On Wednesday, July 10, 2002, at 11:37 AM, Sushi wrote:
>
> Tom,
>
> My read is different concerning SJ discussing Jaguar. IMHO, the Newt
> represents a difficult time for Apple and SJ. To him, that period of
> time is better left unsaid/recognized.
>
> BTW, just because SJ canceled the Newt, does not mean that he disliked
> the Newton technology including HWR. Otherwise, I doubt that we would
> see it in Jaguar. By not selling off part of the crown jewels (Newt OS
> and all that it contained), Apple is able to incorporate the Newt's HWR
> into Ink.
Well, SJ (allegedly, I've never seen/heard the actual retort) refer to the Newton as a scribble pad.. (Maybe he was referring to the OMP - it pretty much WAS a scribble pad!)
> Yes, SJ believes that computers have keyboards. That much was
> true...then again, it might not be today. ;-)
I think he's right in one way. I think computers will always have keyboards, at least for the forseeable future, because they allow for very rapid data entry for touch-typists. I can certainly type faster than I can write on the Newton (even if I'm using my usual sloppy scrawl). The only thing that could change that in a big way that I can see is either if HWR got MUCH better (recognize ANYTHING, and include a full language model - I wonder if InkWell incorproates a language-model?), or if voice regonition got MUCH better (able to take dictation in a noisy room, when you're speaking fast, and cut out you'r Uumms and Uhhs from the stream, and detect when you want to delete the last word without you having to say it explicitly.)
> One of these days, Apple will have to fill the void created on the PC
> side with the Table Computer. IMHO, they have no choice in the matter.
> However, that doesn't mean that they need to be the first, or the last
> for that matter, to introduce a new Pen/Tablet computer.
I think the inclusion of Inkwell into OSX and waiting for the MS Tablet computers is a very GOOD thing for Apple if indeed they will get back into the PDA field at some point. This way, they can tweak Inkwell for a couple of years to make sure it works real well - and get to a point where people believe that it works. Then, when they come out with a PDA, they don't say, "It can read your handwriting" (Newton bombshell), they can say, "It uses Inkwell" - which of course by that time people will already have been using, know that it works, and telling their friends about (hopefully - the earliest adopters will probably be in the graphics community because they use tablets already)
> I don't know about you, but X to me, seems like it would be very easy to
> use with a Pen. Much more so than with System 9. Just some minor
> interfacing tweaks are needed.
> BTW, ever wonder where the dock idea came from. it sure looks a lot like
> the Newt dock to me! :-)
I think the Dock came from NextStep. But then, the idea for the NextStep dock might have come from the Newton (but the idea of A dock is not exactly an earth-shattering innovation.. This is kind of like quibbling over who invented tabbed palettes or overlapping windows ;-)
OS X does seem easy to use with a pen. By the way (I techincally shouldn't say this..) the Address Book app in Jaguar has an "Edit" button. When you toggle it, then click on a field on an address book card, it pops up a little slip-like window that allows you to edit it. Very ammenable to a pen interface IMO (and would be nice on a Newton too!) Though I'd like it if you could shift click to bring up the slip too. The control key contextual menu also works on individual words, much like the double-tap functionality (I won't tell you what's in the menu though ;-)
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