NewtNews-149-19Aug97

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



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

newsletter focusing on Newton Technologies and related topics.

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

the Administrivia at end for details and FAQ info.  NewtNews Web site

is hosted at: <http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/NewtNews/>.



This issue of NewtNews is sponsored in part by:



 + Brain Wash from Concept Kitchen wipes your screen clean --

   <http://www.conceptkitchen.com/htdocs1/products2.html#brain>



 + Buy a guide to what's on TV for your           C o u c h   F i r e !

   Newton <http://www.tempestprod.com/>



 + 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>.



 + PowerTrans 3.0.2 - Multilingual Customizable Translator and Vocabulary

   Trainer - Speech on MP2K, eMate - Demo at: <http://www.travel-cs.com>



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

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



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

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



 + 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>



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

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



 + 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. New and Updated Newton Technology

 4. New and Updated Newton Information

 5. Top Print Sources Of Interest

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

 7. Dear Newton Developer

 8. Other Handheld Technology News

 9. Other Tidbits of Information

10. What's Happening in Major Business/Technology Magazines?

11. Advertising Notes

12. Product and Service Information

13. Edupage, 11Aug97 thru 17Aug97

14. INNOVATION, 11Aug97

15. Administrivia





Top News

--------



** TRAFFIC ON COMP.SYS.NEWTON.PROGRAMMER TRIPLES?!? **



Posting traffic on the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.newton.programmer has

recently tripled since Newton, Inc. released the Newton Technology

developer tools for Macintosh and Windows for free.  It appears that this

move by Newton, Inc. was (in short term) at least very beneficial in

creating enhanced interesting in writing solutions for the Newton.  Long

term success will most likely be measured in continued traffic on the

list, an increase in newly released Newton solutions, and the most

evident gauge will be a 'similar' reduction in developer tools from other

handheld manufacturers.



** WEEKLY NEWTON PROGRAMMER CHAT **



In related news, Jim Bailey <jdb@shore.net> notes that every week on

Thursday evenings (9:30 PM EDT) there is an IRC (interrelay chat client)

discussion that focuses on programming for the Newton.  Topics vary each

week. The server is: irc.escapenet.net, the channel is: #Llamtalk.



** NEW IRDA PRINTING PATCH **



Douglas Luckie <luckie@pilot.msu.edu> noted on the USENET newsgroup

comp.sys.newton.misc the release of a new patch from Newton, Inc that

will speed up IrDA printing to IrDA savvy Hewlett-Packard LaserJet

printers for the MessagePad 2000 and the eMate 300.  For more info check

out: <http://www.newton-inc.com/product_info/sw/printpack.html#Upgrades>.



** NEWTON, INC. TO DROP APPLE BRANDING **



A recent 'MARKETING WEEK' has announced Newton, Inc is moving forward

with their new role as an independent subsidiary by removing the Apple

logo from the MessagePad 2000.  Current ads running in U.S.A. Today do

not have the Apple logo, and near term shipping product is also suppose

to be void of the six-color Apple logo. [HeadsUp]



** QUOTE OF THE WEEK **



    "If we're going to prosper we have to let go of

     the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to

     lose." -- Steve Jobs, Apple's 'special advisor'.





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

  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 information:

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

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



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

  Notion 1.5 Enhanced for Newton 2.0 OS: Notion 1.5 is a powerful, easy

  to use tool that helps the mobile professional manage all the lists

  necessary to organize, integrate and communicate vital information.

  Includes Notion Connect for Import/Export from Mac or Windows desktop.

  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.

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





Comments from the Editor

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



** HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE?!? **



Forester Research just completed a survey on current vs. future desktop

PC operating system choices using 51 Fortune 1,000 companies.  Currently

the following are being deployed on 'desktops': 67% Windows 3.x, 13%

Windows 95, 10% Windows NT, and 10% Other.  In two years the projection

is: 3% Windows 3.x, 50% Windows 95/98, 43% Windows NT, and 4% Other.

[SOURCE: InfoWorld, 11Aug97, page 21]



The 'big' problem is going to be the migration from Windows 3.1 to

Windows 98, because Microsoft continues to maintain that Windows 3.1

desktops first migrate to Windows 95 and then to Windows 98, and that IS

managers should not expect direct Windows 3.1 to Windows 98 tools to be

available in the short term.



** LEARNING MORE ABOUT STONE YAMASHITA **



Last week, NewtNews wanted to learn more about one of Newton, Inc.'s new

advertising firm Stone Yamashita.  You can check out their WWW site at:

<http://www.stoneyamashita.com> but there isn't much available on the

site.  You can also check out the following pages in the book "Defying

Gravity": 01:27, 01:24, and 00:88. [EDITOR: Thanks to Flash for the

pointers.]



** SOME CORRECTIONS **



In last weeks issue we made incorrect reference that made it seem that

the Developer Depot advertisement section in MacTech magazine was

actually  'controlled by' MacTech magazine.  In reality, they are

completely separate autonomous entities that are operated by a parent

company.  For more information about this situation please contact: Neil

Ticktin <ceo@xplain.com>.



NewtNews incorrectly listed the price of Tactile Systems xWord in

the last issue of NewtNews.  The current list price is: US$20.  You

can learn more via: <http://rainbow.rmi.net/~rbruce/>.



Gerald Mesaric <gmesaric@hyperwave.com> notes that Apple CEO Sandy

Bennett's transcript from his visit to Newton Intelligence can be found

at: <http://www.rinzai.com/ni/transcripts/benett.html>.





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

  From your armchair, find your favorite

  shows using your Newton. Couch Fire is        C o u c h    F i r e !

  a TV  programming  guide that includes

  accurate, weekly updates via email. It combines the feel of a paper guide

  with  the intelligence of a Newton. Couch Fire's custom TV grid, searches

  and reminders mean you won't miss a thing.  <http://www.tempestprod.com/>

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



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

  Still looking for a great screen protector?  Look at The BARRIER!!

     * Clearly Superior Protection

     * Abrasion, Chemical AND Thermal resistant

     * Indispensable!

  "Why doesn't Apple mount a Barrier on every unit? -- Marco Mailand (.ch)

  For more info: <http://www.roadrunnertracks.com> or call 800-882-8382

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





New and Updated Newton Technology

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



** HOME INVENTORY SOLUTION DISCOUNTED FOR NEWTNEWS READERS **



n-Abled Solutions <http://www.n-abled.com> has announced the release of

Home Contents Inventory v1.0 for Newton -- a tool that was designed to

take notice of all of your possessions, including tracking costs, and

appraised values.  A demo has been posted to the WWW site listed above.

NewtNews readers can purchase the software for a limited time for

US$59.95 by mentioning NewtNews while ordering direct from n-Abled

Solutions (908.766.4043).  The list price of the software is US$79.95.



** MONTHLY GECKO MAGAZINE POSTED IN NEWTON BOOK FORMAT **



Gerald Fox <geraldfox@aol.com> has posted his Sep97 edition of Gecko -- a

monthly Newton magazine that includes product reviews, commentary

columns, and other fun 'Newton' stuff.  There is also a Newton Book

version that you can download to your Newton for reading when on the go.

For more info check out: <http://members.aol.com/geckoweb/gecko.html>.



** MAHJONGG GET BUG FIX **



Scrawl Software <http://www.scrawlsoft.com> has announced the availability

of Mahjongg 2.1 (ancient chinese game) -- a minor upgrade to 2.0 which

fixes several minor bugs that were found.  This version takes advantage

of the larger screen and greyscale capability of the newest generation of

Newton products.  It should also be noted that unlike earlier versions of

Mahjongg, versions 2.0/2.1 are crippled -- nonregistered users can only

play five different boards.  You can get more information by checking out

the URL listed above or by sending email to: <help@scrawlsoft.com>.



** NEW PRINT DRIVERS AVAILABLE WITH MORE PLANNED **



Joop Kaashoek <jck@insaltd.com> reports that INSA Limited has created

some new Newton printer drivers that will work with O'Neil Product

Development's ruggedized mobile printers.  You can download a demo

version from: <http://www.insaltd.com/oneildriver.shtml>.  INSA Limited

is also reportedly working on drivers for Comtec portable printers and

for Epson Stylus printers.



** RECENTLY POSTED NEWTON SOFTWARE **



    - Morgan Creek Medical's Footprint 1.01 [backdrop

      application] &  ProMedex 1.1v5 for Newton [point

      of care patient management]:

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

    - Chris Frost's <jfrost@hiwaay.net> Washington

      DC's map of the Metrorail for Newton:

      <http://fly.hiwaay.net/~jfrost>

    - deep focus designs' OneTap Mute [sound volume

      control]: <http://www.deepfocus.com/>





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

$ 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

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



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

  PDA and Handheld Direct, Everything you need for your Newton

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

   - Apple MessagePad 2000 Business Bundle only $1099.00 (#22008)

   - MP130 Buy Back Program - Trade in your MP130 for special deals on

     MP2000 or other PDAs - Call for details: 219-882-5228

   - MP2000 Accessories: Rech. Battery $31.95 (#22209) AC Adapter $29.95

     (#22202) MP2K Pen $12.95 (#31227) -- Type II Flash Memory 4MB $98

     (#41070) 8MB $174 (#41073) 10MB $210 (#41074) 16MB $310 (#41077)

   - Revelar Connection Utilities (RCU) for Win and Mac $39.95 (#10071)

  To order 800-279-4PDA or 219-882-5228 or FAX 219-845-0578 [Source #161]

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





New and Updated Newton Information

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



** EMATE AND CLOCKWORK GET BBC COVERAGE **



Ian Baker <newtonsales@imagian.demon.co.uk> notes that a recent BBC news

program had a story about Trevor Bayliss, the inventor of the ClockWork

radio (mentioned in a recent Edupage).  The program had some Q&A dialog

with a person from Apple, and loads of full screen shots of eMate being

'powered' by Trevor's ClockWork.



** NEW NEWTON PRODUCT ANNOUNCE LISTSERVER **



Robert Bruce <rbruce@tactile.com> has created a new software update

announcement list called "Newton Announce!".  The goal is to create a

single email point by which Newton software authors can propagate their

software press releases.  This list will be completely moderated by

Robert, so send him email directly to get a post sent to the complete

list.  For more information check out the following URL:

<http://rainbow.rmi.net/~rbruce/newtannsub.html>.



** NEWTON AT PC-CARD SIZE?!? **



Albert Zeeman <zeeman@worldonline.nl> would rather see a Newton in the

size of standard PC Card then in a Pilot size.  This way you'd always be

in sync, and you could plug-in to devices that you needed when you

decided to do something.  The first goal should be to plug the 'Newton'

PC Card into a laptop or a desktop system and let you have access to your

Newton data.  This request was inspired by the REX PC companion system

highlighted on: <http://www.franklin.com>.



** NEWTONTALK UPDATE **



Sean O'Shaughnessey <seanos@earthlink.net> reports that:



    "NewtonTalk is a mailing list that is dedicated to the

     discussion of Newton related technology.  The list is about

     3 weeks old now and has quickly grown to over 550

     subscribers (at the time of this writing) and regularly

     receives 30-60 posts per day!  Our sponsor for the month of

     August is NewtNews.



    "NewtonTalkers range from buyers to recent buyers to long

     time users to developers.  It is amazing at the amount of

     help that responses receive in just a few hours.  Some of

     the topics that have been discussed lately include:



        - How to connect to a payphone.

        - The best way to upgrade to a MP2k.

        - Which is better Pilot v. Newton.

        - What is the best modem (this is a very popular

          topic since many NewtonTalkers tend to use their

          Newtons for email and surfing.)

        - Where can I get the best price for a modem.

        - How does freezing work (most people use it but

          do you know how it works?)

        - Tips on fixing bad contrast.

        - Easter eggs

        - Heap management

        - and hundreds more.



    "When I started the list I was worried that there wouldn't be

     an interest since much of the discussion could parallel the

     newsgroups.  Obviously there is a desire to have this list

     and my favorite message lately talks about this:



    "... I don't go to the USENET anymore since if I

     fall behind there I can't follow along.  This mail

     I can read when I get a chance and stay up to date

     on the discussions ..."



     Sean O'Shaughnessey

     List Mom



You can learn more from: <http://www.esosoft.com/seano/subscribe.html>.



** USE A WEDGE TO PROP UP YOUR MP2K **



Michael Eisenman <MEisenman@symantec.com> notes that is pretty easy to

prop up the MP2K in landscape mode using a 'non-slip wedge between the

cover and the back of the MP2K."  Michael has been successfully using a

very portable "old mouse ball" as his wedge and notes that because it is

round it lets you tweak the angle better than a wedge in some other shape.



** MACWAY NEWTON MENTIONS **



Guy Kawasaki's MacWay Evangelist email listserver had a couple of Newton

blurbs recently including:



    - n-Abled Solutions' Home Contents Inventory 1.0

      <http://www.n-abled.com>

    - Borealis Home Inspector for MessagePad 2000

      <http://www.borealis-communication.com>

    - True North Gulliver [automated travel assistant]

      for Newton: demo available by calling 800.846.9278

      or by sending email to: <info@northisup.com>

    - Insanely Great Mac Classifieds [category for

      'PDA/Newton']:

      <http://www.insanely-great.com/class.html>



For more info about this excellent Apple, Macintosh, Newton, etc. ...

resource check out: <http://www.evangelist.macaddict.com/>.



It should also be noted that Apple Fellow Guy Kawasaki has an well

written and insightful article entitled "The beauty of metaphor" on page

84 of Forbes published on 25Aug97.  If every 'technology' product

followed Guy's advice in this column, then end-users would be very happy.



** OTHER NEWTON SITES WORTH A VISIT **



    - The Ultimate eMate site!:

      <http://home.sn.no/~onar/emate/>

    - MSNUG's Newton Site:

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

    - The Newton Software Digest:

      <http://www.compulink.co.uk/~stormont/newton/weekly.htm>

    - Steve Sande <steve@pdantic.com> has posted an

      interesting read entitled "Am I Beginning To

      Dislike Windows CE?":

      <http://www.pdantic.com/n070997d.htm>





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

   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 Print Sources Of Interest

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



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

NewtNews readers from the leading technology print newspapers,

newsletters, and magazines.]



** NEWTON SOLUTION SAVES INSURANCE ADJUSTERS TIME **



The publication "Insurance + Technology" published on 01Aug97 has a

section entitled "TECHNOLOGY WATCH" and it included a Newton blurb about

Seamless Software's  WriteOn-Adjuster v2.31.  This solution "enables

property claims adjusters to settle claims at the loss site in less time

than traditional, hand-written methods" by using an MP2K or MP130 in the

field to collect data and then upload the collected data to desktop PC

systems.  You can learn more by calling: 800.840.7414.



** FAMILY PC LOOKS AT HANDHELD DEVICES **



Chris Bergman <cptb-bergman@worldnet.att.net> notes that the:



    September 1997 issue of Family PC reviews the

    Message Pad 2000 and the eMate 300, as well as the

    PalmPilot Professional and Philips Velo 1 (pp 157

    - 160). The MP2K, eMate, and PalmPilot were rated

    "Family PC Recommended" with scores of 87, 85, and

    90, respectively.



    Although the PalmPilot was rated "tops" for

    keeping portable contact information, the review

    states that "for business or professional projects

    requiring more sophisticated applications, [the

    Message Pad 2000 is] the one to buy". The review

    of the eMate 300 was enthusiastic and positive,

    concluding that the "eMate 300 is a great tool -

    and a great industrial design - for anywhere, any

    time learning".



    Interestingly enough, the WinCE Velo 1 was NOT

    rated "Family PC Recommended" (score of only 81).

    The review found that "it may be too small to be

    useful", while at the same time it "doesn't fit in

    a shirt pocket". The review concludes with "Until

    [the Velo 1] incorporates handwriting recognition

    to augment the clumsy keyboard, we can't recommend

    it".



    Overall the reviews seem fair and accurate. As

    usual the PalmPilot gets good marks for low cost

    and small size, whereas, while praising the

    advanced features of both of the Newton offerings,

    the reviewer wishes they were less expensive. The

    poor review of the Velo 1 comes as a surprise,

    since it has had positive reviews in other

    magazines.



* EMATE IS WAY COOL DUDE **



Business Week <http://www.businessweek.com> recently ran an article

entitled "Apple's eMate - Cool Computer, Dude" written by Peter Burrows.

The article focuses on Thomas Meyerhoffer -- the designer of the eMate,

and how he was able to create not only an affordable mobile computer but

also that inspires kids.



** NEWTON GETS SOME GOOD COVERAGE **



The Dallas Morning News recently published an article entitled "Handheld

computers find market by scaling back uses" written by Alan Goldstein.

The article starts of with a sentence that includes "Newton" and "flop".

But notes that the latest Newton technology is experiencing a "healthy

rebirth".  The article also touches on the other main handheld operating

systems: PalmPilot, and Windows CE.  The article also include some

Dataquest projections -- in 1997 sales of devices are suppose to grow to

over 2 million units (22% increase over 1996), and by the year 2001 the

number of units sold should be in the 7.5 million range.



** NEWTON GETS BEAT OUT BY LAPTOP **



Benson Wen, President of ThinkFish (3D Graphics Technology company) notes

in Forbes (25Aug97) on page 18 in regards to how business executives use

technology -- "I use to carry around a Newton for phone numbers, but when

I got a laptop, I decided I didn't want to carry around two pieces of

heavy equipment.  So the laptop won.  But not for long. Cellphones are

getting way more complicated.  You will get addresses and calculators and

a whole lot of Pilot-like activities on them.  I bet we will see a

Pilot/cellphone that you'll be able to dock into a computer some time in

the future."



** DEFENDING THE EMATE **



The Aug97 edition of MacUser 'trashed' Apple's Newton Technology savvy

eMate 300.  Two eMate supports got their letters of displeasure printed

in the Feedback section on pages 11 and 12.   The Editors still feel

that the eMate 300 is under powered and lacking of 'true' educational

software, but note that their appears to be a huge ground swell of

support for the device.



** NEWTON USERS FIGHT FOR MP2K **



Todd Wilson has some very nice things to say about the MessagePad 2000 in

a "Letter to the MacWorld editors" entitled "Nuts about Newton" published

on page 17 of the Oct97 issue.  The Editors note that the MP2K is "in a

class all its own but still in an expensive class."



** HELPFUL MAJOR WEEKLY MAGAZINE 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>

    - Network World: <http://www.nwfusion.com>

    - LAN Times: <http://www.lantimes.com>

    - Information Week: <http://www.informationweek.com>

    - Network Computing: <http://www.networkcomputing.com>





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

             A N N O U N C I N G   L E X I D R U G S - 97          +-------+

  K2 Consultants, Inc. has just announced the latest version of    | A R T |

  Drug Information Handbook with 5000 drugs and improved interface.+-------+

  Check out www.skyscape.com/k2 for all medical and non-medical    |  b y  |

  titles such as 5 Min. Clin Consult, Ferri's book for internists  |  K 2  |

  Archimedes Intelligent Calculator, Current Clinical Strategies   +-------+

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



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

  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.

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





NewtNews Tips and Tricks You Can Use On Your Newton

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



** NO NONSENSE NUGGETS OF NEWTON KNOW HOW **



Compiled by Roger Coleman <Roger_Coleman@compuserve.com>



If you have similar tidbits for this column, please drop me a line!

<Roger_Coleman@compuserve.com>. Please include details of the Newton

model and OS that you are using.



** USE NEWTON SCREEN AS WRIST REST **



>From John A. Zinky <jzinky@bbn.com>:



    I am fairly tall (6'3") and can not use a laptop

    on an airplane because my hands naturally extend

    to the back of the tray table.  The Newton's

    detachable keyboard solves the problem.  I use the

    newton screen as wrist rest and put the keyboard

    beyond the screen, i.e backward from the typical

    keyboard in front of the screen.  The next trick

    is to get a big piece of velcro and stick the

    Newton screen at eye level on the seat in front of

    me. ;-).



** EXTENDED CHARACTER SET HWR WITH MP2K **



>From Dave Burrage <Dave_Burrage-CDB009@email.mot.com>:



    Did you know the Newton (MP2K) can recognize

    nearly all of the characters in the extended

    Macintosh character set?  For example, you can

    write a, e, i, o, or u with an umlaut (dieresis)

    above it and have it recognized correctly. Upper

    or lower case.  This is also true of the acute and

    grave accents over e's and a's and the German

    scharfes s (double ss).  All types of [brackets]

    and {braces} are recognized correctly.  The

    cedilla (as in fac,ade), the British pound (script

    L), Japanese yen, and the US cents symbols are all

    recognized correctly.  My Newton also recognizes

    rightside up and upside down exclamation points

    and question marks and tilda n, as used in

    Spanish. It recognizes the Scandanavian characters

    like the little circle above a and A in proper

    names like "Angstrom", the slashed "o", and the

    hat over "o" as in "La' Ho^pital".  It recognizes

    degrees Fahrenheit or degrees Celcius correctly.

    Dipthongs like ae and oe, section marks (styled

    S), and German quotation marks are also recognized

    with similar ease.  It even recognizes the

    backwards "P" paragraph symbol.



    Try THAT with Graffiti!



** TIPS WANTED **



Please send me any tips, hints, goodies, jokes, interesting facts or

similar bits of information for future issues of this column to me

<Roger_Coleman@compuserve.com>.





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

  PDA Panache is your single source for stylus solutions.  Custom stylus

  upgrades for Newton MP130 and MP2000.  Custom styli for WinCE, USR, and

  Sharp PDAs.  Wide selection of Pocket Styli for all tastes and budgets.

  Duo multi-function stylus/pen combo. Beacon L.E.D. lighted stylus. Stylus

  inserts for Cross & other popular pens.  More info: 800.270.7196 or

  516.467.4042, FAX: 516.467.6329, <http://www.PDAPanache.com> (secure)

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



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

  PowerTrans 3.0 - Translator and Vocabulary Trainer - 60,000 Words -

  English, Spanish, German, French and Italian (no storage card required).

   + Customize the vocabulary and/or create new languages, attach notes

   + MP2K and eMate featured - speech, classroom multi-user, keyboards

   + Vocabulary Trainer - based on approved didactical learning system

  Checkout demo: <http://www.travel-cs.com> - contact: <info@travel-cs.com>

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





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>.



** SOME FRIENDLY SUGGESTIONS TO PAST REQUESTS **



Flash Sheridan <flash@pobox.com> suggests that Russell Sheinkopf use the

'Duplicate' routing slip to quickly create a follow-up appointment as

requested in last weeks "BETTER RE-SCHEDULING?!?"



Scott Gruby <sgruby@qualcomm.com> notes that NPReference on pages 17 - 22

has details about a native Newton function called: TimeInSeconds() that

should solve Ralf Hinz request from last week.



** A CARTOONIST'S DREAM TOOL **



Russell Sheinkopf <russells@pacificrim.net> is interested in something

he is calling the "cartoonist's dream!"  In summary:



    Replace a rough sketch with a finished drawing

    without the niggling details involved in erasing

    and replacing lines. Given sixteen shades of gray

    from 15-black to 0-null, you could draw a rough

    sketch in 15-black.



    Next, tap a button to change all 15-black to

    4-gray.



    Now use the light gray sketch as a template.

    Superimpose a revised drawing in 15-black.



    Tap a second button to change all 4-gray to

    0-null.  The rough sketch disappears, leaving

    only the revised drawing.



** POTENTIAL NEW HEAP HACK?!? **



Jason Kulas <JKULAS@BCBSCT.COM> notes that Newton, Inc. states that one

of the reasons that available heap is less on a MP2K then on a MP130 is

because of support for grayscale.  It is possible to turn the bit-depth

off?!?   And thus reclaim some heap space.  What if you only wanted 8

shades of gray, 4 shades of gray, or just B&W. Then you could just decide

that was more important: grayscale or heap.



** OUT OF THE BOX WIRELESS DATA CAPTURE?!? **



Alan Walker <grafxguy@thegrid.net> is looking for a 'out of the box'

Newton solution that:



    "... will allow us to capture field notes and data

     regarding repairs that can be sent wirelessly to

     the main service office on the next block.

     Ideally, we want to download the data into an

     Excel spreadsheet and develop a master repair

     call log."



** NEWTON AS A POST-CAD PLOTTING UTILITY **



Felipe Nieto <74052.335@compuserve.com> would like to generate a plot

file (ASCII text) in his desktop CAD program and then be able to download

this file to his MP2K.  The MP2K would then plot the file, and then

either over a cable or via IrDA print the file to a plotter.



** SHORT-CUT KEYS FOR MP2000 **



John Baughman <john@meganetwork.com> noted on the "NewtonTalk" list

server that he would be very interested in a utility that would let an

end-user installs or create custom shortcut keys for use with the

keyboard.



** MAPPING SOLUTION NEEDED **



Dr. Mark Ebell <ebell@pilot.msu.edu> finds it hard to believe that their

is no Newton equivalent to the Windows CE's MS Streets or Street Atlas

USA.  Even the Psion has a solution similar.  What Dr. Ebell really wants

is "street level detail for major cities with links to restaurants,

hotels, attractions, etc."





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

  Need more Newton information?!?  NewtNews suggests you check out:

    + Newton Reference: <http://www.panix.com/~clay/newton/>

    + Always Newton Central: <http://newton.theonly.com>

    + NewtUser: <http://www.newtuser.com>

    + NewtWorld: <http://www.fw3.com/newtworld>

    + The Ultimate Newton: <http://shell.rmi.net/~rbruce/>

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



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

  To much info in NewtNews for you?  Does all the Macintosh information

  make you want to puke?  Then maybe you should check out NewtNews-Savvy.

  For $20 you get 40 issues of just lean and mean Newton/PDA/Wireless

  information directly to your inbox of choice.  Send an email message

  with the subject containing 'NewtNews-Savvy' to <newtnews@pobox.com>

  and you'll get a sample issue and an order form.  Thanks for reading!

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





Other Handheld Technology News

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



[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 HeadsUp use:

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



** PALMPILOT **



Brian Hall <brian_hall@markspace.com> notes the creation of a PageNow

PalmPilot project page that will track the status and features associated

with this recently announced product.  You can check it out at:

<http://www.markspace.com/pagenow_pilot.html>.



Some other PalmPilot links of potential interest:



    - Paragon Software:

      <http://paragon.mda.de/pilot.htm>

    - PilotGear H.Q.: <http://www.pilotgear.com>



** WINDOWS CE **



Marleen Winer <mwiner@teletype.com> notes that Byte (Aug97) has an

article about TeleType GPS on page 105, and a picture of the product

running on Windows CE on page 107.  Marleen also noted that TeleType GPS

will be hosted at the Hitachi booth at this Fall'97 Las Vegas Comdex. You

can learn more via: <http://www.teletype.com/gps>.



John Cox examines "Microsoft thinks thin: Windows-based Terminal

blueprint nears completion" on page 1 of Network World published on

11Aug97. The "Windows based Terminal" (WBT) documentation is according to

John based on Microsoft Windows CE 2.0 specifications.



LG Electronics has announced plans to incorporate an embedded wireless

modem built by Novatel Wireless into some of their next generation

Windows CE 2.0 devices. [Mark Moore, PC Week, 11Aug97, page 8]



Mark Moore notes the release of the new 8-MB Windows CE savvy Velo 1 by

the Philips Mobile Computing Group on page 46 of PC Week published on

11Aug97.



Hewlett-Packard has announced a US$100 price reduction in the United

States for their Windows CE savvy 320LX palmtop.  The new list price will

be US$599. [HeadsUp]



The Nikkei English News is reporting that Microsoft has plans to directly

attack Sharp's dominance in the Japanese palm-sized portable computers

market.  In the near future, expect to see more focus on Windows CE

devices, including more Japanese savvy software. [HeadsUp]



Some other Windows CE links of potential interest:



    - Free Lisp Interpreter for CE:

      <http://tigar.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/pub/PocketLisp>

    - Windows CE Expense Tracker:

      <http://www.syware.com>

    - WindowsCE On-Line: <http://www.winceonline.com>



** PSION **



Some Psion links of potential interest:



    - The Computer Zone:

      <http://www.lightning-ics.com/cz>

    - Grapher Version 1.10 :

      <http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/6740/index.html>

    - PLAN5 version 5.0 (10Aug97):

      <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/andyc>



** OTHER DEVICES **



Nikon Electronic Imaging <http://www.nikonusa.com/> has released a new

digital camera called the Coolpix 300 Personal Imaging Assistant.  The

'heart' of the new device is that it includes a touch-screen LCD that

lets you control the cameras functions and settings.  The unit can store

132 color images in 4-MBs of internal space, and can also hold audio notes

associated with selected images.  The expected retail price is US$699.



Mark Moore covers the recent news of E.Com International's new handheld

device called 'Discovery' on page 8 of the PC Week issue published on

11Aug97.  The device runs Windows 3.1/DOS 6.22, includes a built-in

Motorola DataTAC modem, and 480 x 320  pixel screen.  The list price is

expected to be under US$1200.



Bruce Fraser reviews three new digital cameras in an article entitled

"Digital Cameras Coming Into Focus" on page 11 of MacWeek published on

11Aug97. All of them got 4/5 stars: Canon PowerShot 350, Kodak Digital

Science DC120 Zoom, and Minolta Dimage V.



Byte (Sep97) notes on page 24 that the following companies either have

silicon product or are sampling new mini-displays -- Silscape, Kopin,

DisplayTech, and Planar.  Barry Nance <barry@bix.com> also has a detailed

review of Wyse Technology's WinTerm 2930 on page 115.  For more info:

<http://www.wyse.com>.  And there is a short mention and a picture of the

Fujitsu Personal Systems' Stylistic 1200 pen tablet PC on page 144 in the

"What's New - Hardware" section.



Mark Moore notes the release of the new Sharp OZ-600 family of organizers

(offering improved desktop sync & new PIM features with prices ranging

from US$99-200) on page 46 of PC Week published on 11Aug97.



Some 'Other Handheld' links of potential interest:



    - HotPocket Update: <http://hotpocket.com>

    - HandJive Magazine (Aug97):

      <http://www.phosphor.com/handjive>

    - PC110-FAQ: <http://home.pages.de/~starli/>





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

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

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





Other Tidbits of Information

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



** WIRELESS & MOBILE **



Some Wireless & Mobile articles of potential interest:



    - "Wireless Telecom Inc. (WTI) Eases Wireless

       Network Installs by Mark Moore, page 22.

    - "Packet Radio Services Expand Two-Way Paging --

       Review: Ardis, RAM add options, writing new

       chapter in replies from mobile works" by Matt

       Krammer, PC Week, 11Aug97, page 83

    - "Wireless LAN vendors seek to improve on IEEE

       standard" by Stephen Lawson, InfoWorld, 11Aug97,

       page 54

    - "Alcatel, Stanford Telecom in Wideband Wireless

       Deal" by Joanne Taaffe, InfoWorld, 11Aug97, page

       59

    - "Ionica Fixed Radio Access System Soars" by Bill

       Frezza, Network Computing, 15Aug97, page 39



** LAPTOPS **



Some Laptop articles of potential interest:



    - "Notebook Vendors Lock Horns in Price War: HP

       cuts prices on OmniBooks by as much as US$650" by

       Mark Moore, page 41

    - "Hi-Tech Achieved With Class -- Case Study:

       School district adopts wireless LAN to bring PCs

       to students" by Kristina Sullivan, PC Week,

       11Aug97, page 83

    - "Compaq to Slash NoteBook Prices" by NewsBriefs,

       InfoWorld, 11Aug97, page 3



** APPLE & MACINTOSH **



Apple has resigned TBWA Chiat/Day as their new advertising agency.

[HeadsUp]



According to Time Magazine it was Steve Jobs that sold 1.5 million shares

of Apple stock two months ago.  [HeadsUp]



Apple is still in Mac OS licensing 'hell' with Macintosh clone vendors.

[HeadsUp]



Apple has reported that they sold 1.2 million copies of Mac OS 8 in the

first two weeks of availability.  You can learn more from the Mac OS 8

WWW site at: <http://www.macos.apple.com/macos8/>. [HeadsUp]



Apple has granted Florida's MacCenter exclusive rights to sell software

and hardware to Florida's K-12 education institutions.  [HeadsUp]



Other tidbits:



    - Peter Lewis <peter@stairways.com.au> has

      released RumorMill 1.1 [NNTP Server] &

      StreamWatcher 1.0 [Open Transport debugging tool]

      via: <http://www.stairways.com/>.

    - Chuck Shotton <cshotton@biap.com> has released

      NetEvents 1.0.1 [a scriptable set of TCP/IP

      services] at: <http://www.biap.com/downloads/netevents.html>.

    - Visioneer's "Hot Summer Scanner Sale" is

      offering the PaperPort vx for Macintosh for as low

      as US$119.  Learn more at: <http://www.visioneer.com/macsale>.

    - You can upgrade to Timbuktu Pro 4.0 for Mac OS

      for only US$29.95 via: <http://www.farallon.com/upgradetb2.html>.

    - John Delacour <JD@EREMITA.DEMON.CO.UK> has

      updated his Cihui Chinese input software on the

      WWW at: <http://www.eremita.demon.co.uk/cihui.html>.



** INTERNET **



Sun Microsystems has signed a deal with NCR that will enable NCR to sell

Sun's Solaris OS on Intel based workstations.  [HeadsUp]



IBM, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems have reportedly turned over their

"Network Computer Reference Profile" standard to the Open Group.  This

Java-based networking computer standard will be renamed "Network Computer

Profile".  [HeadsUp]



** OTHER SITES WORTHY OF A POTENTIAL BROWSE **



    - Wireless Computing's The Wireless Surfboard

      [keyboard]: <http://www.cpgs.com/wireless>

    - .xls: <http://www.xls.com>

    - The Morino Institue: <http://netpreneur.org>

    - Catera [Generation X Cadillac]:

      <http://www.catera.com>

    - Dayna's NetCenter [LAN products]:

      <http://www.netcenter3.dayna.com>

    - ACI's 4D [relational database]:

      <http://www.acius.com>

    - WinDrivers.com: <http://www.windrivers.com>

    - Audio Highway's Listen Up Player:

      <http://www.audiohighway.com>

    - Northern Light [Search Engine]:

      <http://www.nlsearch.com>





What's Happening in Major Business/Technology Magazines?

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



** FAST COMPANY - AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1997 **



Fluke <http://www.fluke.com> builds network diagnosic handheld devices.

Their business has grown from $270 million in 1991 to US$430 million in

1996.  Part of their success is attributed to creating 'teams' made up of

individuals from engeering, marketing, and finance.  Hosting the teams

for 100 days in a 'war room' environments with mandates to 'innovate' new

markets or improve current technologies.



Some 'words of wisdom' sound in a Q&A blurb on page 62 with AirMedia's

"Conent Guy" Lou Weiss -- 1.) Sending too much content is as useless as

sending none.  2.) Deliver 20% of the data that tells you 80% of what you

need to know. 3.) Consider the relative value or time-sensitivity of the

information.



This issue is focused on 'branding' and examines the following companies

success in branding: Starbucks, L.L. Bean, and Sony's Playstation

'group'.  It is a series of great articles that could be very useful to

the folks at Newton, Inc.



Pointers to some noteable homepages:



    - John Patrick <http://www.ibm.com/patrick>

    - Andy Oram <http://www.ora.com/people/staff/andyo>

    - Jeffery Harrow <http://www.digital.com/rcfoc/Home.html>



** WIRED - SEPTEMBER 1997 **



Some interesting items in this months 'Fetish' column edited by Bob Parks

starting on page 61 include -- 1.) Brielle's (888.274.3553) translucent

roll-up calculator for US$15 -- 2.) JVC's (800.526.5308) surround sound

speakers called the JVC SX-PRO3 (two speakers that can trick you into

thinking sound is also coming from behind you) for US$799 -- 3.) Raylink

(508.470.9095) wireless Access Point for US$1495 and the Raylink PC Card

for US$500.



Short blurb on page 156 that notes the new Nextel <http://www.nextel.com>

offering to 'roam' for free using their new Motorola built PowerPhone

iP370.



** THE RED HERRING - SEPTEMBER 1997 **



This is a special issue.  It details "The Digital Universe" by

highlighting "The Top 100 Technology Companies in 1997."  Advanced RISC

Machines (ARM) was listed #1 in the Best Products category, #2 in the

Best Partner category, and #3 in "Best Overall".  More details on ARM

were published on page 60.  Dragon Systems was listed as #5 in the

"Bloodiest Edge" cataegory, with also more info listed about the company

on page 66.



** FORBES ASAP - 25AUG97 **



David Freedman has an article that examines the how deregulation has the

potential to enable Brooklyn Union Gas to make 'profit' starting on page

45.  The article includes a picture on page 52 of two handheld devices

and another picture of a field worker writing on a wireless slate device

from Motorola.



** TRACKING MAJOR HANDHELD ADS **



HP has been running their two-page and one-page ads for their Windows CE

savvy HP 320LX in the following magazines:



    - Fast Company, Aug/Sep97, pages 120-121

    - Wired, Sep97, page 33

    - Forbes ASAP, 25Aug97, page 14



Intelifone <http://www.intelidata.com> has an ad for their "Web" savvy

desktop phone on page 155 of Fast Company (Aug/Sep97).  Same ad also runs

on page 188 of Wired (Sep97).



Philips-Magnavox <http://www.velo1.com> has one of their "Run Windows

Anywhere" ad for the Velo handheldPC on page 191 of Fast Company

(Aug/Sep97).



There is a two-page Tobshiba Libretto ad starting on page 72 of Wired

(Sep97).  This ad has also been running in many of the 'custom' airline

magazines found in airplanes.



Hitachi <http://www.hitachi.com> continues to advertise for their SuperH

RISC engine processor using their "Digital Wallet Prototype Ad" on page

21 and their "Multi-media Wristwatch Prototype Ad" on page 23 of Red

Herring (Sep97).





Advertising Notes

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



HexDump is now advertising for their new giftReminder and HexPaint

applications.



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

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



* HexDump Development Inc. presents:

   - giftReminder: store gift ideas, gift histories, and price

     comparisons for only $19.95 +S&H.

   - HexPaint: the ultimate gray scale paint program priced at

     $38.95 +S&H.

Free demos of HexDump's software available at  <http://www.hexdump.com>.

HexDump backs all it's software with a 30 day money back guarantee.



* TeleType GPS - New v2.0 - now includes U.S. Interstate Highways data

overlay. GPS software provides plot of your position on moving maps while

you drive or fly. Overlay packages include cities and towns, Interstates,

and special Aviation overlay for pilots. Bundles include GPS receiver and

software.  Never get lost again.  Email: <TeleTypeGPS@teletype.com> or

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



* 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 5000.

   - 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.

   - MORGAN is the Newton Media ORGANizer. Track CDs, tapes, records

       books, laserdiscs, videos, and more...

For more information call 802-372-9512, email <products@catamount.com>, or

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



* MAR SOFTWARE offers the following fine products:

   + NEW EXECUTIVE NEWTON STAND Rated a Must Buy by Newton Info

     Magazine. This is an exquisitely crafted stand of contemporary

     design for your Newton. Made of hardwood and anodized aluminum.

     Supports portrait or landscape mode. Clear beech or mahogany

     finish. $49.95+S&H.

   + NEW BILLS TO PAY PRO 3.5.6 Rated 5 out of 5 by Gecko Magazine!

     Easily track bills & expenses; create budgets & set alarm reminders.

     Also works with Pocket Quicken or PocketMoney. $39.95+S&H

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



* 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>



* GPS MAP and GPS MAP LITE -- GPS based navigation with real moving maps,

showing all details as familiar from paper based maps.  Features -- map

calculator, route planning, database, history track, and mission

recorder.  Import your own maps from your Mac or PC at any scale.

Connects to most GPS receiver's offering a NMEA183 interface.  For more

info/demo: <http://www.soaring.de/gps/GPS_Map.html> or <gerds@micronet.de>.



* 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>



* 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>



* THE HANDHELD COMPUTER ALMANAC -- The definitive guide to handheld

products and services, from organizers to ruggedized systems. 150 pages,

600 companies, 1300 products and services in 50+ categories, with more

than 300 Newton products. Only $24.95 + S&H from Creative Digital

Publishing Inc. 30-day money-back guarantee. email: <hhca@cdpubs.com>,

URL: <http://www.cdpubs.com>, voice: 415.621.4252, fax: 415.621.4922



* NEW SCOREPAD 3.0.1 -- Golf scorekeeping package for Newton 2.0. Easily

keeps scores and statistics - analyze and graph the results. Figure your

unofficial handicap. Automatically calculates nassaus and skins. Keep

notes about each round and course.  Available for US$50 from Software

Unboxed <http://www.unboxed.com> or directly from Sun Sabre (513.459.9330)

with 10% by mentioning NewtNews. <http:members.aol.com/sunsabre/ScorePad.html>



* MoreInfo 4.1 - This integrated contact manager seamlessly integrates

the built-in Names, Dates, Calls and Notes applications.  This latest

version adds even more useful features to this already essential product.

MP2K savvy. Voted Best Newton Software for 1997 - mobilis Magazine

Reader's Choice Award. From SilverWARE at $69.95+S&H.  For demos check

out: <http://www.silverware.com> - <info@silverware.com> - 508.521.5262



* 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>.



* NEW! 9th Volume of the Totally Incomplete PDA CD-ROM for Newton! This

CD-ROM from AMUG CD, Inc. contains over 1450 packages, 618 megs, and a

Newt 2000 only area. Works on Mac or PC. 2.x & 1.x Packages can be

downloaded directly from the CD to your MessagePad. Maximize your

Newton experience! ONLY $29 + S/H. Call AMUG 602.497-2244, or email

<sales@amug.org> to order! AMUG CD web page at <http://cdrom.amug.org/>.



* BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY PACKAGES FROM PELICANWARE

   All packages for Newton 2.0 or better OS - Upgrades also available.

 - QUICKFIGURE PRO 3.1: Spreadsheet application  $59.95

 - NEWTCASE 3.0: The Ultimate Utility Suite (for 2.0 OS only)  $49.95

 - NOTION 1.5: High Performance List Manager  $59.95

 - AVAILWORKS 3.0: 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>.





Edupage, 11Aug97 thru 17Aug97

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



** THE CHINESE PC MARKET **



China has overtaken South Korea as the largest market for personal

computers in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a Dataquest report.

Legend, mainland China's largest producer of personal computers, sold

100,000 PCs in the second quarter of this year, and the president of Intel

in China recently predicted that within a few years China will be the that

company's third largest market after the U.S. and Japan. (Financial Times

12 Aug 97



** FREELANCERS LOSE TO PUBLISHERS OVER ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION **



A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled against freelance journalists who

argued that publishers should not be allowed to reproduce their work on CD

ROMs or in electronic databases without their permission and without paying

them beyond what they were paid for the original material.  At issue was

whether or not electronic reproduction of that sort is essentially

equivalent to archival versions of print media on microfilm, which are a

publisher's right under the Copyright Act of 1976.  The decision will be

appealed.  (New York Times 14 Aug 97)



** SONY, PHILIPS, AND HP WANT TO DO IT THEIR OWN DVD-RAM WAY **



Sony, Philips, and Hewlett-Packard have decided not to support the

industry's proposed technical standard for reusable DVD-RAM disks that

allow users to copy digital computer disks or record TV programming

digitally.  A Sony spokesman claims that the companies have superior

technology that can store 3 billion bytes of information on a disk compared

with the 2.6-billion byte standard proposed by the rest of the industry.

Industry analyst Richard Doherty says that "the DVD-RAM market at present

is computers, but everyone knows the big reward coming in 18 months to two

years is the consumer video disk recorder."  (New York Times 14 Aug 97)



** NEC IS LATEST DVD MANUFACTURER TO DROP INDUSTRY "STANDARD" **



Japanese manufacturing company NEC is going to proceed with development of

its own next-generation high-capacity rewritable disks for digital video,

audio and computer data. With the announcement, NEC becomes the fourth

major company (with Sony, Philips and Hewlett-Packard) to abandon the

"industry standard" for such disks.  (Investor's Business Daily)



** NOKIA ADDS SUPPORT TO MOBILE PHONE STANDARDS **



Nokia, Europe's largest manufacturer of mobile phones, is joining rivals

Alcatel, Ericsson and Siemens in developing standardized GSM-based wireless

technology capable of handling very high-speed multimedia mail and

full-motion video. (Investor's Business Daily 15 Aug 97)



** THE FUTURE OF SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION **



Microsoft and Marimba have agreed to adopt a standard for broadcasting

software updates over the Internet.  The standard, which makes use of the

"Open Software Description" format, is also endorsed by Netscape and Lotus.

(Wall Street Journal 15 Aug 97)



** DRUDGING UP CRITICISM **



Gossip columnist Matt Drudge, whose newsletter is distributed via America

Online and the World Wide Web, has been taking a drubbing for two recent

stories he -- one about President Clinton and another about White House

adviser Sidney Blumenthal. Blumenthal is considering a libel suit and the

New York Times has lamented editorially that Drudge's work is an example of

the kind of shoddy journalism encouraged by what it called

"www.anarchy.net."   And Newsweek investigative reporter Michael Isikoff

says that Drudge is "a menace to honest, responsible journalism.  He's

clearly willing to go with anything, whether he's got any legitimate

sourcing, anything approaching legitimate verification.  He doesn't conform

to any journalistic standard or convention that I'm aware of.  And to the

extent that he's read and people believe what they read, he's dangerous."

(New York Times 15 & 17 Aug 97)





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INNOVATION, 11Aug97

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



** TRENDS: SPEEDING TECHNOLOGY, WEARY USERS **



Looking at the accelerating rate of technological change, Shane

Greenstein of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign thinks that

the biological metaphors for technology may have to be replaced by ones

associated with earthquakes and tectonic movements.  A biological

metaphor such as "product life cycle" suggests an orderly progression

that no longer does justice to the frantic pace of modern innovation.

"With only rare exceptions, only technologists brag about the speed with

which things change today.  Vendors no longer boast about it; most just

endure each new competitive episode and celebrate surviving another day.

Except for the most technical user (or the most competitive office

situation), the speed of change comes too rapidly for most users."

(Shane Greenstein, "The Biology of Technology,"  IEEE Micro Jul/Aug 97)

<http://www.computer.org>



** STRATEGIES: BEING REALLY DIFFERENT ... ALL ALONG THE LINE **



Management professors Ian MacMillan (Wharton) and Rita McGrath (Columbia)

say that the creative organizations are the ones that think about their

customers' entire experience with a product or service (which they call

the "consumption chain") and find ways to distinguish themselves from

competitors at each and every point in that chain.  How?  By methodically

asking who-what-where-when-why questions about every aspect of the

customer's use of the product or service.  Example?  Oral-B asked the

question, how does a customer know that it's time to get a new

toothbrush? -- and  then developed a patented blue dye for coloring the

center of the bristles;  the color fades when the toothbrush is no longer

effective. Similar questions led to the following differentiation

strategies:  CarMax and AutoNation "selling" cars by letting customers

create their own selection process;  Compaq targeting installation time

as a source of differentiation and giving the customer a poster and a

video; Nordstrom seeking differentiation with a "no questions asked"

returns policy (and even gained national publicity when one Nordstrom

store manager took back a set of tires even though the company does not

sell tires).  The trick is to take a long look at each and every single

point in the customer's experience -- from the time of selecting it to

the time of consuming or discarding it - and to brainstorm possible ways

of distinguishing yourself -- at that single point -- from your

competitors.  (Ian C. MacMillan & Rita Gunther McGrath, "Discovering New

Points of Differentiation,"  Harvard Business Review Jul/Aug 97)



** INNOVATIONS: ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING **



Computer-generated speech has gotten a bad rap for being mechanical- and

monotonous-sounding, but the creator of a software program called Affect

Editor hopes to change all that.  When a user selects any of six emotions

-- annoyed, cordial, disdainful, distraught, impatient or plaintive --

the software assigns one of 21 integers to each of numerous acoustical

qualities representing aspects of pitch, voice quality, timing,

articulation and loudness.  For instance, plaintive speech is soft,

low-pitched and slurred, with minimal variability and many pauses.

Annoyed speech is characterized as loud, high-pitched, quick, with

irregular rhythms, inflections and precise enunciation.  The software is

on display at the Boston Computer Museum.  (Technology Review Aug/Sep 97)

<http://web.mit.edu/techreview/>



** 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>





Administrivia

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



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This edition of NewtNews was written with the help of: ushering for the

very popular (and pretty good) musical called 'Rent' at La Jolla

Playhouse's Ahmanson Theatre; dinner with Mike, Claire, and Ethan at San

Diego Brewing Company; and finally getting 'our' Boomerang pinball

machine fixed and now operational.



Disclaimer:  I am doing this on my own time, and on my own hardware

***********  and software not the government's or my employer's.