Newton Begins to Show its Breadth

Depending on your classification system, the Newton may not have been the first PDA; and according to some users, it may not even be the best PDA. However, the Newton appears to be building a base of support among software developers that reminds us of the early days of the Macintosh.

This enthusiasm was evident at COMDEX this year as several small to medium size developers were on hand to display programs ranging from spreadsheets to golf course scoring.

Watching the early development of Newton software is going to be even more interesting as we see how developers believe people should interact with a device as personal as a PDA. Unlike the early Macintosh, Apple has selected not to cast the user interface in stone. While the Newton Toolkit does supply a standard supply of pre-built user interface components, Apple has also thrown open the doors to a wide range of interaction modes and styles.

We can probably expect to see the best and worst this approach has to offer, with Apple probably being as baffled about this entirely new class of device as the rest of us. As time passes, we should expect this picture to clear somewhat, especially when we finally stop thinking of these devices as tiny computers, and start thinking about them as extensions to our physical and cognitive being.

“The Newton appears to be building a base of support among software developers that reminds us of the early days of the Macintosh.”

Newton & Windows Connect

Users of Microsoft’s Windows environment (which number in the millions) will now be able backup and synchronize with their Newton devices using Apple’s just-announced Newton Connection kit for Windows v1.00.

The software, jointly designed by Apple and Travelling Software, incorporates functions similar to the Macintosh version that has been available in the United States since September.

The price for the kit is $165 and will entitle registered purchasers to a free upgrade to the 2.00 version when it is expected to be available in early 1994. The 2.00 version will include special features to interface with several Windows productivity applications such as spreadsheets and PIMs.

MobileSoft Quick to Market

For a device like the Newton to be truly useful, it has to provide a range of services in addition to note-taking and rudimentary information management. Chief among these services is the need to be able to perform a range of quick and simple calculations to more advanced financial models, even if the size of the device limits the scope of the tasks that you can tackle.

MobileSoft, a Campbell California-based company, has burst out of the starting gate with a feature-rich spreadsheet called MobileCalc designed specifically for Newton-based devices.

The MobileCalc interface uses the familiar grid structure, however, the style of interaction is distinctly stylus-oriented and therefore much more natural than desktop-based systems.

MobileCalc includes a math engine that is capable of performing over 70 financial, statistical, and general math functions. However, the program really shines when it comes time to enter text and values. The program helps you write on the small Newton screen using a feature called Smart Cell Input, enabling you to write larger and outside the targeted cell, and encouraging you to add and change values in a cell.

Recognizing that the Newton recognizer (all recognizers really) is error-prone, MobileCalc includes two features to reduce writing and input errors. The program does this by enabling you to select common row and column headers from a label palette instead of repeatedly entering them manually. In addition, formula creation is almost as simple using an equation tapboard. MobileCalc also enables you to activate numbers-only recognition which reduces the error rate for many common data entry sequences.

All in all, MobileCalc is a fine spreadsheet for the nascent Newton market. The set of features appear adequate for the current platform and the speed at which calculations are performed is good. At $99, MobileSoft has also hit the correct price point for this class of software. For more information, call (408) 376-0497.

Newton’s on Course

If you really want to impress a fellow golfer the next time you’re on the links, flip out your Newton running Fingertip for Golf. This highly graphical application helps you with course scoring, game evaluation, and (to really annoy your buddy) a wager calculation feature.

Using the program, you can capture a wide range of information that can help you later analyze your game for improvements. Fingertip for Golf uses detailed course layouts to help you enter information and make the program fun to use.

To help you get course layouts, Fingertip will start an on-line database service in January 1994 from which you can download courses. In addition, users can “beam” golf courses to each other, or enter them using a course designer in the program.

Fingertip for Golf is now shipping and is $159 for floppy disks and $179 for the PCMCIA version. For more information, please call (714) 759-9399.

Newton Calculates

Not too long ago, many of us carried HP calculators around in school and wished it could do more things. Now some of us carry Newtons around and wish it could perform everyday calculations as well as the trusty HP. Go figure.

Actually, GoFigure is a new application written by Dubl-Click Software in Woodland Hills, Calif. GoFigure includes over fifteen different calculators suitable for nearly every situation you’re likely to encounter. It obviously includes scientific and statistic calculators, however it also includes several special purpose models for subjects ranging from architecture, to computer science, to film editing.

For those people that really find math annoying, it even includes calculators that help you determine birth dates and baby-sitting wages, home weights and measures conversions, and date calculations—including the number of days until Christmas.

The user interface will appear familiar to anyone who has used a calculator before and includes scrolling paper tape and simulated LED displays for various features such as memory. For the true HP fan, you can even enter your calculations in Reverse Polish Notation.

GoFigure retails at $79.95 for the floppy disk version and $99.95 for the PCMCIA card version (available in early 1994). For more information, please call (818) 888-2068.

Newton Goes Online

Even though Newtons are designed to enable you to manage personal information effectively, the vast majority of interesting information will always reside outside the device – much of it available through any of several commercial online information services.

Following its introduction at the Newton debut this past August, Ex Machina, Inc. used Fall COMDEX as an opportunity to show its new Newton communication program to a wider audience. The product, called PocketCall, is touted as an intelligent communications assistant which helps you wade through the mounds of information available through online services.

Using a Newton compatible modem, PocketCall enables you to interact with a host system using handwriting or a popup on-screen keypad. You can also increase your speed of interaction by pre-storing common words and commands and entering them using a quick touch-access mechanism.

Most interesting of all, PocketCall includes the ability to accept add-in software modules called PocketPacks. These modules are designed specifically for different services and can automate the entire communications session including retrieving news, and uploading and downloading email. PocketPacks will be available for several popular services including CompuServe, GENIE, MCI Mail, AT&T Mail, and others. For more information, please call (800) 238-4738