Coinflip.pkg v1.2 NEW VERSION: Now with greyscale coins! A simulated coin for deciding simple things. Two versions are included: one with all the options, one with the bare minimum. ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹Why use a Newton to do that? Well, as a Newton owner myself, I know that we almost always have a Newton around-- but we may not often have coins. ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹Installing There are two packages included. You can only have one at a time on your Newton, as they share the same name (although the package files have different names). Coinflip+.pkg has voice output, two types of coins, and greyscale pictures; Coinflip- has no voice and only the generic coin in B&W. You can install it using the Newton Connection Utility or another package installer (such as LunaTech Research's PDA Package Downloader). After installing on your Newton, click on its icon. You'll be presented with a picture of a coin, heads up for good luck. Coinflip places a small entry into your System soup. This is pretty standard practice, and nothing to worry about. If you delete Coinflip and want to reclaim that space, there are several good soup editors that can do that. The application may be placed on a card without problems. It works with OS 1.x and 2.0, on (at least) the MP100, MP120, and MP2100. ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹Using CoinFlip (The instructions below are mostly for Coinflip+. Coinflip- only has the "Sound on" and "Sound off" features in its menu.) Just tap on the coin. It'll flip, and you can read or hear the result. Simple, eh? The close box works as always. The application can be dragged to any part of the screen (the area between the options button and the close box is good for this). Initially, sound is set to "on," and voice output is set to "off." The button in the upper right corner will display a popup list that has a few options. If the sound is off, the application is completely silent. Voice on/off controls only the voice; if sound is set to "off" the voice will be silent as well. And lastly, selecting the coin type will switch between the Roman coin and a generic, token-like disc. (The facing will stay the same.) As far as I can tell, the flip is random. If you can prove otherwise, using something more sophisticated than a whole bunch of flips (I got to 120, with 54 heads and 66 tails, before I got tired), write to me. The voice is that of Cynthia Nguyen, age 5 and already a Newton user! She loves sketching, but most of all she loves erasing (for the "poof" sound). And she's smart enough to have discovered, all by herself, that the [X] means "go away" and that if you get a popup menu, tap somewhere else to make it disappear. Isn't that CUTE? Coinflip+ weighs in at 56K. Because that's a bit much, especially for MP100 users, its younger cousin Coinflip- is a more svelte 5K. If you have a Newton which is capable of displaying 16-level greyscale, the coin will display as such if you're using Coinflip+. ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹What kind of coin is that? Glad you asked. It's Roman, showing the head of Constantine II, who was Caesar around 337 AD. You can't see the text around the obverse, but it says "CONSTANTINUS NOB(lissimus) C(aesar);" the reverse has "CAESARUM NOSTRUM PTR," "to our Caesar." I'm no expert, but it looks like a well-made coin of the period; some of the others were as vague as a Nintendo Entertainment System sprite. I got it from a friend, Daryll Schweitzer, who's more renowned as an author than as a numismatist. If you'd like to have a coin like this for your very own, send me your USMail address and I'll pass it on to him. ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹Shareware fee [1] Send me eMail saying that you have completed [2] A ³random act of kindness.² This is defined (at least by Ye Author) as any act that makes someone's life a little better, someone who you don't know. About the simplest RAK I know would be to notice that a stranger's parking meter has expired, and to slip a coin into it before the Parking Gestapo gets to their car. You might also put a dent into Bill Gates' Lexus, but that's a bit more ambitious. Also more dangerous. Up to you. And say hello to Cindy while you're at it! ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹Distribution Coinflip may be distributed freely, as long as [1] this ReadMe file is included and [2] no fee is charged for its distribution. Online services which charge a reasonable hourly rate but do not charge for downloads may place it in their libraries. Distributors of CD-ROMs and other software libraries may include it if prior permission is given; write to the author for details. The author has also released, or will release, a number of other small but useful pieces of shareware and freeware. They're uploaded regularly to the usual sites. I can be reached at Saint John Morrison PO Box 7352 Philadelphia PA 19101 email web ftp ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹Copyrights Although Coinflip may be copied and distributed freely, I retain the copyright on it; it is © 1998 St. John Morrison. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple Logo and Newton are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. MessagePad is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.