#applenewton — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #applenewton, aggregated by home.social.
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So, I’ve been using my MessagePad 2100 to take notes in meetings this week.
1. The handwriting recognition is too slow and inaccurate when I’mm writing fast. Better to transcribe after the fact.
2. Ok, switch to the ink text variant. Oh no, this reduces the size of the text which makes it much harder to read (is there a way to reverse that?). But at least I can tap on the text to run the handwriting recognition after the fact.
3. But, again, this is awful because I was writing quickly, not legibly. And the text has been shrunk such that I can’t even read what I originally wrote.
4. Also, at some point, you run into the storage limit for a note. Which is annoying, but you can workaround it by just creating a new note. Fine.
5. Obvious, actual text uses less space, so if you convert the ink text to actual text, then you can have more information per note.
6. So, today, I switched to using the sketch mode, which doesn’t reduce the text (so, it’s actually legible), but I also don’t think I can run handwriting recognition on it after the fact.
7. But, the sketch mode also takes up very valuable screen real estate, and scrolling on a Newton is not as fine grained as I’d like. As far as I can tell, you can only scroll by about 3/4 of a page or so, with no option to change that. I hope I’m wrong on this. This makes it harder to read and interact with the note than I’d like.
8. Sketch mode even more so has the issue of each note has a max size it can be.
9. Also, moving things around in a note is more annoying than it should be. I like the magic lasso selection that more modern notetaking apps do, but for a newton, you need to long-press, then draw the stylus over what you want to select.
10. The scribble-over-to-delete gesture is amazing, and more things should copy that.Again, I can’t stress enough that despite my complaints, I find the Newton charming enough to put up with. I’m also sure a lot of that is just new-device-honeymoon. Like, I don’t think I’m going to be using this to take notes for work long-term.
I also cannot help but wonder how much better more modern Newtons would be if it had continued. We still haven’t seen anything quite like the Newton.
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So, I’ve been using my MessagePad 2100 to take notes in meetings this week.
1. The handwriting recognition is too slow and inaccurate when I’mm writing fast. Better to transcribe after the fact.
2. Ok, switch to the ink text variant. Oh no, this reduces the size of the text which makes it much harder to read (is there a way to reverse that?). But at least I can tap on the text to run the handwriting recognition after the fact.
3. But, again, this is awful because I was writing quickly, not legibly. And the text has been shrunk such that I can’t even read what I originally wrote.
4. Also, at some point, you run into the storage limit for a note. Which is annoying, but you can workaround it by just creating a new note. Fine.
5. Obvious, actual text uses less space, so if you convert the ink text to actual text, then you can have more information per note.
6. So, today, I switched to using the sketch mode, which doesn’t reduce the text (so, it’s actually legible), but I also don’t think I can run handwriting recognition on it after the fact.
7. But, the sketch mode also takes up very valuable screen real estate, and scrolling on a Newton is not as fine grained as I’d like. As far as I can tell, you can only scroll by about 3/4 of a page or so, with no option to change that. I hope I’m wrong on this. This makes it harder to read and interact with the note than I’d like.
8. Sketch mode even more so has the issue of each note has a max size it can be.
9. Also, moving things around in a note is more annoying than it should be. I like the magic lasso selection that more modern notetaking apps do, but for a newton, you need to long-press, then draw the stylus over what you want to select.
10. The scribble-over-to-delete gesture is amazing, and more things should copy that.Again, I can’t stress enough that despite my complaints, I find the Newton charming enough to put up with. I’m also sure a lot of that is just new-device-honeymoon. Like, I don’t think I’m going to be using this to take notes for work long-term.
I also cannot help but wonder how much better more modern Newtons would be if it had continued. We still haven’t seen anything quite like the Newton.
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Another accident of design that contributes to making the Newton joyful to use: The raised bezel around the screen
Knowing very little about the development, I highly doubt this was intentional. However, comparing writing a note on the newton vs. writing a note on an iPad. There's a huge issue of "where do you put your hand so that it doesn't interfere with the touchscreen?". Obviously, the Newton receives a massive boost due to the fact that resistive touchscreens naturally do this (because they suck), but I also strongly suspect that the raised bezel helps with this as well (that, and the small screen. This is smaller even than my iPad mini. Which I use because pilot). It just gives you a place to rest your palm, where you know it won't interfere with the screen (or deposit palm-grease onto the screen).
I bet I could achieve a similar effect just wearing some padding on my palm when writing using an iPad.
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Another accident of design that contributes to making the Newton joyful to use: The raised bezel around the screen
Knowing very little about the development, I highly doubt this was intentional. However, comparing writing a note on the newton vs. writing a note on an iPad. There's a huge issue of "where do you put your hand so that it doesn't interfere with the touchscreen?". Obviously, the Newton receives a massive boost due to the fact that resistive touchscreens naturally do this (because they suck), but I also strongly suspect that the raised bezel helps with this as well (that, and the small screen. This is smaller even than my iPad mini. Which I use because pilot). It just gives you a place to rest your palm, where you know it won't interfere with the screen (or deposit palm-grease onto the screen).
I bet I could achieve a similar effect just wearing some padding on my palm when writing using an iPad.
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Thirty three years ago today, Apple debuted the Newton at Macworld Boston.
#AppleNewton
#OriginalMessagePad
#RetroComputinghttps://web.archive.org/web/20140323023328/https://www.msu.edu/~luckie/gallery/mp100.htm
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Thirty three years ago today, Apple debuted the Newton at Macworld Boston.
#AppleNewton
#OriginalMessagePad
#RetroComputinghttps://web.archive.org/web/20140323023328/https://www.msu.edu/~luckie/gallery/mp100.htm
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I also haven't gushed enough about how much I absolutely ADORE espy sans (the default Newton system font. Used in the app/icon names and such. It's not the font for the text of the note, which I believe is Sand?). My introduction to Espy Sans was the iPod Mini in 2004, and to this day Espy Sans is my favorite font. Apple knocked it way out of the park with that.
Unfortunately, Espy Sans is not going to make an (official) comeback because it's a bitmap font, and truetype fonts are definitely a better technology.
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I also haven't gushed enough about how much I absolutely ADORE espy sans (the default Newton system font. Used in the app/icon names and such. It's not the font for the text of the note, which I believe is Sand?). My introduction to Espy Sans was the iPod Mini in 2004, and to this day Espy Sans is my favorite font. Apple knocked it way out of the park with that.
Unfortunately, Espy Sans is not going to make an (official) comeback because it's a bitmap font, and truetype fonts are definitely a better technology.
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Only a day later, and I am finding myself significantly more impressed at the handwriting recognition on the MessagePad 2100. Yes, I’m slightly changing how I write to try to fit that, but if it’ll result in more readable chicken scratch, then this is only a good thing.
But, like, this was all handwritten, with only a handful of corrections made, and only to change the capital M’s down to lowercase m’s. No ducking autocorrect!
(I need to do the patch that’ll let me set the date to a current one, the Newton had its own y2k38 problem about a decade ago due to using 16? 24? bit Ints to represent date)
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Only a day later, and I am finding myself significantly more impressed at the handwriting recognition on the MessagePad 2100. Yes, I’m slightly changing how I write to try to fit that, but if it’ll result in more readable chicken scratch, then this is only a good thing.
But, like, this was all handwritten, with only a handful of corrections made, and only to change the capital M’s down to lowercase m’s. No ducking autocorrect!
(I need to do the patch that’ll let me set the date to a current one, the Newton had its own y2k38 problem about a decade ago due to using 16? 24? bit Ints to represent date)
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Ok, so initial impressions:
1. There's so much whimsy in this. Deleting a note has a cute animation where the note is crumpled up and put into a trash can. Accompanied with a sound effect of crumpling paper.
2. I forgot how much resistive touchscreens suck. It takes an unreasonable amount of pressure for a touch to be recognized. Similar to when you're trying to use a ballpoint pen that's nearly out of ink.
3. The handwriting recognition is surprisingly good for the mid-90s. That said, it's still objectively bad. It's easy to forget that we didn't get good handwriting recognition until relatively recently. That said, Eat Up Martha is definitely still a thing, even though Simpsons was making fun of the original MessagePad. I'm going to keep trying, but it is frustrating.
4. The built in screen cover is so useful. Shame that the modern equivalent (an iPad) has the cover as a separate accessory.
5. The device itself is pleasantly chunky. They definitely did their best with then-current technology to make this as thin as possible, and I'm so glad the technology just wasn't there to make this thinner.
6. Turning on the backlight is non-obvious. You hold the power button for a bit until it turns off. Same deal to turn it off. Thanks NewtonFAQ for that (https://newtonfaq.com/newton-faq-hardware.html#IIC6c).
7. This thing is SO delightfully 90s. -
Ok, so initial impressions:
1. There's so much whimsy in this. Deleting a note has a cute animation where the note is crumpled up and put into a trash can. Accompanied with a sound effect of crumpling paper.
2. I forgot how much resistive touchscreens suck. It takes an unreasonable amount of pressure for a touch to be recognized. Similar to when you're trying to use a ballpoint pen that's nearly out of ink.
3. The handwriting recognition is surprisingly good for the mid-90s. That said, it's still objectively bad. It's easy to forget that we didn't get good handwriting recognition until relatively recently. That said, Eat Up Martha is definitely still a thing, even though Simpsons was making fun of the original MessagePad. I'm going to keep trying, but it is frustrating.
4. The built in screen cover is so useful. Shame that the modern equivalent (an iPad) has the cover as a separate accessory.
5. The device itself is pleasantly chunky. They definitely did their best with then-current technology to make this as thin as possible, and I'm so glad the technology just wasn't there to make this thinner.
6. Turning on the backlight is non-obvious. You hold the power button for a bit until it turns off. Same deal to turn it off. Thanks NewtonFAQ for that (https://newtonfaq.com/newton-faq-hardware.html#IIC6c).
7. This thing is SO delightfully 90s. -
It arrived. I am very excited.
It’s larger than the specs made it appear.
I’m going to try to daily-drive this for a bit, but I doubt I’ll do that long-term.
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It arrived. I am very excited.
It’s larger than the specs made it appear.
I’m going to try to daily-drive this for a bit, but I doubt I’ll do that long-term.
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Sorry, but after nearly three decades, I still find the #AppleNewton new and exciting.
https://adhd.irenes.space/@ireneista/statuses/01KYZSBMFXHT43D73BFFRK52BJ
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Sorry, but after nearly three decades, I still find the #AppleNewton new and exciting.
https://adhd.irenes.space/@ireneista/statuses/01KYZSBMFXHT43D73BFFRK52BJ
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Today I learned that I can’t send a package of “lightly used” #AppleNewton accessories to Germany because:
“Canada Post is temporarily suspending parcel acceptance to select European Union destinations due to new EU customs requirements for low value shipments.”
I truly hate this timeline.
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Today I learned that I can’t send a package of “lightly used” #AppleNewton accessories to Germany because:
“Canada Post is temporarily suspending parcel acceptance to select European Union destinations due to new EU customs requirements for low value shipments.”
I truly hate this timeline.
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newton connection real!!!!!!
#applenewton #letsfuckingGO #selfies #nonbinary #vcfwest2026
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newton connection real!!!!!!
#applenewton #letsfuckingGO #selfies #nonbinary #vcfwest2026
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@rpbook nice. Had similar with a #Newton #appleNewton #retro #retroComputing
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Thirty one years ago today, Harris Corporation licensed Apple’s Newton technology for use in its ruggedized SuperTech 2000 “Craft Digital Assistant” device.
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Thirty one years ago today, Harris Corporation licensed Apple’s Newton technology for use in its ruggedized SuperTech 2000 “Craft Digital Assistant” device.
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Twenty nine years ago today, Newton Inc. and Visible Interactive teamed up on the iGo — an interactive audio tour guide based on a modified #MessagePad 130 — for the “America’s Smithsonian” 150th anniversary traveling exhibition.
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Twenty nine years ago today, Newton Inc. and Visible Interactive teamed up on the iGo — an interactive audio tour guide based on a modified #MessagePad 130 — for the “America’s Smithsonian” 150th anniversary traveling exhibition.
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Announcing the July release of the Newton Glossary!
This edition contains 2,280 terms, definitions, acronyms, colloquialisms, cross-references, and trivia related to the #AppleNewton.
Since the last month’s update, another 43 terms and 5 sources have been added.
Latest additions:
https://newtonglossary.com/latest
Full release notes:
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Announcing the July release of the Newton Glossary!
This edition contains 2,280 terms, definitions, acronyms, colloquialisms, cross-references, and trivia related to the #AppleNewton.
Since the last month’s update, another 43 terms and 5 sources have been added.
Latest additions:
https://newtonglossary.com/latest
Full release notes:
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Thirty two years ago today, Apple Online Services (AOS) announced the release of NewtonMail Modules 1.0 — giving #MessagePad users “… the tools to formulate, send, and receive messages more easily than ever before.”
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Thirty two years ago today, Apple Online Services (AOS) announced the release of NewtonMail Modules 1.0 — giving #MessagePad users “… the tools to formulate, send, and receive messages more easily than ever before.”
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Thirty one years ago today, Apple announced the completion of a 10 month pilot project at the Johns Hopkins Hospital to assess the utility of the Newton #MessagePad for health care case managers.
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Thirty one years ago today, Apple announced the completion of a 10 month pilot project at the Johns Hopkins Hospital to assess the utility of the Newton #MessagePad for health care case managers.
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Thirty one years ago today, Apple announced the release of Newton Toolkit 1.5, an “enhanced” version featuring a new #NewtonScript compiler and profiler, as well as Newton Book Maker 1.1 for Mac OS.
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Thirty one years ago today, Apple announced the release of Newton Toolkit 1.5, an “enhanced” version featuring a new #NewtonScript compiler and profiler, as well as Newton Book Maker 1.1 for Mac OS.
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Thanks to John Jerney and his Pen-Based Computing History Museum site, I discovered that Apple sent out an informational press release headlined as a “Newton Glossary” in 1993.
My own Newton Glossary already includes most of what is described in this press release, but I still found a couple of interesting tidbits to add.
https://www.penbasedcomputing.com/timeline/apple-computer-newton-glossary/
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Thanks to John Jerney and his Pen-Based Computing History Museum site, I discovered that Apple sent out an informational press release headlined as a “Newton Glossary” in 1993.
My own Newton Glossary already includes most of what is described in this press release, but I still found a couple of interesting tidbits to add.
https://www.penbasedcomputing.com/timeline/apple-computer-newton-glossary/
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By the way, here’s the TrimBus entry I added to the Newton Glossary. With sources, natch.
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By the way, here’s the TrimBus entry I added to the Newton Glossary. With sources, natch.
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Twenty nine years ago today, Apple announced Newton Internet Enabler 2.0, bringing enhanced networking and connectivity features to #NewtonOS devices.
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Twenty nine years ago today, Apple announced Newton Internet Enabler 2.0, bringing enhanced networking and connectivity features to #NewtonOS devices.
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Announcing the June release of the Newton Glossary!
This edition contains 2,237 terms, definitions, acronyms, colloquialisms, cross-references, and trivia related to the #AppleNewton.
Since the last month’s update, another 70 terms and 7 sources have been added.
Latest additions:
https://newtonglossary.com/latest
Full release notes:
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Announcing the June release of the Newton Glossary!
This edition contains 2,237 terms, definitions, acronyms, colloquialisms, cross-references, and trivia related to the #AppleNewton.
Since the last month’s update, another 70 terms and 7 sources have been added.
Latest additions:
https://newtonglossary.com/latest
Full release notes:
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Thirty years ago today, Apple shipped the very first release of the Newton Internet Enabler, providing “… a suite of connectivity tools that allows Internet-based application development …”
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Thirty years ago today, Apple shipped the very first release of the Newton Internet Enabler, providing “… a suite of connectivity tools that allows Internet-based application development …”
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Twenty nine years ago today (and less than a month after spinning out from Apple to become a wholly owned subsidiary) the Newton, Inc. team made its first major industry appearance during PC Expo at the Jacob K. Javitz Center in New York.
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Twenty nine years ago today (and less than a month after spinning out from Apple to become a wholly owned subsidiary) the Newton, Inc. team made its first major industry appearance during PC Expo at the Jacob K. Javitz Center in New York.
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Thirty years ago today, Apple presented “Newton: A Day in the Life of Business Computing” at the Jacob K. Javitz Center in New York.
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Thirty years ago today, Apple presented “Newton: A Day in the Life of Business Computing” at the Jacob K. Javitz Center in New York.
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Who doesn’t love a little bit of #AppleNewton minutia?
https://lists.newtontalk.net/pipermail/newtontalk/2026-June/003879.html
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Who doesn’t love a little bit of #AppleNewton minutia?
https://lists.newtontalk.net/pipermail/newtontalk/2026-June/003879.html
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Thirty four years ago today, then Apple Chairman John Sculley previewed the company’s Newton technology at CES in Chicago.
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Thirty four years ago today, then Apple Chairman John Sculley previewed the company’s Newton technology at CES in Chicago.
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Twenty five years ago today, I compiled and published the very first version of the Newton Glossary as a page on my personal website.
At the time, it consisted of a mere 527 terms and 23 sources.
An early version of that page can be found in the Internet Archive.
https://web.archive.org/web/20011031103303/splorp.com/newton/glossary/
Twenty. Five. Years.
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Twenty five years ago today, I compiled and published the very first version of the Newton Glossary as a page on my personal website.
At the time, it consisted of a mere 527 terms and 23 sources.
An early version of that page can be found in the Internet Archive.
https://web.archive.org/web/20011031103303/splorp.com/newton/glossary/
Twenty. Five. Years.
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Twenty nine years ago today, Apple announced the formation of a separate Newton subsidiary “… to pursue its business and create the marketing and operating strategies it needs to succeed.”
It would have been a great idea if it had actually panned out.
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Twenty nine years ago today, Apple announced the formation of a separate Newton subsidiary “… to pursue its business and create the marketing and operating strategies it needs to succeed.”
It would have been a great idea if it had actually panned out.
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Announcing a new release of the Newton Glossary!
This edition contains over 2,160 terms, definitions, acronyms, colloquialisms, cross-references, and trivia related to the #AppleNewton.
Since the last month’s update, another 71 terms and 6 sources have been added.
Latest additions:
https://newtonglossary.com/latest
Full release notes:
-
Announcing a new release of the Newton Glossary!
This edition contains over 2,160 terms, definitions, acronyms, colloquialisms, cross-references, and trivia related to the #AppleNewton.
Since the last month’s update, another 71 terms and 6 sources have been added.
Latest additions:
https://newtonglossary.com/latest
Full release notes:
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Ethernet! LocalTalk! TCP/IP!
Thirty years ago today, the Newton Internet Enabler 2.0 was announced.
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Ethernet! LocalTalk! TCP/IP!
Thirty years ago today, the Newton Internet Enabler 2.0 was announced.
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Dinner came to an end, and several of the assembled knights opened up their refurbished Psions and Apple Newtons to commence the evening's jestposting.
Our Lady Joan Mastodon finished her bowl of rhubarb crumble (she loved rhubarb crumble and always took seconds), then she spoke:
Remember, my friends, we toot for The Now. Don't toot for the archives. There's no chisel and marble in the Fediverse, my friends, only our frail temporary voices, heard in the moment, then forgotten. Jest away. And thank you, Sir Alfred, for tonight's rhubarb crumble. It was very good. You've surpassed yourself.