So ever since that Fortune interview with Steve Jobs surfaced last week, people have been talking about how Apple tried to buy the PalmPilot from 3Com, but 3Com wasn't selling. In fact, it's not just that 3Com wasn't selling to Apple; apparently they weren't selling to anyone, since they also turned down an offer from Microsoft who wanted to buy the Pilot's operating system. (Windows CE isn't good enough for Microsoft anymore?)

We consider it sort of a shame that the Apple deal never happened, really. We'd like to think that over time, Apple could have brought some of the Newton's strengths over to the Pilot, like a more elegant operating system, true handwriting recognition in addition to Graffiti, etc. On the other hand, we're sure that there are plenty of PalmPilot fans out there who would disagree heartily, and figure that Apple would only have screwed up the Pilot if they had actually been able to buy the device-- by perhaps doubling the size and the price. It's all just speculation now, anyway, but it's interesting to note that people are talking about it, like in this Reuters article.

But what is up with that statement that the Pilot's "handwriting recognition software, called Graffiti, is easier to learn and is more accurate that the Newton's?" Excuse us while we unroll our eyes. First of all, how is learning Graffiti (an admittedly simple task, mind you) easier to learn than just printing normal English text? There's literally nothing to learn to use a modern Newton's handwriting recognition at damn near 100% accuracy, at least based on our untrained test-drives at the local computer store. Secondly, Graffiti started on the Newton as an add-on for those early MessagePads whose recognition was fond of turning written phrases like "Sheena is a punk rocker" into, say, "Shadow is a pink ranger." As far as we know, you could always buy and install Graffiti on your MessagePad if you wanted to. It just goes to show you, public perception paints the world-- and recovering from early PR blunders isn't easy.