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Newton Dies... Again (1/28/98)
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Newton, Apple's "other platform," seems to have more lives than James Bond. We've lost track of how many times we've been told it got killed/cancelled/sold off in the past two years, but the Newton project just seems to keep on ticking; Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down. This time, it's the San Francisco Chronicle that's foretelling the Newton's doom.
According to the Chronicle, a few of their sources "in the know" claim that all Apple engineers working on the Newton have already been shown the door. One of these sources even says that Apple has decided to "bag the eMate," which is troubling, since it's been widely believed that the only thing keeping Steve Jobs from canceling the whole Newton project in the first place was the nifty little laptop-MessagePad crossbreed, which he felt showed promise as an educational computing tool. Apple is rumored to have been working on variations of the eMate for different audiences, such as the "bMate" for the business crowd. And now the Chronicle's source reports that the whole Newton project, eMate and all, has already been secretly cancelled.
Is this finally the end for our hero? Apple sources are keeping quiet about whether any decision has been made one way or the other, to no one's particular surprise. Hey Apple, here's an idea... how about telling us something for a change? Newton users and developers are even more in the dark than Mac users and developers when it comes to Apple's future plans and level of commitment. We've been wondering for years if the MessagePad is going to be continued, but Apple just sits and stares... So we can only wait and see if another great technology gets Steved.
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SceneLink (399)
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 1/28/98 episode: January 28, 1998: Reports of the Newton's death have been greatly exaggerated in the past, but what of the latest rumors of its demise? Meanwhile, whisperings of the imminent visitor known as the Network Computer continue to describe the project as a potential love interest for MIS departments everywhere when it finally emerges from the shadows, and Larry Ellison continues to drool all over Steve Jobs in public...
Other scenes from that episode: 400: NC = New Coverage (1/28/98) So we've been talking about the rumored Apple NC's a lot lately, and it's no wonder-- with all the world screaming that Apple needs to ship low-cost systems in order to survive, the NC project could single-handedly save the company if it's implemented well... 401: Down, Boy, Down (1/28/98) Okay, set us straight-- every time Larry Ellison starts blabbering to the press about how wonderful Steve Jobs is, should we feel an overwhelming sense of warmth and admiration for his profound sense of friendship and loyalty?...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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