is HP a possible buyer? The are in the pda market already, a pretty major player in it as well. They might want to get out from the Microsoft Yoke, and right now the pda market is still flexable enough to allow for another major OS, especially if that OS is a more modern and capable OS than the current crop of offerings. The Newton OS does have a respected name in the pda community, so even if they just take some of the technology it would help a new OS gain respect.
The biggest problem that I see is that Apple has already utalized part of the Newton OS technnology in the inkwell port to OS X, so there might be a conflict here with any sale if Apple want's to keep inkwell. I'm sure that could be worked out in contracts for the sale, or maybe they just license the handwriting recognition and sell the rest of the OS. That way Apple could still keep control of the aspect of the OS that they do have a vested interest in.
They sold Symbian and made a lot of money and now they want to reenter pda/mobile market with new OS and new device.
Interesting. Maybe a new melded company like Sony-Ericsson, Apple-Psion.
PSION is an acronym for Potter Scientific Instruments or Nothing and David Potter was the founder of Psion. Off-topic fact.
Quote:
Originally posted by JCG
is HP a possible buyer? The are in the pda market already, a pretty major player in it as well. They might want to get out from the Microsoft Yoke, and right now the pda market is still flexable enough to allow for another major OS, especially if that OS is a more modern and capable OS than the current crop of offerings. The Newton OS does have a respected name in the pda community, so even if they just take some of the technology it would help a new OS gain respect.
The biggest problem that I see is that Apple has already utalized part of the Newton OS technnology in the inkwell port to OS X, so there might be a conflict here with any sale if Apple want's to keep inkwell. I'm sure that could be worked out in contracts for the sale, or maybe they just license the handwriting recognition and sell the rest of the OS. That way Apple could still keep control of the aspect of the OS that they do have a vested interest in.
Apple could still keep full control of the OS, but license the OS to hardware makers somewhat like palmsource is doing now with their software and what Microsoft has been doing since it was founded. This would be a good beginning for long-term growth in the PDA industry.
...Apple could still keep full control of the OS, but license the OS to hardware makers somewhat like palmsource is doing now with their software and what Microsoft has been doing since it was founded. This would be a good beginning for long-term growth in the PDA industry.
That is obvious, but the quote from Stone Multimedia is that the company is in talks with Apple to Buy the Newton, not license the technology. If they were going to buy the technology I'm sure that they would want the OS, as the hardware is long out of date and IBM has a pda reference platform for PowerPC chips at least on the drawing board which would be cheaper to produce than it would be to update the proprietary Newton hardware to be competitive with the next generation of PDA's.
After listening to the discussion I'm pretty firmly convinced that Apple should...
1. At the very least write an OS for existing PDAs or champion a linux distro
2. Build a ~ $500 PDA targeted at the education market.
The iBook is really overkill for k-12 and lacks the tablet features which are still very important to the elementary market. Apple needs to re-invent eBooks the way they did internet music with the iTMS.
I've been doing some teaching in high school the last few months and I think a smart PDA solution could really change things.
After listening to the discussion I'm pretty firmly convinced that Apple should...
1. At the very least write an OS for existing PDAs or champion a linux distro
2. Build a ~ $500 PDA targeted at the education market.
The iBook is really overkill for k-12 and lacks the tablet features which are still very important to the elementary market. Apple needs to re-invent eBooks the way they did internet music with the iTMS.
I've been doing some teaching in high school the last few months and I think a smart PDA solution could really change things.
Not quite, although I do think that PDA mockup has some interesting ideas if I understand it right. If the entire surface is a screen with some textural differences to cue the user into the location of the buttons/scroll dial that is pretty cool for extending the iPod's functionality a litte bit.
I'd love to see a cool mockup of a double screen PDA. I searched the web and there was some rumors of ibm coming out with a double screen PDA with some mention of solving ergonomic problems by incorporating a handle-like binder so that you could hold it easily and maybe house some of the bulkier parts or i/o ports.
I think the PDA is the way to go for the edu market. I just saw a blurb about apple selling iBooks in bulk at $600. I'd imagine they could do PDAs at $300 with all day battery life.
I gave up on Apple PDA threads years ago. But, like being unable to look away from an upcoming train wreck...
If Steve ok's a PDA it will be combined with a cell phone. He's practically shouted that he believed the two will converge, and I agree with him.
The problem with a cell phone PDA has always been text input. Inkwell/Graffiti is ok, but the Blackberry/Treo2 showed a keyboard is necessary to go mainstream.
Up here in Canada, Telus yesterday announced a phone with a Fastap keyboard. Steve passed on this tech when it was pitched to Apple first, but I still think it is the only way to get text input on a phone form factor reasonably.
I'd buy it, but unfortunately, LG phones aren't compatible with iSync.
If Steve ok's a PDA it will be combined with a cell phone. He's practically shouted that he believed the two will converge, and I agree with him.
As do I, however, I think phoneless education market model would work.
Quote:
The problem with a cell phone PDA has always been text input. Inkwell/Graffiti is ok, but the Blackberry/Treo2 showed a keyboard is necessary to go mainstream.
I see this as yet another opportunity for Apple to redefine the market. Palm showed us that people are willing to go through a learning curve with Graffiti. Seeing as how the PDA is held in one hand, why not implement a chording solution? With simple combinations of your fingers you can get 30 different characters. Taking advantage of the thumb's dexterity you can get much more, all the way up to 110 and over.
About the only thing standing in there way is the threat of lawsuits from repetitive stress injuries.
Also, I think Apple should be a little bit evil and patent the chording entry solution. If only they had patented the mouse.
...Also, I think Apple should be a little bit evil and patent the chording entry solution. If only they had patented the mouse.
The mouse was invented by Doug Engelbart back in the 1960's. Apple didn't even exist then. And chord keyboards are a standard feature of the old stenotype machines... they might even go back over a hundred years.
The mouse was invented by Doug Engelbart back in the 1960's. Apple didn't even exist then. And chord keyboards are a standard feature of the old stenotype machines... they might even go back over a hundred years.
Yes, I'm familiar with the mouses original Xerox origins, but someone should have patented it. If someone didn't then Apple should have. If someone did then Apple should have bought the patent.
As for chording, while chording goes way back, a specific one hand implementation of it on a PDA probably could be patented.
Comments
Possible companies?
could be Psion..
They sold Symbian and made a lot of money and now they want to reenter pda/mobile market with new OS and new device.
The biggest problem that I see is that Apple has already utalized part of the Newton OS technnology in the inkwell port to OS X, so there might be a conflict here with any sale if Apple want's to keep inkwell. I'm sure that could be worked out in contracts for the sale, or maybe they just license the handwriting recognition and sell the rest of the OS. That way Apple could still keep control of the aspect of the OS that they do have a vested interest in.
Originally posted by nevoz
could be Psion..
They sold Symbian and made a lot of money and now they want to reenter pda/mobile market with new OS and new device.
Interesting. Maybe a new melded company like Sony-Ericsson, Apple-Psion.
PSION is an acronym for Potter Scientific Instruments or Nothing and David Potter was the founder of Psion. Off-topic fact.
Originally posted by JCG
is HP a possible buyer? The are in the pda market already, a pretty major player in it as well. They might want to get out from the Microsoft Yoke, and right now the pda market is still flexable enough to allow for another major OS, especially if that OS is a more modern and capable OS than the current crop of offerings. The Newton OS does have a respected name in the pda community, so even if they just take some of the technology it would help a new OS gain respect.
The biggest problem that I see is that Apple has already utalized part of the Newton OS technnology in the inkwell port to OS X, so there might be a conflict here with any sale if Apple want's to keep inkwell. I'm sure that could be worked out in contracts for the sale, or maybe they just license the handwriting recognition and sell the rest of the OS. That way Apple could still keep control of the aspect of the OS that they do have a vested interest in.
Apple could still keep full control of the OS, but license the OS to hardware makers somewhat like palmsource is doing now with their software and what Microsoft has been doing since it was founded. This would be a good beginning for long-term growth in the PDA industry.
Originally posted by Outsider
...Apple could still keep full control of the OS, but license the OS to hardware makers somewhat like palmsource is doing now with their software and what Microsoft has been doing since it was founded. This would be a good beginning for long-term growth in the PDA industry.
That is obvious, but the quote from Stone Multimedia is that the company is in talks with Apple to Buy the Newton, not license the technology. If they were going to buy the technology I'm sure that they would want the OS, as the hardware is long out of date and IBM has a pda reference platform for PowerPC chips at least on the drawing board which would be cheaper to produce than it would be to update the proprietary Newton hardware to be competitive with the next generation of PDA's.
Originally posted by Outsider
]
OMG That would be so sick,!!
if they could make that for my palm!!
I would be more than excited.
OMG That would be so sick,!!
if they could make that for my palm!!
I would be more than excited.
hey! if you like it..
There is pocketmac.. for pocketpc..
you can make a very similar "desktop" with a theme editor
www.pocketmac.net
not the same...
Steve did promise a replacement for the Newton one year after he canned it.
Then why has Steve been so dead set aginst PDA's the last few years?
Then why has Steve been so dead set aginst PDA's the last few years?
It's not true.
SJ did promise an evolution of eMate but with macos not with another OS.
Then Apple built iBook (shell design very similar to the eMate).
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/1998/feb/27newton.html
1. At the very least write an OS for existing PDAs or champion a linux distro
2. Build a ~ $500 PDA targeted at the education market.
The iBook is really overkill for k-12 and lacks the tablet features which are still very important to the elementary market. Apple needs to re-invent eBooks the way they did internet music with the iTMS.
I've been doing some teaching in high school the last few months and I think a smart PDA solution could really change things.
Originally posted by Nordstrodamus
After listening to the discussion I'm pretty firmly convinced that Apple should...
1. At the very least write an OS for existing PDAs or champion a linux distro
2. Build a ~ $500 PDA targeted at the education market.
The iBook is really overkill for k-12 and lacks the tablet features which are still very important to the elementary market. Apple needs to re-invent eBooks the way they did internet music with the iTMS.
I've been doing some teaching in high school the last few months and I think a smart PDA solution could really change things.
Like this...?
Movie
Movie small ...compressed ...small cut... ahem...Masterpiece !
Originally posted by nsousansousa
Like this...?
Movie small ...compressed ...small cut... ahem...Masterpiece !
Not quite, although I do think that PDA mockup has some interesting ideas if I understand it right. If the entire surface is a screen with some textural differences to cue the user into the location of the buttons/scroll dial that is pretty cool for extending the iPod's functionality a litte bit.
I'd love to see a cool mockup of a double screen PDA. I searched the web and there was some rumors of ibm coming out with a double screen PDA with some mention of solving ergonomic problems by incorporating a handle-like binder so that you could hold it easily and maybe house some of the bulkier parts or i/o ports.
I think the PDA is the way to go for the edu market. I just saw a blurb about apple selling iBooks in bulk at $600. I'd imagine they could do PDAs at $300 with all day battery life.
If Steve ok's a PDA it will be combined with a cell phone. He's practically shouted that he believed the two will converge, and I agree with him.
The problem with a cell phone PDA has always been text input. Inkwell/Graffiti is ok, but the Blackberry/Treo2 showed a keyboard is necessary to go mainstream.
Up here in Canada, Telus yesterday announced a phone with a Fastap keyboard. Steve passed on this tech when it was pitched to Apple first, but I still think it is the only way to get text input on a phone form factor reasonably.
I'd buy it, but unfortunately, LG phones aren't compatible with iSync.
Originally posted by Frank777
If Steve ok's a PDA it will be combined with a cell phone. He's practically shouted that he believed the two will converge, and I agree with him.
As do I, however, I think phoneless education market model would work.
The problem with a cell phone PDA has always been text input. Inkwell/Graffiti is ok, but the Blackberry/Treo2 showed a keyboard is necessary to go mainstream.
I see this as yet another opportunity for Apple to redefine the market. Palm showed us that people are willing to go through a learning curve with Graffiti. Seeing as how the PDA is held in one hand, why not implement a chording solution? With simple combinations of your fingers you can get 30 different characters. Taking advantage of the thumb's dexterity you can get much more, all the way up to 110 and over.
About the only thing standing in there way is the threat of lawsuits from repetitive stress injuries.
Also, I think Apple should be a little bit evil and patent the chording entry solution. If only they had patented the mouse.
i like that...
Originally posted by Nordstrodamus
...Also, I think Apple should be a little bit evil and patent the chording entry solution. If only they had patented the mouse.
The mouse was invented by Doug Engelbart back in the 1960's. Apple didn't even exist then. And chord keyboards are a standard feature of the old stenotype machines... they might even go back over a hundred years.
Originally posted by cubist
The mouse was invented by Doug Engelbart back in the 1960's. Apple didn't even exist then. And chord keyboards are a standard feature of the old stenotype machines... they might even go back over a hundred years.
Yes, I'm familiar with the mouses original Xerox origins, but someone should have patented it. If someone didn't then Apple should have. If someone did then Apple should have bought the patent.
As for chording, while chording goes way back, a specific one hand implementation of it on a PDA probably could be patented.