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Newton, Schmewton (10/22/97)
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Just when it looked like the future of Newton and the MessagePad was secure, the bottom fell out of the dream. Or so reports thessaSOURCE and others.
It's only been a couple of days from the rosiest point in Newton's recent history; on Monday, Apple announced the MessagePad 2100, thus alleviating much grief among the Newton faithful who were waiting for the MessagePad to get "Steved." Jobs, you see, while completely enamored of the eMate as a $700 laptop lite, is not nearly as thrilled with the MessagePad; and so it seemed inevitable that the MessagePad would get cancelled. The Newton world heaved a sigh on relief on Monday, when the announcement of the 2100 seemed to indicate a continuing MessagePad line.
Unfortunately, today it's been widely rumored that Apple has just laid off 30% of the Newton group (including some of the last remaining NewtonScript programmers), is about to stop using the "Newton" name, and may end up killing the MessagePad line after all. This certainly seems possible-- the eMate would simply become a pure Apple product, which would continue to be sold primarily into the educational channel.
Why is it that every time Apple announces a new MessagePad, they immediately do something to cast doubt on the whole platform's future? And they wonder why Newton sales have never been stellar.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 10/22/97 episode: October 22, 1997: (Sorry—this was before we started writing intro text for each episode!)
Other scenes from that episode: 108: Billy the Bully (10/22/97) Mmmm boy, all of the seedy details are coming out in the latest courtroom drama involving Microsoft vs. the U.S. Department of Justice. (We only wish that Judge Wapner hadn't retired.) While the trial isn't open to the public, CNN reports that the DoJ called some major PC manufacturers to the stand to testify as to the character of the defendant, when the fur started to fly. First up was a tearful Compaq, obviously shaken before the watchful eye of their oppressive OS pusher... 109: Intel, Digital Make Up (10/22/97) Meanwhile, in another courtroom, longtime chip rivals Intel and Digital are rumored to be settling their differences-- to the tune of $1.6 billion. Happily, the settlement does not involve the sale of Digital's Alpha chip to Intel, as was widely reported a couple of weeks ago... 111: Far-Flung Fame (10/22/97) Many thanx to Flung! the website, for making us Flung of the Day! Flung! is sort of a mixed-bag site, whose neatest feature is Flunging Around, which will "flung you to different sites each time you visit."...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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