger-based interfaces
are extremely popular.

But slowly tapping out notes on my iPhone (I use SimpleNote) works
"well enough" that, combined with all the other stuff it does in such
a tiny lightweight package, it makes toting the Newton seem highly
impractical.  Especially if I'd just be using it for Notes.  A paper
notepad is much lighter.  :)

The double-whammy is that for just a pound or so of additional weight
over the Newton, I can carry my 11" MacBook Air and have a full-on
modern computer at my disposal.

Of course neither the iPhone nor MB Air evoke that pure sense of...
just _fun_ and enjoyment of using the Newton.  That's what I miss the
most, and what I'm always longing for when I pull a Newt from storage
and briefly entertain the notion of using it as a daily driver, even
when I inevitably don't.  :-/

I think what I want is a Kindle but for note-taking instead of
reading.  :)  Sadly, that doesn't exist.

Steven