NewtNews-135-01Apr97

====================



by Steve Holden <newtnews@pobox.com>.  This is a weekly freeware

newsletter that focuses on the Apple Newton and related technologies.

NewtNews Copyright 1994-97 Steve Holden.  All rights reserved.  See the

Administrivia at end for details and FAQ info.



This issue of NewtNews is sponsored in part by:



 + TeleType GPS and moving map for the Newton - Never get lost again -

   <http://www.teletype.com/gps/> - <TeleTypeGPS@teletype.com>



 + INFORMED FILLER FOR NEWTON - Custom Electronic Forms Integrated With

   Your Desktop - Shana Corp - <info@shana.com> - <http://www.shana.com>



 + PowerMedia presents 'Arcade Game Pack' - Birds With Lances, Rocks

   In Space, Frogs vs. Cars - US$29.95 - <http://www.powermedia.com/~pmi>



 + VITAMIN A MENU EDITOR - Stand Alone has released it's custom and caret

   menu editor and creator! - Demo at: <http://www.standalone.com/newton>



 + X-Port, KwikMenu, NewtPaint, Quicknames Pro, proCALC Ex - Newton 2.0

   solutions - <sales@landware.com> - <http://www.landware.com>



 + WinSlurp from Rare White Tiger Creations - Available via WWW at:

   <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/heringermr/winslurp.htm>.



 + PDA & HANDHELD DIRECT - Putting Technology in the Palm of Your Hand!

   800-279-4PDA 219-882-5228 [F]:219-845-0578 <http://www.pdadirect.com>



 + QuickFigure Pro v.3.1 - New version of the spreadsheet solution from

   PelicanWare! - <sales@pelicanware.com> - <http://www.pelicanware.com>



 + RidgeNet - ARA, SLIP, PPP access to the Internet from Ridgecrest, CA.

   <http://owens.ridgecrest.ca.us/RidgeNET/RidgeNETWelcome.html>





Table of Contents

-----------------



 1. Top News

 2. Comments from the Editor

 3. Information from Email

 4. Information from the Internet

 5. Top Weekly Magazine Stories Of Interest

 6. NewtNews Tips and Tricks You Can Use On Your Newton

 7. Other Related Technology

 8. Edupage, 24Mar97 thru 30Mar97

 9. INNOVATION, 17Mar97

10. Dear Newton Developer

11. Other Tidbits of Information

12. Advertising Notes

13. Product and Service Information

14. Guest Opinions

15. Administrivia





Top News

--------



[EDITOR: No April Fools in this issue.  Sorry for those that expected

something, but I've been way too busy to be creative. ;-)  If you are

looking for humor check out: <http://www.tidbits.com>.]



** MP2K IS OFFICIALLY SHIPPING **



Apple is now officially shipping the MessagePad 2000.  The MP2K offers

Internet access, send/receive email & fax, personal productivity

software, and at a fraction of a laptop's weight at 1.4 pounds.  The MP2K

also incorporates the 160-MHz StrongARM processor that performs up to 10

times faster, and can easily exchange information with Windows and Mac OS

desktop systems.  The MP2K also offers exceptional power management

features, two Type II PC Card slots, and a 100 dpi screen that offers 16

levels of gray along with backlighting.  Other features include sound

recording & play back, keyboard support & interface, and IrDA & LocalTalk

networking support.



** POCKETWEB V2.1 IS AVAILABLE **



Markus Lauff <markus@teco.uni-karlsruhe.de> reports that the latest

version of PocketWeb 2.1 is available via the URL listed below.  This

version uses NIE that uses a special PDA proxy that lets you display

pictures.  PocketWeb v2.1 is postcard-ware for non-commercial use.  To

learn more: <http://www.teco.uni-karlsruhe.de/pocketweb/>.



** ANNOUNCING NEWTON INTELLIGENCE **



David Bills <dfbills@syr.edu> and Raven Zachary <raven@rinzai.com> are

please to announce the opening of Newton Intelligence -- a Hotline server

for the Newton Community.  This is a place for Newton users to come

together to discuss issues, exchange information, access programs, and

take part in chat forums with Newton programmers and hopefully employees

at Apple.  Newton Intelligence will also mirror the AMUG Newton archives

and provide access to other programs and files not centrally available on

the Internet. Membership is free and instructions on getting an account

are available via email.  The Hotline Server is at:

<hotline://orion.syr.edu>, and you should be able to find out more

information via the following URL: <http://www.rinzai.com/ni/>.



Hotline is a new client/server technology for Internet and intranet

communications.  Currently, it supports file transfer, chat, and news.

Hotline currently is available for the Macintosh, and a future PC version

is planned.  For more information: <http://macline.fwparker.org>.



** UNIFEP FOR RUSSIAN ANNOUNCEMENT **



Richard Northcott <richard@enfour.com> reports that Enfour (Tokyo) and

Paragon Hi-Tech (Moscow) have announced the release of a Russian language

solution for the Newton called "UniFEP for Russian" -- a Unicode

implementation of the Cyrillic character set and a full localization.

Over 100O Newtons have been sold in Russia so far.  Sales of this new

solution are expected to reach 300 units per month.



To get access to this US$99 software for the MP120/130 check out the

following companies Kami New Technologies <http://www.kamiu.ru> and

MacCentre <http://www.maccentre.ru>.   Support for the MP2K and the eMate

300 is expected by May97.  You can also get more info via the following

sites: <http://www.enfour.com> and <http://paragon.mda.de>.



** EQUATE IS PURCHASED! **



Gary Amstutz <garya@walletware.com> has announced that his company,

WalletWare <http://www.walletware.com> and Balcones Software (developers

of the Newton database package called Leverage) have teamed up to

purchase Equate and Equate Connect (spreadsheet solution for the Newton)

from Holosoft <http://www.holosoft.com>.  WalletWare is the developer of

ExpensePlus for the Newton.



Equate offers "notepad-like data entry, spreadsheets of any size, and can

directly open & save Microsoft Excel files using the optional Equate

Connect software, which is currently available for Windows users."

WalletWare expects to deliver a version 2.0 of the Equate Connect for

Macintosh soon after the acquisition.





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  The New WriteRight Screen Enhancements protect your screen from

  scratches, reduce glare and improve your handwriting recognition by

  simulating the feel of writing on paper. WriteRights are available for

  all Newtons in packs of: 4-for $11.95, 8-for $18.95, and 12-for $24.95.

  Mention NewtNews and receive 10% off our 12-pack. For more info:

  415-929-1002 <Info@ConceptKitchen.com> <http://www.ConceptKitchen.com>

$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$



$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$

  QuickFigure Pro 3.1 - Spreadsheet for Newton 2.0 or better operating

  systems. Supports 255 x9999 cell worksheets, landscape mode, direct

  cell entry, worksheet linking, delayed recalc, and over 70 functions.

  Includes QF Exchange for Import/Export with Excel from Mac or Windows.

  From PelicanWare at $59.95+S&H (Upgrades $25+S&H). For more info:

  <info@pelicanware.com>. To order 800.655.6398 or visit resellers.

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Comments from the Editor

------------------------



** 70/30 ON THE MORE NEWTON FORMAT **



Email feedback last week was 70% in favor of my announced decision to

focus more attention on the Newton in NewtNews, and less on the 'other'

stuff.  I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.  I think that when

I do find 'other' information I will report on it.  Specifically, many

are interested in future wireless connectivity technology, Windows CE,

and PalmPilot developments.  But I will not unfortunately be able to

'search' out this information like I have in the past.  Sorry.



Some people continue to hound me on this issue.  It basically comes down

to two things: my own personal interest, and the complete lack of

interest by PalmPilot, Macintosh, and Windows CE developers to advertise

in NewtNews.



** WHERE IS THE NEWTON TEXT-TO-SPEECH UTILITY? **



Many of the new MP2K owners are wondering where Apple's text-to-speech

utility is?!?  Apple showed this utility at the Developer's Conference

back in Nov96, and also at MacWorld SF in Jan97.  The presentations made

it seem like this was going to be a 'released' utility.



Word on the street is that folks in the Newton System Group would like to

release it but hasn't been Quality & Assurance (Q&A) tested, so it can't

be officially released.  It also appears that the product came out of

Apple's Developer Technical Support (DTS) which apparently complicates

things a lot.



** CORRECTIONS **



NewtNews incorrectly listed David Pompea <74736.172@CompuServe.COM>

NewtDb as a product created by Peter Mitchell Software (PMS) in the last

issue.  We are sorry for the confusion, and any problems associated with

this mistake.  David is the author of NewtDb, and PMS has nothing to do

with NewtDb.  BTW, David reports that he just released v1.24 of NewtDb

which has a couple of new features and tweeks.  For more information send

David email at the address listed above.



NewtNews also incorrectly listed Albert Zeeman's email address in his

review information about the recent CEBIT conference.  The correct

address is: <zeeman@worldonline.nl> no the CompuServe address listed.



** NEWTON BEING USED A VERTICAL SOLUTION AT TGIF?!? **



Akin O. <akino@ee.net> reported on comp.sys.newton.misc that his local

TGI Friday's in Columbus, Ohio is reportedly working on a Newton based

solution that uses 7 or 8 MP2Ks in the restaurant.  [EDITOR: If anyone

knows more information about this project please let me know.  Thanks!]



** QUICK MP2K THOUGHTS **



So far so good.  The MP2K is one 'excellent' Newton.  It is fast, and the

word processor is just what I needed.  Most of NewtNews was edited and

written on the MP2K, and it worked much better than I expected.  I still

need to explore the Internet connectivity and test out more of the 3rd

Party solutions that are cropping up like wild fires.  Expect more stuff

during next weeks Supplement.





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        GET AMIGO NOW! Did you know you can order AMIGO the premier

        8000+ word English/Spanish Dictionary Reference Tool and

        Translation program for the Newton over the World Wide Web

        at: <http://www.1stopsoft.com>?  AMIGO is available for

        US$24.95 and it comes with a full year of upgrades. For more

        information contact ACCSYS by email at: <rkaplan@well.com>

$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$



$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$

  TeleType GPS is software for the Newton which displays your location

  while driving or flying. The software includes a moving map which shows

  you where you are in relation to cities and towns. It is controlled by

  the Garmin 30 TracPack, a powerful yet small Global Positioning System

  (GPS) antenna.  Never get lost again. Email: <TeleTypeGPS@teletype.com>

  or WWW to: <http://www.teletype.com/gps/> for more information.

$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$





Information from Email

----------------------



** NEW LIFE BALANCE RELEASED **



Llamagraphics has announced version 1.1 of Life Balance, the "smart To-Do

list for the Newton that responds to changing situations and priorities."

This version is also completely compatible with the new MP2K and the

eMate 300, and will be a free update for current customers.  This version

also contains a host of new customer suggested new features and several

bug fixes.  The retail price for Life Balance is US$69.95 and can be

ordered directly by calling: 800.505.6198.  You can get more information

by checking out the following site: <http://www.Llamagraphics.com/> or by

sending email to: <LLAMAGFX@aol.com>.



** WRITESTUFF FOR NEWTWORKS SHIPS! **



LandWare Sales <sales@landware.com> has announced the writeStuff toolset

for NewtWorks that enables:



    - Stylesheets: Fast and flexible document

      formatting with user definable style sheets.

    - ScribeWorks: Handwriting recognition within

      NewtWorks.

    - proPoint 2.0: Powerful caret popup menu that

      supports styles, glossaries and more.

    - WordCount: Quickly calculate document

      statistics.

    - Tabulator: Convert spaces to tabs and visa

      versa.

    - CharPicker: Quickly insert any character using

      this fast popup palette.



The writeStuff toolset has a suggested retail price of $29.95, and for a

limited time can be purchased with Landware's merlin/WordSleuth (spell

checker/thesaurus) for $49.95.   For more information check out:

<http://www.landware.com>.



** MORE GOOD INDUSTRY PRESS NEWTON OPINIONS **



Jeff Pittelkau <acidtest@macuser.com> has a Newton mention in his 28Mar97

edition of his "The ACID TEST" column posted to the WWW at:

<http://www.zdnet.com/macuser/onlinecol/pittelkau2.html>.  The title of

the article is "Newton: Apple's Golden Egg" and has some very good

comments ("rocks") about his experience using the MP2K.  Jeff does note

that Windows CE brings a "healthy does of competition" that will very

soon be expanded beyond handhelds to cellular phones and set-top boxes.

This threat is something Apple can't let get past them.  The two things,

according to Jeff, Apple needs to bring Java and the QuickTime Media

Layer to the Newton OS to make it much better and give it long life.



** OFFICIAL RELEASE OF WINDOWS NTK **



Apple is now shipping their Windows 3.1/95/NT savvy version of their

object-oriented development tool called Newton Toolkit (NTK).  This

version will let Windows programmers build Newton 0S based solutions.

Platform requirements include 486DX processor or better, CDROM, 8MB RAM

for Win3.1 users, 16MB RAM for Win95/WinNT users.  The retail price is

expected to be US$150.  To order check out the following site at:

<http://www.devcatalog.apple.com>, you can also check out the press

release featured at the top of Apple's World Wide Web site at:

<http://www.apple.com>.



It should be noted that the press release for this announcement included

quotes from AllPen Software's Wayne Yurtin, Physix's Dr. Tom Giannulli,

and Monsanto Corporation's Jeff McKune.



** SPEECH RECOGNITION MOVES TO NEWTON **



Dragon Systems <http://www.dragonsys.com> has announced that they have

developed and ported their "high performance speech recognition software"

to Apple's new Digital StrongARM-based MessagePad 2000.   This solution

is "well-suited to many restricted vocabulary tasks, it features

continuous digit string recognition in a variety of modes found in high

volume applications." Some ideal usages of this technology include:



    - Voice dialing phone numbers

    - Ordering item quantities, weights, and part numbers

    - Specifying zip codes for sorting

    - Recording meter readings and mileage records

    - Reporting quality control measures

    - Reading Universal Product Codes (UPCs)

    - Command/control of Network Computers (NCs)

    - Changing channels on TV set-top boxes



Pricing information and availability were not announced.  For more

information about DEC's StrongARM processor check out the following WWW

site: <http://www.digital.com/semiconductor>.  You can also check out

the press release posted to the NewtUser WWW site at the following URL:

<http://www.newtuser.com/news/dragon/970326news-dragon.shtml>.



** ONE DEVELOPERS OPINION ON SPEECH RECOGNITION **



John Schettino <schettino@writeme.com> reported on comp.sys.newton.misc

that on a standard MP2K the speech recognition software by Dragon Systems

should support a 50 word vocabulary that would also be tuned to number

recognition.  This should be very 'usable' on a Newton for many things.

The key is picking the correct 50 words. John envisions something like

"Newton, Assist, Meeting, 4pm Wednesday." or  even better "Newton, record

note."



** MP2K MENTIONED IN TECH REVIEW **



Business Marketing published on 01Mar97 has a Newton mention in an

articled written by Marshal Rosenthal entitled "TECH TOOLS: The Newest

Portable Options."  As the title implies, this is a technology review

article that quickly looks at the following products:  Motorola's two-way

pager the Tango; Sharp's Zaurus 5800FX; U.S. Robotics' PalmPilot; Apple's

MessagePad 2000; Compaq's Windows CE savvy PC Companion; and Nokia's 9000

Communicator. The article highlights the MP2000 Internet capabilities but

does note in a 'slightly negative way' the size (weight) and price.



** NEWTON NON-FILE SYSTEM GETS RESPECT **



Brian Hayes <Hayes@amsci.org> has a Newton mention in an article called

"Reinventing the computer" published on 11Jan97 in American Scientist.

The article is an indepth look at the history and the 'future' of

computer science with major topics being covered like: OS religious wars

even though the basic hardware design is very much standard; the growing

trend of being "Lost in the Files" and how to manage them; what

technology exists for "Filelessness"; moving from programming to

"Deprogramming" (OpenDoc, ActiveX, JavaBeans); and finally Brian shares

his thoughts on the 'computer appliance' as a commodity.



The "Filelessness" section has the Newton mention -- Apple's PDA "uses a

persistent-object system where data objects live in soups."  Documents on

a Newton are 'filed' anyway you want and are accessed by directed or free

searches.  Soups are "equally accessible at all times."  The article also

mentions, and goes into a short review of the Unix/Newton application

called 'Lifestreams' created by Eric Freeman and David Gelernter.



** NEWTON HWR GETS HISTORY LESSON **



John Jerney <jerney@volksware.com> has a Newton focus article in the

'Report from Silicon Valley' section of the Daily Yomiuri (25Mar97)

entitled "Russians are coming ... to Sili".  The article looks at the

Apple, the Newton, and the Russian engineers that worked on the

handwriting engine used in the recently released Apple MessagePad 2000

and eMate 300. The article does a great job of point out many of the

strengths of these units: StrongARM processor; market focus; and

innovative hardware design.  The article then goes into indepth review

with Q&A with Stepan Pachikov the entrepreneur who started ParaGraph

International in 1988 which was then the Soviet Union.  The focus of this

part of the article is on the history of ParaGraph and what role they

played in getting HWR into the Newton.



[EDITOR: John Jerney is editor of mobilis, a monthly Web magazine about

mobile computing and communications.  You can check it out via the

following URL: <http://www.volksware.com/mobilis>.]



** NEWTON BOOK OF 'THE SECRET AGENT' **



Looking for something to read on your new Newton MP2000?  Check out the

freeware Newton books of 'The Secret Agent' by Joseph Conrad at

<http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/9987>.  This book is

referred to in Tom Clancys latest Op-Center novel --  Acts of War --

on page 27 as "one of the first great espionage tales."



Created as three LANDSCAPE Newton books only for the MP2000, they

demonstrate the capabilities of the Newton's built-in book reader

software and, unlike most other Newton books, use the entire screen of

the MP2000.  Each of the three Newton books are about 400K in size.  Book

one contains chapters 1 to 5, book two has chapters 6 through 9, and book

three finishes with chapters 10 to 13.



These books are from Rare White Tiger Creations and these landscape

Newton books are only for MP2000.  They were built from using Steve

Weyer's Newt's Cape.  More information on Newt'sCape can be found via the

following URL: <http://www.netaxs.com/~weyer/Newton/newtscape.html>.  For

more information about Rare White Tiger Creations send an email message

to: <Rare.white.tiger.creations@pobox.com>.



** MP2K SHIPPING NEWS **



Bob Lafleur <lafleur@csdg.com> reports that Cyberian Outpost is also

advertising for the MP2K and has a pretty good collection of PDA stuff

via this URL: <http://www.cybout.com/cgi-bin/plist6?platform=PDA>.



Martin Bax <mbax@dial.pipex.com> reports that he has gotten his MP2K from

Teleadapt in the United Kingdom for UK$699 + VAT + S&H.



Bruce Modell <BRUCMOD@cdw.com> reports that there are three different

SKU's for the MP2K --

    - MessagePad 2000 with Newton Keyboard [8MB ROM,

      5MB RAM (1MB of DRAM, 4MB of Flash RAM)], Order

      No. H0225LL/A   EDC 83061

    - MessagePad 2000 [8MB ROM, 5MB RAM (1MB of DRAM,

      4MB of Flash RAM)], Order No. H0136Z/A  NO EDC

    - MessagePad 2000 same as H0136Z/A without

      spreadsheet [8MB ROM, 5MB RAM (1MB of DRAM, 4MB of

      Flash RAM)], Order No. H0226LL/A  EDC 83316

CDW continues to take orders for the MP2K via: 800.400.4239 ext 8219.



Best deal on the MP2K?  Joe Svatek <jspace@ix.netcom.com> and others in

the Houston area probably got the best deal (and most likely at the

expense of some sort of mistake) on a MP2K.  The Houston store called

"MicroCenter" sold MP2Ks for US$839 last week.  The deal apparently

doesn't exist anymore.



Chris Parker <chrisp2@clubpda.com> has posted ClubPDA and ClubMac MP2K

availability details information to the following Web site at:

<http://www.pacbus.com/ClubPDAHome/PDAResourcesFolder/PDARMP2K.html>.



** WHO WROTE THE MP2K EMAIL PACKAGE?!? **



If you want to contact the authors of EnRoute, which is bundled on the

new MP2Ks, then you want -- NetStrategy -- and you can get more info from

the following site at: <http://www.netstrat.com> or send an email message

to: <support@netstrat.com>.



Celso Maiolo <celso@netcom.ca> did report last week that Netstrategy was

experiencing ISP and DNS woes, so access to their site might be flaky. If

you absolutely need to get contact Netstrategy about Enroute or other

issues send Celso email to the address listed above.



** MORE SPECIAL NEWTON DEALS **



Cafe PDA <cafepda@aol.com> circulated a USENET newspost on the group

comp.sys.newton.misc that offered a host of Newton deals including

special pricing on: MP130, 2-MB card, 4-MB card, 10-MB card, Apple

Leather Case, NewtBoot Case, Calise Executive Leather Case, Newton

Holster (belt loop version), and Newton Holster (clip on version).  For

more information: <http://home.earthlink.net/~cafepda/> .



** QUICK SUMMARY OF NEWTON UPDATES **



Sanjay Vakil <help@scrawlsoft.com> reports that Scrawl Software has

posted a minor updated to their terminal emulation and telnet solution

called PT100 -- version 0.971b.   For more information check out the

following site: <http://www.scrawlsoft.com>.



Serg Koren <archimag@netaxs.com> has posted Newt'sWeather 03/23/97-1

release.  This version ads weather information support for specific

locations in Canada.  To learn more check out the Newt'sWeather site at:

<http://www.netaxs.com/~archimag/Newton/MyStuff/NewtsWeather.html>.  You

can also get more information about a special deal going on for

Newt'sPaper (Serg's USENET newsreader for the Newton) via the following

URL: <http://www.netaxs.com/~archimag/Newton/MyStuff/NP/Sale.html>.



Tom Unkefer <nomadict@ix.netcom.com> reminds NewtNews readers that you

can check out their N*Project software via the following URL:

<http://www.nomadict.com>.  The software is still in Beta form though,

but many folks have mentioned on comp.sys.newton.misc that the software

is very usable and relatively problem free.



** MORE MODEM INFORMATION **



Jim Bailey <jdb@shore.net> has posted details including modem setups he

personally wrote on getting a Motorola Montana 28.8 PC-Card modem to work

with Newton devices via: <http://www.tiac.net/users/jdb/index.html#MT1>.

You can also get more information via the official Motorola site at:

<http://www.mot.com/MIMS/ISG/Products/montana/software.html>



John Schettino <schettino@writeme.com> reports that you can find some

detailed modem power requirement data posted to the following URL:

<http://members.aol.com/pdcchrisd/addpcm.htm>.



You can also check out Apple's Newton Modem compatibility list via this

URL: <http://devworld.apple.com/dev/newton/commsoln/modsetup.html>.



** E&B IS LOOKING FOR MP2K NEWTON GLOVE INPUT **



Marton Carungay <martonc@macconnect.com> reports that E&B Cases has plans

to release a 'nice deluxe leather case' for the MP2K but is also

interested in learning if folks would like a MP2K product like the old

PalmTree Newton Glove.  If you are interested in a MP2K Newton Glove that

offers a 'play-through bodysuit' then send a 'nice email message' to:

Julie at E&B Cases via: <julie@ebcases.com>.





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$ NS BASIC  $ The latest implementation of this cool programming tool has an

$   3.6     $ easy to use graphic screen layout function, plus indexed file

$   with    $ communications, graphics and more!  Program directly on Newton

$  Visual   $ or with a PC or Mac.  Create packages in the Extras drawer and

$ Designer! $ much more. 260 pg handbook. Cost is $99+5 S&H for all Newtons.

$           $ <info@nsbasic.com>,  <http://www.nsbasic.com>,  416.264.5999

$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$



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  PDA and Handheld Direct - MP2000 Coming March 21st

   - Apple MessagePad 2000 Standard Model only $949.00 Product (#22005)

   - Apple MessagePad 2000 Business Bundle only $1099.00 Product #22008

   - Apple Message Pad 130 w/ Newton 2.0 OS $655.00

   - Type II PCMCIA Flash Memory for all Apple MPs - Mfg Lifetime Guarantee

     4MB $128 (41070) 8MB $224 (41073) 10MB $274 (41074) 16MB $424 (41077)

   - Revelar Connection Utilities for Win $49.95 #10070 Mac $49.95 #10071

   - Newton Keyboard only $69.00

  To receive special pricing please mention source code #158

  To order call 800-279-4732 or 219-882-5228 or fax 219-845-0578

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Information from the Internet

-----------------------------



** MICHIGAN STATE NEWTON USERS GROUP (MSNUG) **



Douglas Luckie <luckie@pilot.msu.edu> has announced a new Newton User

Group (NUG) called the Michigan State Newton User Group (MSNUG). The

meetings will be held on the 2n Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at at

Beaner's Coffeehouse near Michigan State University.   For more

information send Douglas email.  Or check out the following Web site at:

<http://pilot.msu.edu/~luckie/msnug.htm>.



** EXPANDED NEWTON INTERNET COVERAGE **



Michael Lambert <MichaelLambert@webintosh.com> has announced a new WWW

site called Webintosh <http://www.webintosh.com> (main focus will be on

Macintosh and PowerBook Internet product) that will include Newton

Internet product coverage by Dan Hughes (the 'man behind the Cyberdog

Pound Web site').



** ANOTHER GPS SOLUTION FOR THE NEWTON **



Jeff Bailey <jeff@ria.com.au> reports a new update to the 'very

successful' MapPad GIS for Newton that offers 'precision DGPS mapping

system as well as MapPad for Car Navigation.'  For more information

please check out: <http://www.ria.com.au>.



** MORGAN - THE NEWTON MEDIA ORGANIZER **



Hardy Macia <hardy@catamount.com> has decided to name his media

cataloging solution formerly known as Mediabox to MORGAN - the Newton

Media ORGANizer.  Hardy's beta testers are also testing version 1.0b1.

This version will work with Revelar Connection Utilities for Mac OS and

Windows, and there will be no more changes to the data structure so those

beta testers can be insured that current data entered will be 'safe'.



** SOME RUMORS **



Ron <ST8SALE@aol.com> reports that the O'Grady PowerBook Web page:

<http://www.ogrady.com> has news of an "accordion" style Newton keyboard

(a lot like the IBM Thinkpad) being developed by Kazuo Kawasaki. Its

called the "Sweetpea" and is a project from NewtonShop in Japan.  For

more information check out this Japanese Web site sited by O'Grady as a

source: <http://www.cyborg.or.jp/~iinuma/html/ACKeyboard.html>.



** NEWTON SMARTCARD SYSTEMS CHALLENGE **



Guy Kawasaki's MacWay listserver recently posted the following message

from Rafael Quezada <abacus@gte.net>:



    Recent news that a European Smart Card venture is

    using the Apple Newton MessagePad 2000 as a

    portable Internet-access and cash-transaction

    device; has created an interest to duplicate the

    program here in the USA.  Using Newton in

    conjunction with Mondex (SmartCard) wallets to

    facilitate shopping and banking protocols and

    allow electronic purses to operate over fixed and

    mobile networks, the program makes it possible for

    internet content providers to sell snippets of

    information, stock-quotes, movie and sporting

    event tickets, and countless other products.  The

    new Millicent by Digital Electronics Corporation

    makes it possible to buy and sell in increments as

    small as 1/10 of one cent American.



    Is there any reason that the Europeans should be

    ahead of us in this capability?  Parties

    interested in responding to the challenge should

    contact Rafael Quezada at Abacus Digital Card

    Systems 310.441.0772 or by email at:

    <abacus@gte.net>.



** NEWTON DEVELOPERS WANTED FOR WIRELESS DRIVER SOLUTION **



Guy Kawasaki's MacWay listserver also recently posted the following

message from Bruce Sanguinetti <bruce@breezecom.com>:



    BreezeCOM has recently released a NEW Wireless LAN

    PC Card.  The range and data throughput of which

    sets a new standard of performance for the

    wireless LAN industry.



    Since the card's release, 100's of requests from

    both Macintosh Powerbook and Apple Newton owners

    have been received, wanting to use this card.



    BreezeCOM is requesting developers interested in

    writing drivers for this card to reply to this

    email.  It is most important that with your reply

    you indicate your level of experience, and if

    references will be available to contact should you

    become a candidate.



** LOOKING FOR MORE RECENT NEWTON NEWS?!? **



Brian Park <bpark@ece.uci.edu> reports that you can get more info by

searching on "Apple" at: <http://www.infoseek.com:>.



There have been Newton ads published in the following magazines lately:

Wall Street Journal (NYC, Chicago editions for sure), and USA Today.  You

can see the ad mentioned above by checking out the following site:

<http://www.newton.apple.com/newton/productinfo/mp2000/mp2000_intro_ad.html>.



Lee Spivack <lspivack@parablecorp.com> reports that the latest copy of US

magazine with Jennifer Aniston on the cover has an article that covers

various portable computers including a 'really good' picture of the eMate

300.



Bryan Oakley <oakley@healthcare.com> posted a pointer the to the article:

<http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayTC.pl?/970324comp.htm#pen>.

There is also information posted to the following Inforworld URL at:

<http://www.infoworld.com/threads/get.cgi?18039>.



Bob Strenger <bloby@skypoint.com> has created a new MessagePad 2000

specific web site at: <http://www.skypoint.com/~bloby/newton>.



David MacNeill <dmacneill@pencomputing.com> reports that he has posted

several of his Newton Notes columns that are run in Pen Magazine in Adobe

Acrobat PDF format and a review of the eMate 300 via the following URL:

<http://www.pencomputing.com/PCM_14/content.html>.



Rik Ahlberg <rik@newtuser.com> has posted his review of the MessagePad

2000 as the top cover story at NewtUser: <http://www.newtuser.com>.



Jesse Garnier <jgarnier@stonehopper.com> reports seeing a 'lukewarm

review of the MP2K" in the Apr97 edition of Windows Magazine.  The

article was critical about the Newton's HWR abilities and the 'high

price.'



F. Todd Wilson <wilson3@fas.harvard.edu> reports a MP2K Newton mention

recently via: <http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CRN19960325S0085>.



The San Francisco Chronicle (SFC) ran a small blurb heralding the release

of Apple's MessagePad 2000 in an article entitled "Apple's David for

Industry's Goliath" published on 22Mar97.



** MORE ON NEWTON USED BY USMC **



F. L. Beaver <fbeaver@hiwaay.net> reports the publication of another

'Hunter Warrior' article by David Wood in his local pager called

Newhouse News Service.  The article shows a picture of an American Marine

writing some information on a MP130 about an enemy vehicle.  Plugged into

the Newton is a GPS receiver "which automatically records his precise

location".  Here's the kicker - the Newton is wrapped in a camouflage

glove-like case!  Here's an excerpt:



    "MOJAVE DESSERT, CALIFORNIA



    "Isolated a hundred miles deep in enemy

     territory, Sgt. David Burns and his five-man

     Marine squad are burrowed into the rock of a

     barren mountain peak . ... In his mountaintop

     lair, Burns whispers the numbers and types of

     targets to Lance Cpl. Jomoore Toney, lying beside

     him.  Toney taps the data into a handheld

     computer, an off-the-shelf but reprogrammed Apple

     'Newton' Messagepad 130.  A button transmits it in

     a digital burst to a remote fire control center.

     There, a commander may decide to strike the

     targets with artillery fire from 20 miles away,

     air strikes from jets flying off a carrier at sea,

     or a missile shot from even farther away."



** NEWTON OS 2.1 EASTER EGGS **



David Bills <dfbills@syr.edu> reports that there are two easter-egg games

available in the ROM of the MP2K: Poker and Patience.  All that you

needed to access them is to download the following file available in PC

or Mac format down to your Newton.  For more information check out:

<http://www.easter-eggs.com/downloads/Easter_Eggs.sit>



** ENABLING HWR IN WORD PROCESSOR **



Ben Gottlieb <gottlb@interaccess.com> reports that Stand Alone Software

has posted an updated version of their freeware extension called HWRWorks

that enables HWR in the NewtWorks word processor via the following site:

<http://www.standalone.com/newton>.



** STATUS OF CHAT FOR NEWTON **



Rob Bruce <rbruce@tactile.com> reported recently on the newsgroup

comp.sys.newton.misc that Tactile is putting the finishing touches

on their 'ChatBuddy' Newton application that will enable IRC client

participation.  If you are interested in 'stress testing' (serious beta

testers only) then send Rob email at the address listed above.



** MP2K CAR MOUNTING KIT?!? **



Looking for a car mounting kit for your MP2K?  David MacNeill at Pen

Computing <dmacneill@pencomputing.com> suggests you check out the

offerings from Hi-Rizer via: <http://www.hi-rizer.com>.  You can also get

more information by calling: 209.745.0567.



** OTHER SITES WORTHY OF A BROWSE **



    - Knowledge [newsletter]: <http://www.knowledge.com>

    - Rach's The Legtop Podeum [mobile]: <http://www.podeum.com>

    - Microtek [scanners]: <http://www.microtek.com>





$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$

   WinSlurp! - Rare White Tiger Creations provides Newton Book publishing

   services and is NOW offering WinSlurp. A windows front-end to Slurpee

   which supports transferring notes back and forth between the Newton

   notepad and the PC desktop.  Available for downloading from this URL:

   <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/heringermr/winslurp.htm>.

$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$



$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$

   PowerMedia is your source for all the latest cutting edge Newton apps:

     + Super NotePad: Quick access arrows, encryption, tags, filters, etc.

     + DateMan 3.0: Complete agenda and contact management.

     + Stationary Construction Kit: Build your very own custom stationary.

   Commercially available at your favorite Newton retailer.  Or check out

   online demos via the following site: <http://www.powermedia.com/~pmi>.

$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$





Top Weekly Magazine Stories Of Interest

---------------------------------------



[EDITOR: This is a collection of articles of potential interest to

NewtNews readers from the leading technology print magazines.]



** MAJOR HANDHELD REVIEW - MP2K GETS PICTURE ON COVER **



InfoWorld devotes their 24Mar97 issue's "Comparison" section to "Handy

Handhelds Hang on" that starts on page one, and is continued on page 86.

A small picture of the MP2K and keyboard is shown on the cover.



The front page though doesn't mention the Newton or MP2K but is a Windows

CE 'love fest' that has 'inspired vendors' and is 'extremely useful and

versatile for mobile users but also easy for IS departments."



This article is very long and detailed (some details are right others are

wrong) and was written by John Broderick, and Anne Kaliczak.  The

reviewed handhelds with their score were: Casio Cassiopeia (7.7), NEC

MobilePro 400 (7.3), Apple MessagePad 2000 (6.7), Sharp Zaurus 5800FX

(4.1), and Casio Z-7000 (3.5).



The listed Newton pros: great handwriting recognition, easy email setup

and Internet access, and large, clear screen. The cons: a bit bulky and

heavy, relatively formidable learning curve, and expensive.



The article also has tangent articles on: Digital Ocean's Seahorse; Nokia

9000 Communicator; Wireless Service Buyer's Guide; AT&T PocketNet;

Philips Velo1; PalmPilot; and a 'Head to Head' examination of the

subnotebooks - IBM ThinkPad 560 vs. Compaq Armada 4130T.



** SUPPORT ISSUES FOR HANDHELDS **



Mark Moore has a front page article entitled "Handheld PCs Cause Support

Conundrum" in the 24Mar97 edition of PC Week.   As these HPCs come into

organizations via the side door, IS managers are now trying to figure out

how to support them.  As far as Windows CE goes -- in the future --

expect enterprise management tools from Compaq and HP.  The article

points out that with Symantec's pcAnywhere CE, a system administrator can

get access to their main systems from remote locations using a Windows CE

device. The article is continued on page 18. [EDITOR: No Newton mentions

in this article, but the article ends with news about the new PalmPilot

devices.]



In related news, John Dodge has his opinions on where 'HPCs' have been

and are going in an article entitled "Handhelds still walk the Valley of

Darkness" on page 3 of PC Week published on 24Mar97.  If you have a

handheld PC strategy send John email at: <john_dodge@zd.com>.



** MORE NEWTON ADS SPOTTED **



Apple ran their "We're back -- a reason to celebrate" in the following

magazines last week: MacWeek, InfoWorld, PC Week, and Computer Reseller

News. The ads show off the new: PowerBook 3400, Power Macintosh 9600, the

20th Anniversary Macintosh, eMate 300, MessagePad 2000, and QuickTake 200.



** OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST **



    - "Wireless Communication Services (WCS) Major

       Economic Areas (MEAs) -- Where are they?" on page

       44F of InfoWorld published on 24Mar97

    - "Reseller Takes on Wireless Outsourcing" by Mark

       Moore, PC Week, 24Mar97, page 10

    - "Smart Cards Move to Head of Class: [case study]

       Florida State University embraces technology;

       spawns separate business to sell services" by

       Scott Berinato, PC Week, 24Mar97, page 22

    - "New Wireless Handsets Meld Data Services" by

       Mark Moore, PC Week, 24Mar97, page 33 [Examines:

       Siemens' SMS g1250, and Nokia's 9000 Communicator]

    - "Apple-IBM subnotebook due to hit U.S. in

       summer" by John Poultney, MacWeek, 24Mar97, page 1



** WEB POINTERS **



    - Web Week: <http://www.webweek.com>

    - MacWeek: <http://www.macweek.com>

    - InfoWorld: <http://www.infoworld.com>

    - Computer Reseller News: <http://www.crn.com>

    - PC Week: <http://www.pcweek.com>





$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$

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  references like Lexi-Comp Drug Handbook, 5 Min. Clin Consult, Archimedes

  Programmable Calculator, etc.  KJV Bible, Ole spanish translator & more,

  all working with our renowned ART engine. See ART make a big splash at

  <http://www.skyscape.com/k2> or <http://www.1stopsoft.com> for info/sales.

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$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$





NewtNews Tips and Tricks You Can Use On Your Newton

---------------------------------------------------



** INTRODUCTION **



By Roger Coleman <Roger_Coleman@compuserve.com>



"The instant guide to becoming a Newt Guru"



This is a new column for NewtNews. I am going to search for new and

interesting tips and tricks to help NewtNews readers out.  If you have a

tip for this column, email it to me <Roger_Coleman@compuserve.com> with

"NewtNews-Tip" in the subject field. I am sure to run out of tips before

long, so please pass on those nuggets of knowledge to keep this column

going!  Thanks!



** NEWT-TIP#3: EASY MOVING MEETINGS, TO-DOS AND EVENTS **



Here is a summary of the neat things I have discovered about dragging

items in 'dates':



    You can drag any meeting, to-do task or scheduled

    event onto the side or top of the screen where it

    will 'stick' into the clipboard.  If you drag the

    picture button, you don't have to wait for a

    squeak or select any text (a big plus). You can

    then change the day or view and drag it out again.

    This is particularly handy if you want to move a

    meeting to a time that isn't on the screen. (I

    don't understand why the screen doesn't scroll

    when you drag something off the bottom!).



    You can change to-do tasks into meetings by

    dragging the task to the side of the screen to put

    it into the clipboard, changing to the 'day' or

    'week' view and dragging it out again onto the

    required time. (This is handy if you need to set

    an alarm to remind you to do something at a

    certain time) You can change meetings into to-do

    tasks in the same way.



    Once an item is in the clipboard, you can tap -

    drag it out to duplicate it. This is a handy way

    of setting an alarm to repeat during a day without

    having to use the 'snooze' function.



    You can change meetings into events by dragging

    the meeting into the events part of the screen and

    vice versa.



    None of this works in the 'Days Agenda' view,

    however!



** BONUS -- NEW MP2K TIPS **



Flash Sheridan <FlaSheridn@pobox.com> reports that you can get a list of

available key commands when in a Newton application by holding the

command key down for a couple of seconds.



Jude Mansilla <jude@aol2.com> reports that to change the buttons on the

silk screen toolbar, simply choose "Extras" and from there "drag and

drop" which icons you wish to remove/add from the toolbar.



*** TIPS WANTED! ***



Email your tips, tricks and neat ideas to Roger Coleman at this address:

<Roger_Coleman@compuserve.com>.  Full credit and glory given to those

that summit ideas!





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$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$





Other Related Technology

------------------------



[EDITOR: News collected via snail mail, major publications, USENET

newsgroups, email, and the WWW.  For more information about Farcast check

out: <http://www.farcast.com> and for more information about iNews use:

<http://www.individual.com>.]



** WIRELESS **



A consortium lead by Daewoo Telecom has announced that they have awarded

Motorola with a US$180 million contract to provide CDMA equipment and

services. [iNews]



** MOBILE **



Thomas Diessel <diessel@bms.de> reports that those folks interested in

more info about the recently announce Motorola GSM/DCS1800 mobile phone

can find our more via: <http://www.eplus.de/technik/handys/travel.htm>.



Paul Gilna <pgil@lanl.gov> suggests that those interested in learning

more about Nokia's new voice/data/sms/paging PC Card that supports

GSM check out: <http://www.club.nokia.com/mobile_office/phone/index.html>.

The card current is only designed for use on non-USA GSM systems, but

a USA savvy card is expected considering the growing number of GSM

systems going online in the USA.



Mobile Computing & Communications magazine has awarded Motorola's

PageWriter two-way pater with their 1997 Mobility Award for technological

innovation and excellence. [iNews]



The Arthritis Foundation recently awarded Communication Intelligence

Corporation its prestigious "Ease-of-Use" Seal of Commendation to the

CIC's Handwriter -- an ergonomic editing tool that reduces the use of a

computer keyboard and mouse by allowing users to edit computer documents

with a pen. [iNews]



** PILOT **



Jeff Jetton <yanek@pilotmail.net> has posted two HackMaster extensions to

the following site: <http://www.mindspring.com/~jetton/pilot/>.  These

require Daggerware's HackMaster, a shareware Pilot application:

    - HushHack: disables the sound during any serial

      port operation.

    - BackHack: is a "prank" extension that does

      something very odd (but harmless) to your Pilot.

      Put it on your own Pilot, or, for maximum fun, try

      to sneak it onto someone else's.



PilotMail Online is now accepting new customers.  To learn more check

out: <http://www.pilotmail.net/> or call: 888.44PILOT, or 954.321.5660.

You can also get more info by sending an email message to Yanek Martinson

at SatelNet Communications  <yanek@martinson.com>.



Steven Shmerler <shmerls@earthlink.net> reported on comp.sys.palmtops

that the tech support folks handling the upgrades for older Pilots to the

new PalmPilot units are confused about whether or not future versions of

the Mac Pilot Sync software is going to support the new PalmPilot OS

features like email.  Steven was told that this kind of support was not

going to happen, but others on comp.sys.palmtops have reportedly received

news that the Mac Pilot Sync software will support the new PalmPilot OS

features.  If you have comments about this situation send email to:

<comments@palm.usr.com> and if you have support issues send email to:

<support@palm.usr.com> with 4 zeros in the subject box.



Yeechang Lee <ylee@columbia.edu> reports that Yahoo has recently revamped

their PalmPilot reference pages.  For more info check out the following

URL: <http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Hardware/PDAs/Pilot/>.



** WINDOWS CE **



John Schettino <schettino@writeme.com> reports great success using an

U.S. Robotics' AllPoints Wireless Card with email messaging service from

ZapIt <http://www.dtswireless.com> on a Windows CE device.  John expects

to see an average monthly cost depending on usage of US$20-80.



John also recently reported the following news on comp.sys.newton.misc

that was originally posted to a Windows CE mailing list.  According to

sources on the mailing list Casio as of mid-Mar97 (basically 5 months)

reported 120,000 Windows CE devices sold.



** OTHER HANDHELD **



Geoworks stock took a bad turn down last week after they reported 'dismal

4th quarter earnings forecast.  The NASDAQ stock lost 4-7/8 to 7-1/8.

[iNews]



SouthWest airlines plans to deploy 250 Fujitsu Stylistic 1000 tablet PCs

to pilots of Boeing 737s so that they can better track takeoff and

landing information. [Computer Reseller News, 24Mar97, page 95]



Daniel Seiden <daniel@basiclink.com> reports the creation of a Libretto

mailing list that you can subscribe to if you are interested.  For more

info check out: <http://indy.basiclink.com/employee/dan/libretto.html>.



Buenafe <buenafe@tech-center.com> reports that he has created a new

Toshiba T100X Web page via: <http://www.wavefront.com/~mbuenafe/t100x>.



River Run Software Group has announced that their latest Mail on the Run!

LAN based email access products support the new MessagePad 2000. [iNews]



** APPLE **



Chips and Technologies has announced that Apple is using their HiQVideo

64-bit controllers in the new PB3400. [iNews]



TechWorks has announced that they are now shipping memory upgrades for

Apple's new PowerBook 3400. [iNews]



Apple's stock rose 11% last week on news that Oracle's Chairman Larry

Ellison is again interested in buying out Apple Computer. [iNews]



Apple has announced that MediaX has been chosen to develop a series of

multimedia presentations that will be used to demo the capabilities of

Apple's new Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh computer system that is

expected to ship in Jun97. [iNews]



** MACINTOSH **



Pacific Coast Software's WebCommerce Solution has announced version 2.0

of their "strong turn-key" Web based server that will easily enable

online storefront.  This new version also incorporates WebDNA which lets

you build "live" scripted HTML pages.  The software should be available

by the end of Mar97 for Mac OS and WinNT 4.0.  For more information:

<http://www.pacific-coast.com>.  An example of this solution is ClubMac,

ClubPC, and ClubPDA Web sites which you can check out via this URL:

<http://www.club-mac.com>.



Quality Education Data (QED) has announced that in the K-12 marketplace

that Mac OS systems account for 60% all machines in use in U.S. schools

during 1995-96. IDC/LINK also reports that 18.4% of four-year college

students who own computers own a Macintosh.  The study also found that

55% of all college students at school today own a computer. [iNews]



Miller Freeman, Inc. plans to have a Mac OS Expo at New York's PC Expo

being held 17-19Jun97. [iNews]



** INTERNET **



The major database vendors have agreed on a benchmark for huge database

systems called the TPC-D.  Sun's new Ultra Enterprise 10000 Server

recently scored higher than 2000 -- a new record for a 300-Gigabyte

database benchmark. [iNews]



Kingston is now shipping a 128-MB and 256-MB memory kits for SGI's new O2

workstations. [iNews]



Electronic Information Report recently released tidbits from their 1996

Online Subscriber Survey.  The number of online subscribers rose to 21.1

million in 1996 up 45.5% from the 14.5 million in 1995. [iNews]





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Edupage, 24Mar97 thru 30Mar97

-----------------------------



** MICROSOFT LETS WINDOWS 97 DEADLINE SLIDE **



It looks like Microsoft's update to its popular Windows 95 operating

system, code-named Memphis, will be marketed as Windows 98 or Windows 9x,

rather than Windows 97.  The company has begun telling PC makers not to

expect the new software to be available in time to be installed on

machines for sale during the busy Christmas season.  Some analysts

believe that Microsoft's own customers have urged the company to slow the

pace of its technology overhaul, as many corporations are only beginning

now to switch over to Windows 95.  Memphis is expected to add a speedy

boot-up technology called "OnNow," as well as several changes aimed at

making networked computers easier to manage.  (Wall Street Journal 24 Mar

97)



** SPAM BLOCK **



A California software engineer takes the annoyance caused by unsolicited

e-mail messages seriously, and has developed an anti-spam weapon he plans

to unveil next month.  Dead Bolt allows online users to share their

"blacklists" of spam purveyors so that they can more effectively filter

offending e-mail.  "The problem now is that everyone who is filtering is

keeping their own blacklists and they're not working together to tie

their lists together in a meaningful way," says Dead Bolt's creator.

"What I hope my package will do is allow people to work together over the

Net and filter all this stuff out and finally put these people out of

business ... The problem is that it costs the sender virtually zero

dollars to send out a million messages, and even if the response rate is

minuscule by all standards -- say .001 percent -- they've made money.  So

from an economic selfish point of view, it's in their interest to annoy

the other 99.99 percent of the people."  (Miami Herald 24 Mar 97)



** WEB PUBLISHING SHAKEOUT? **



With the recent demise of such Web publishing ventures such as Politics

Now and Out.com and the reduced activity of many others, industry

analysts are talking about a Web publishing shakeout caused primarily by

the slow growth of advertising support.  Henry E. Scott, president of the

parent company of Out.com says:  "I became increasingly concerned that

the resources we were putting into the Web product could have been better

devoted to our core product, which is the magazine.  Having a Web site is

no longer a sign of being on the cutting edge.  It might be a sign of not

doing much original thinking...  Newspapers have a classified advertising

franchise to protect and just thinking about that you can make a pretty

good case that newspapers need to be involved in the Web.  But it's

entirely unclear to me that a magazine Web site will ever reach

profitability."  (New York Times 25 Mar 97)



** IBM PONDERS APPLE LAPTOP MARKET **



IBM is eyeing the Apple laptop market, and is considering producing and

putting its name on a high-powered portable that would run Apple's MacOS

operating system.  IBM Microelectronics makes PowerPC chips for Apple and

is the sole licensee of Apple's laptop version of MacOS.  The companies

are working together on an Apple-branded sub-notebook, code-named Comet,

destined for the Japanese market.  "IBM could easily take 30 to 40

percent of market share away from Apple because Apple can't meet the

demand," says a Dataquest analyst.  "This is a prime time to do it."  IBM

officials say, "There has been no decision made.  That's not a product

that we've announced."  (TechWire 24 Mar 97)



** "SMART CARD" STANDARD FOR NETWORK COMPUTERS **



IBM, Netscape, Oracle, Sun and Network Computer Inc. have formed an

alliance to develop products using a "smart card"  technology  called

OpenCard Framework designed to give people the ability "to access any

network computer with any smart card, regardless of the (type of)

computer or smart card they're using.''  Instead of carrying around a

laptop computer, a person would just carry the smart card for insertion

into any computer that has been adapted for the new technology.  To

address security concerns, the new technology scrambles the information

being transmitted; a person would have to have a personal identification

number, or PIN, to use the card.  In contrast with a similar project

announced last year by Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Groupe Bull and

Schlumberger, this alliance is targeted to network computers (NCs) rather

than personal computers.  (AP 26 Mar 97)



** PEERING INTO FUTURE, ORACLE SIPS APPLE JUICE **



Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison said in an interview with the San

Jose Mercury News that he is still thinking about buying Apple in order

to "save" it, and has invited anyone with an opinion to send a message to

savapple@us.oracle.com.  Many industry analysts doubt Ellison's

sincerity, however, and say that if he were serious about buying Apple he

wouldn't be talking about it publicly.  Apple CEO Gilbert F. Amelio calls

Ellison's idea "nonsense."  (New York times 28 Mar 97)



** EMBEDDED CHIPS SUFFER FROM YEAR 2000 PROBLEM, TOO **



It's not just aging mainframe computers that will go haywire when the

clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999 -- the electronic devices we

encounter in everyday life could have problems, too, according a letter

drafted by three U.S. lawmakers responsible for overseeing public and

private sector responses to the Year 2000 problem.  "Critical systems

that depend on automated devices include security systems for badge

readers, surveillance and home security systems, parking lot gates, and

vaults.  Other products that rely on embedded computer microchips include

telephone systems, video recorders, bar code readers, automatic teller

machines, medical devices, factory machinery, civilian and military

avionics, process control and monitoring equipment, sprinkler systems,

and air-conditioning systems." (BNA Daily Report for Executives 25 Mar 97)





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   This space for rent.  For more info: <newtnews@pobox.com>.  Thanks.

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INNOVATION, 17Mar97

-------------------



** TRENDS: VIDEO GAMES GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL **



The video game industry is rapidly changing the way that users interact

with their gaming environment: multiple players located across the

country can play each other simultaneously, and new perspectives allow

the player to "assume" the appearance and personality of the main

character.  id Software's popular multiplayer Quake game has spawned the

phenomenon of hundreds of "clans" -- teams of players -- battling each

other while defining their own rules and environments.  This shift in

game-playing mentality has led designers to develop more free-form

environments for hosts of players to cooperate and compete, with the

players creating the game as much as the designers do.  Meanwhile ,

Apogee Software's Duke Nukem is a "first-person" action game built around

a specific protagonist, and players adopt the talents and personality of

the main figure while shooting their way to glory ("A babe, a stogie, and

a bottle of Jack -- that's what I need right now," mutters Duke during a

lull in the fray.)  Duke's environment is set in Los Angeles with

identifiable landmarks and realistic venues like a movie theater, a

topless bar and a football stadium.  "This is the first game where

personality has taken hold and become something unto itself," says a

senior editor at Gamepro Magazine.  (Wall Street Journal 20 Mar 97)



** STRATEGIES: MANAGEMENT BY MATSUSHITA **



Harvard management professor John P. Kotter's forthcoming biography of

Koonosuke Matsushita expresses high regard for the famous Japanese

entrepreneur.  Some Matsushita aphorisms:



    - Treat the people you do business with as if they

      were a part of your family, because prosperity

      depends on how much understanding one receives

      from the people with whom one conducts business.

    - After-sales service is more important than

      assistance before sales, because it is through

      after-sales service that one gets permanent

      customers.

    - Don't sell customers goods they are attracted to;

      sell them goods that will benefit them.  To be out

      of stock is due to carelessness;  if it happens,

      apologize to the customers, ask for their address,

      and tell them that you will deliver the product

      immediately.

    - It's not enough to work conscientiously;  no

      matter what kind of job, you should think of

      yourself as being completely in charge of and

      responsible for your own work.



(John P. Kotter, "Matsushita:  The World's Greatest Entrepreneur?"

Fortune 31 Mar 97)



** INNOVATIONS: WEBSURFING BY EAR **



T.V. Raman, a researcher in the advanced technology group at Adobe

Systems, has developed a speech interface for desktop computers that

supports a Web browser that takes its cues from the visual structure of

the document -- title, subhead, body text -- and translates the style of

the document into audio cues -- baritone, normal, soprano.  The Emacspeak

software enables the user to request an overview of subtitles, or

interrupt the summary to listen to the full text of any section.

Listeners can then browse through a structured text in the same way a

viewer would skim through a magazine. (Scientific American Mar 97)



** MORE INFO ON INNOVATION **



Innovation is published weekly, with individual subscriptions available

at $15 a year. Topics are organized under the following headers: TRENDS,

STRATEGIES, and INNOVATIONS.  For a six-week free trial subscription to

Innovation, please send an email message to

<innovation-trial@newsscan.com> and in the subject line type the word:

'subscribe'.  You can also use the trial registration form on their Web

site at: <http://www.newsscan.com>.  For more info, send email to:

<gehl@newsscan.com> or <douglas@newsscan.com>





$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$

  NEED A NEWTON PROGRAMMER? NewtNews has a list of over 48 Internet based

  Newton programmers who are interested in working on vertical or

  horizontal market solutions.  Please send email to: <newtnews@pobox.com>

  if you would like the list or would like to be added to the list.

$-----------$------------$------------$------------$-----------$-----------$





Dear Newton Developer

---------------------



** INTRODUCTION & INCENTIVE **



This area is dedicated to trying to solve NewtNews readers programming

needs, and in turn hopefully lead to the creation of a legitimate Newton

shareware solution for the developer solving the problem.  If a developer

solves such a problem, NewtNews will give them a 50% price reduction for

any advertising service they order for that product in our Products and

Services area.  If you have a utility you need written, please let

NewtNews know by sending an email to: <newtnews@pobox.com>.



** PRINT MERGE SOLUTION?!? **



Jon Glass <JonGl@aol.com> is looking for a mail merge solution that

interacts with built-in Names and Notes.  Jon writes:



    I print a lot of letters, and need the ability to

    merge a person's address and custom field

    information into the letter.  I currently have to

    write in the information every time.  Surely

    somebody could write a Notepad stationary that

    would allow you to insert pop-up fields that would

    print the contents of the field at print time.

    Preferably, it would work with the "letter" option

    in the print slip.



** EXCHANGE RATE SOLUTION **



Olivier Ozoux <o_ozoux@beachnet.com> is looking for an Exchange Rate

updater application that can be downloaded on a regular basis (once a

week) that would update to the latest exchange rates for the majority of

currencies from around the World. Here are two sites that Oliver found on

the WWW that has a lot of the information that would be ideal:



    - <http://www.webpoint.com:80/stocks/tribune/exchange.htm>

    - <http://www.olsen.ch:80/cgi-bin/exmenu>



** INVERSE -- WOULD YOU LIKE?!? **



Brian Hall <brian_hall@markspace.com> is interested in writing a Newton

front-end to Lionel Corps Trainmaster digital train control system

<http://www.lionel.com/tmc.shtml>.  If you'd be interested in such a

solution please send Brian email.





Other Tidbits of Information

----------------------------



** REVIEW OF APPLE'S INTERNET DEVICES **



Cameron Crotty <cameron@macworld.com> has a complete review of how to

browse the Web using the Pippin @World and the Messagepad 130 & 2000 on

pages 147 through 150 of MacWorld published in May97.  The article points

out that the MP2000 uses AllPen Software's NetHopper.  You can get more

info about NetHopper by checking out: <http://www.allpen.com>.



** DEAL ON PALMPILOT **



Now Software <http://www.nowsoft.com> is offering the 'new backlit

PalmPilot Personal' along with an upgraded version of Now Up-To-Date &

Contact 3.6.5 for US$299.95  The offer ends 30Apr97.  You also get Now

Up-To-Date Web Publisher, Pilot Mac Pac, and Now Synchronize for

PalmPilot.  To order called 800.492.9910 and use the code #20638.



** MOBILE GROUPWISE ACCESS **



Nokia (800.456.5553) has some new software for their GSM savvy 9000

Communicator that enables Novell's GroupWise users access to their

Universal Mailboxes. Users can also get access to documents, voice

messages, faxes, and appointments. [Network World, 24Mar97, page 31]



** HEALTHCARE FORUM **



The Second "Annual Forum for Hand-held Computing in Healthcare" is going

to be held 28-30May97 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel located in Cambridge,

MA.  For more information call: 415.252.8008 or use the following URL:

<http://www.pda-expo.com>.



** SOHO NETWORKING **



Dayna Communications <http://www.dayna.com> has a new product line of

switches, hugs, and routers called "NetCenter" that are designed and

priced for the SOHO marketplace.



** WHAT IS UP WITH TDMA?!? **



Nikhil Hutheesing has an indepth look at "TDMA or bust? - As a new

cellular phone technology catches on in the U.S., Ericsson sticks

stubbornly to an older system. Why?" on pages 116 through 117 of Forbes

published on 07Apr97.  The folks at Ericsson are sticking with their

'tried and true' TDMA technology even with the growing acceptance of CDMA

in the PCS marketplace in the United States.





Advertising Notes

-----------------



If you are interested in advertising in NewtNews please send email to:

<newtnews@pobox.com>.  NewtNews is freeware because of the advertisers

that support this effort, and we appreciate their support.



When you purchase products from NewtNews vendors please mention that you

heard about their product in NewtNews.





Product and Service Information

-------------------------------



* NEW BILLS TO PAY PRO 3.5.5 Rated 5 out of 5 by Gecko Magazine! Now

available in German! For NOS 2.0. Includes support for stationery,

enhanced overview, and new printing options! Easily track bills and

expenses; create budget projections; and set alarms to remind you of

bills. Send bill info to Pocket Quicken or Pocket Money. $39.95+S&H MAR

Software at: <info@marsoftware.com> or <http://www.marsoftware.com>.



* Newt Development Environment: develop object-oriented applications in

NewtonScript on the Newton (shareware: $49.50; tools, examples, support).

* Newt's Cape: create Newton books with text, graphics, tables, links,

and forms from HTML (via web browsing or Notepad) (shareware: $38.50;

tools, examples, support). For details, software, and registration info:

<http://www.netaxs.com/~weyer/newton/releases.html> or <weyer@netaxs.com>



* INFORMED FILLER FOR NEWTON is your mobile data collection solution for

Inspection forms, Health Care forms ... in fact, for any forms you use!

Design custom forms on your Macintosh with Informed Designer (included).

Then, fill out your forms on the Newton quickly and accurately using

automatic defaults, choice lists, calculations and signatures.  Finally,

send completed forms directly to Informed Manager on your desktop for

further processing.  For a limited time when you mention this ad, you'll

receive both Informed Filler for Newton AND Informed Manager (for

desktop integration) for $99US (SRP $390US).  Contact Shana Corp. at:

800.386.7244, email: <info@shana.com> or WWW: <http://www.shana.com>



* SOLUTIONS FROM LANDWARE. All work in the Newton 2.0 OS.

  - PROCALC EX: Programmable calc. w/ SAN & RPN, includes: proCALC 12c.

  - QUICKNAMES PRO: Rapid access to names and much more.

  - X-PORT: The 2.0 connection utility. Send/receive notes, contacts...

  - KWIKMENU: the Newton dashboard, includes GestureLaunch Lite.

  - NEWTPAINT: "MacPaint" on your Newton, w/zoom-in and screen shot.

  - SYNC+: Dates to Schedule+ 1.0 or 7.0

LandWare, 201-347-0031, <sales@landware.com>, <http://www.landware.com>



* Frustrated by the amount of time required to input long notes?  Looking

for a faster method?  GESTURE MOSAIC is a hybrid keyboard/recognition

system which enables the rapid (30-40+wpm) pen-based entry of text.  Now

updated for OS2.0, you can use it to quickly input text anywhere in your

Newton. FREEWARE versions are available at: <http://www.amtelcom.com/Mosaic>

For more information contact: <amtelmit@aol.com> or call: 800-696-6724.



* ChessPad 2.0 turns the Newton into a digital chess book and a portable

chess set. It contains 28 fully-annotated games played by the greatest

players of all time, 100 brilliant winning combinations by Morphy, Tal,

Fischer, and Kasparov, and 100 chess problems.  ChessPad can also import

games in Portable Game Notation format. Only $39.95. Clear Lake Research

713.663.7513 <DavidL62@aol.com> <http://members.aol.com/clrsch/chesspad.html>



* STAND ALONE offers a variety of Newton applications for Newton 2.0:

   - PACKAGE POPUP: instant access to all your packages, launch

      with a tap, automatically thaw and re-freeze. $15.

   - SECURE-A-NEWT: Password protect folders in your NotePad, Names,

      and Extras Drawer. Protect your info from prying eyes. $20.

   - KEYMAN: Adds function keys, a multi-function calculator, and a

      new keyboard designed for one-fingered typing. $20.

   - NOTEMAN: Instant access to the NotePad from any package. $10.

   - BACKGAMMON: The classic board game, brought to Newton. $20.

   - SUPER SORTER: Fast, Usable list management, featuring fully

      expandable and customizable list creation and editing. $20

For information about any of these or other Stand Alone products,

contact us at: <info@standalone.com>, or (312) 262-5150. Also check

out our Web site at: <http://www.standalone.com/newton>.



* Tim Constantine has several cutting edge Newton solutions: Flash - A

Speed Reading Tutor; CrazyDice - Multi-player Strategy Game, and Clean

Notes - Stationary w/o Lines.  For more info: <timconstan@kagi.com> or

<http://www.kagi.com/timconstan>.  Tim is also available for custom

Newton application development.  Send Tim email if you have a question

about custom application development or about his cutting edge solutions.



* NEW! 8th Volume of the Totally Incomplete PDA CD-ROM for Newton! This

CD-ROM from AMUG CD, Inc. contains over 1400 packages, and 600+ megs in

Mac and PC format. 2.x & 1.x Packages can be downloaded directly from the

CD to your MessagePad. Maximize your Newton experience! $29 + S/H. Call

AMUG 602.497-2244, or email <sales@amug.org> to order! See our Newton CD

web page at <http://cdrom.amug.org/>.



* BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY PACKAGES FROM PELICANWARE

   All packages for Newton 2.0 OS - Upgrades also available.

 - QUICKFIGURE PRO 3.0: Spreadsheet application  $59.95

 - NEWTCASE 3.0: The Ultimate Utility Suite  $49.95

 - NOTION 1.5: High Performance List Manager  $59.95

 - AVAILWORKS 2.0: Text, spreadsheets, drawing, and graphing $79.95.

All from PELICANWARE.  For more details email: <info@pelicanware.com>,

vox: 503-221-1148, fax: 503-221-8709, or <http://www.pelicanware.com>.



* CATAMOUNT SOFTWARE offers the following:

   - POCKETMONEY assists you in balancing your checking, savings,

       credit card and loan accounts. Export and import transactions

       to Quicken, MYM and other desktop based program.

   - NAMIGATOR gives rapid access to Names. I know, I have over 3000.

   - MPG helps you keep your vehicle records in order. Track fuel

       economy, record mileage for tax purposes, schedule repeating

       vehicle maintenance items for multiple vehicles.

   - SILK makes your MP130 GLOW. Floating silk screen palette so

       the built-in buttons can be seen in the dark.

For more information call 802-863-5256, email <info@catamount.com>, or

visit our web site <http://www.catamount.com>.





Guest Opinions

--------------



** REAL LIFE USE OF MP2000 **



West Decker <wdecker@houst.sgi.com> writes the following:



    I just wanted to pass on my experiences yesterday

    with Newton 2000 on an important business trip.

    I will start off by saying it performed

    flawlessly.  I couldn't have been more happy.  For

    any of you wondering whether it is a practical

    note taking solution for meetings (or classrooms)

    I can say without a doubt that it shines in this

    regard.  I was in various meetings all day long

    with critical customers (i.e. notes needed to be

    accurate) and I was able to take a total of 5

    printed (that's printed out on 8"1/2 by 11" paper

    at a normal 10 or 12pt font). The handwriting

    recognition and speed was fabulous.  I love the

    Outline feature it makes note taking a breeze.  On

    the flight on the way back I got several

    compliments/inquiries while I was using NewtWorks

    to write up a summary of the meeting in the word

    processor.



    This is one awesome machine!



    --West



** A LITTLE NEWTON HUMOR **



While not a real Newton mention, this is a 'Newton' mention from the

Gag-O-Matic Joke Server <jokes@gag-o-matic.lowcomdom.com>:



    Newton's 3rd Law of Spam -- For every action

    involving a slab of Spam there is an equal and

    opposite reaction (i.e. eat Spam, hurl Spam).



For  more information about how to get on this joke list (only 4-7

mentions) a day: <http://www.lowcomdom.com/joke_of_the_day.html>.





Administrivia

-------------



NewtNews Copyright 1994-97 Steve Holden.  All rights reserved.

Non-profit, non-commercial publications may reprint articles if full

credit is given.  Others please contact me.  NewtNews doesn't guarantee

accuracy of articles.  NewtNews does not express or imply any

endorsement of any businesses participating in this publication.  My

personal comments may be included in articles NewtNews reports by

highlighting them as -- [SDH: Comments].  Official NewtNews Editor's

comments are highlighted as -- [Editor: Comments].  Publication,

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companies.  All trademarks used in this publication are for

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with no intention of infringing on that trademark.



Send contributions and comments to Steve Holden, Editor and Publisher

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This edition of NewtNews was written with the help of: Easter Sunday

celebrations, getting my MP2K, and the great Wildcats vs. Wildcats game

on Monday night.



Disclaimer:  I am doing this on my own time, and on my own hardware

***********  and software not the government's or my employer's.