🚀 go-pugleaf

George Crump wrote:
> 
> My comments below:
> 
> richar88@upenn.wharton.edu wrote:
> >
> > 1.  The screen emits a high pitched whine.  I called Apple about this.
> They said it was a known but unrepairable problem.  According to customer
> service at Apple, the whine is caused by transistors in the display.  The
> severity of the whine varies from unit to unit.  In some it is very severe
> and people can't stand to use the machine and in others it is nearly quiet.
>  Mine is pretty bad, but Apple will not REPAIR their product.
> 
> I have never even noticed it. In fact I'm  holding it up to my ear  and I
> still can't hear it.

Apple did indicate that the whine is nonexistant in some Newtons and
"can clear a room" (the customer service representative's words not my
own) in others.  My Newton is somewhere in the middle.

> you the embarrasment. My summary is that the Newton is just a starting
> point. ou have to add some software (just like our PC) to really make it
> kick. I'm a Windows 95 user and thinks it an OK OS but I find myself using

My beef with the Newton is that it is marketted not as a "starting
point" but as a Palm-top with all sorts of power "out of the box".  I'm
looking at the back of my box right now.  It shows all the nifty
software which comes on the thing.  It says nothing about the
development environment and nothing about any of the third party
software you mentioned (except Equate).  When I bought the Newton, I
fancied it to be four things:

1.  A day to day organizer
2.  A note pad
3.  An Address Book
4.  A plug and play device, I buy an application and it expands the
functionality.  

The key word here is "expands".  I was foolish in believing that the
functionality of the prior three embedded packages (the first three
points) would be sufficient for MY needs.  If they meet YOUR needs, then
great, but nearly everyone responding to this thread has indicated a
variety of expansion packages each prefers.  Most people are not only
expanding the functionality of their Newtons but also supplanting the
functionality of the packaged programs.  I wanted to bring this point
out explicitly because I believe a number of consumers have the
expectation that they can buy a Newton and use the software shipped with
it as the core functionality of the Newton.  What I'm hearing from many
of you expert users is that the Newton is best used with third party
software.  It's all a matter of core competencies.  With the exception
of the screen noise, the hardware seems to be great.  The user interface
is nice.  Maybe some of you in the know think the development
environment is good. I'm glad it is, because it appears I will need to
buy some software from these third party shops.

The Newton is not right for me.  I expected a more mature package.  When
I buy a laptop now.  I open it up, plug it in, and put in a CD. 
Everything is taken care of.  My needs on a PC are rather simple.  I
need to write letters, to perpare presentations and to run numbers.  My
needs on a PDA are rather simple.  I need to take notes, to schedule
meetings, to collect addresses, and to run numbers.  My PC needs are
met.  My PDA needs are not.  I believe in another generation or two of
products, they will be.   The trick is to figure out how to manage with
the Newton 120 until then.

For the record, I was kidding about lobbying Microsoft. (I guess I need
to become more proficient with the smilies:)