NewtonOS Running on Linux PDA

Seb Payne writes "At the WWNC 2006, Adam Tow has reported that Einstein, the NewtonOS emulator is now working on a Sharp Zaurus Linux PDA, showing future for our favourite green friend. Although it is not production quality, could this bring a future to the Newton platform?"

In a word...

[Seoulstriker]

could this bring a future to the Newton platform?

No.

Newton has long been dead.

No

[NitsujTPU]

Although it is not production quality, could this bring a future to the Newton platform?

No, I see no reason why emulating an OS under Linux on a PDA would bring that platform a future. I think that the best thing to do would be to incorporate those features that you liked from the Newton into an existing platform, rather than emulating it under Linux on a Zaurus, which seems more like a "fun and geeky thing to do" than a practical solution to anything.

Odd Obsession?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why some people is so obsessed reviving old (if it's not dead) technology? I'm just out from my desperation for hope the continuity of BeOS. I think mainstream public project such as Linux based or FreeBSD have better future than expecting a future from a dead or dying OS(es) other than for the sake of nostalgia. If the hardware dead, it's dead man. get an iPod if you're obsessed with everything apple (yeah I know, no input possible, so it's not a pda replacement)

Newton Hardware

[nurb432]

The OS was only part of the puzzle.

Yes, its great that the OS may live again in some useable form, but its not quite the same with out the larger formfactor and apple quality behind it.

If by some miracle and Jobs got a clue so Apple would bring it back, i know id be in line to buy another one..

this might lead somewhere

[streetwise]

The goal here is not just being able to run decade-old apps from the Newton. It is extending what was so good about the Newton to new platforms. No pda has yet to come close to the best features of the Newton. Furthermore, palm os has stagnated, and there are lots of gadgets, from cell phones to "internet tablets" appearing that run on linux that are crying out for better user interfaces (especially decent handwriting recognition). Check out http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthrea d.php?p=7287#post7287 [internettablettalk.com] over on the Nokia 770 forum as an example of how this might play out.

Other Newton Related Advances

[Feneric]

There were lots of new Newton-related technology at the show. It's a pity it's not covered anywhere.

One little thing I worked on was a Newton book reader extension for Firefox [newtonslibrary.org] that can read Newton books from within Firefox on Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, WinXP, etc. It's now in its second public version.

The reason that people still work with Newtons is simple -- Newtons still do things that nothing else on the market seem capable of doing. There are some really good, solid ideas in that OS.

the only way

[penguin-collective]

The only ways Newton OS will live again is if someone actually develops the OS. Otherwise, it's just a dead piece of code. Developing it requires that either (1) Apple open sources it, or (2) Apple makes another product out of it, or (3) Apple sells it. I don't see any of those happening.

Re:Odd Obsession?

[TomHandy]

Exactly, I think that's the thing. People do not lust after dead technology when it has been obsoleted or surpassed by newer technology (for the most part). People lust after it when new technology doesn't manage to do the same things as well as the old technology did. That's where I am with Newton OS. I used a Newton MessagePad 2100 and absolutely loved it...... I eventually broke down and made the switch to Palm OS, and have also tried PocketPC devices. My Palm OS device (a Treo 650) works for me, and I'm also impressed at some of the things PocketPCs can do (or Windows Mobile, sorry), but the user experience with them is just not the same as with the Newton. As much as the Newton got knocked for it's large size, there was something to be said for having more room to write with, etc. It seems like in some ways, Microsoft and their Tablet PC stuff is probably about the closest you can get these days to a similar experience (from the brief periods of time I've spent trying them out in stores).

Great OS but No...

[wackymacs]

Although it is not production quality, could this bring a future to the Newton platform? No, as everyone else has been saying. Just because an old OS is being emulated on new hardware doesn't mean it will bring a future to it. Other dead OSes, such as System 7, have been emulated on the PSP,Macs and PCs but I don't see that having any 'future'. Isn't it a but of a stupid question? The Newton OS is great - I have two Newtons and an eMate which all run the Newton OS, but its been dead ever since Apple discontinued the Newton products in 1997 and it won't ever be alive again, sadly.

Zaurus not dead.

[linuxrocks123]

It's still being developed in Japan.

Since when does emulation = a future?

[wernst]

"...could this bring a future to the Newton platform?"

No.

You know, I can (and do) emulate the Apple IIGS and IIe on my PC (and Mac, for that matter) with production-quality emulation software. So?

Would anyone be stupid enough to suggest that a dead platform like the Apple II, even well emulated, gives it a future beyond that of a "novelty project?" I think not.

Emulated NewtonOS is no different.

Reflections on the Newton

[the_REAL_sam]

I don't know how well the Newt OS compares to modern Zaurus OS, but Newton OS was very good, and it is most likely still suitable to today's needs. The handwriting recognition was good, as were all the pda features. You could record (lots of) voice into it. It would have been useful to people like attorneys organizing recorded testimony. It supported pictures and internet via modem. It had a book reader, which I enjoyed using. Games. Lots of other stuff too.

The OS is not the reason the product failed. It failed because the Newton business model was not consistent with the Newton's hardware/utility model.

The Newton was designed to be a replacement for a pad of paper at business meetings, with the advantage that the infrared feature allowed for efficient data dissemination between Newtons. For that reason, the "Newton vision" worked best if enough people HAD Newtons. Other applications would have been "field computer" for researchers, doctors or soldiers.

But the Newton was too expensive ($600-$1000, 1997), it was a little too large/heavy, and for all its processing speed (strongarm 166 Mhz risc) it didn't have a COLOR touchscreen. At the time, Palm had 1/2 to 1/3 the size, less cpu, less hardware features, and 1/2 to 1/3 the price. So Palm captured the low end, and laptops took the high end. Newton's nich just never caught on.

That's a postmortem of the product. The cost of the hardware design didn't work with the business model because the utility nich was too narrow. That's what set it back.

Newt OS was lovely, and had nothing to do with the demise of the product.