Waking 48 Hours

Written: December 7, 2002
Last Updated: December 7, 2002

One of the benefits of not sleeping. I get to live out my dreams (Die Another Day).

I haven't slept for over 40 hours. I've been coding non-stop for nearly two straight days on a program for my Newton. A Newton, you say? Isn't that dead and obsolete technology?!? Well, take a look at some of the software packages that have come to the Newton since its untimely demise in February 27, 1998:

MAD Newton and MAD Max: MP3 Player and codec!
MP3DecoderDef: Receive and play MP3's from your SimpleMail inbox!
SimpleMail 4.0: POP and IMAP client that actually works, unlike some Palm offerings (sorry, MultiMail).
ATA Support: One of the coolest programs ever made. ATA Support allows one to use CompactFlash cards and other current storage media on the Newton. All you need is a PC Card Adapter and you're set!
Newton Personal Data Sharing: Turn your Newton into a web server!
Waba: lets you run a Java virtual machine on your Newton.
IEEE 802.11b Wave LAN driver: Use your Newton wirelessly anywhere!
NewtFTP: FTP client software for your Newton.

For technology that's been obsolete for nearly five years, it sure beats the pants off of many of today's handheld computers. The great thing about all of these products is that they've been developed by a small but generous and devoted community of developers. How long has it taken Palm to get Java over to the Palm? How about their ARM-based product? The Tungsten-T (what a horrible name for a product) doesn't even ship with MP3 playback out of the box! What's up with that?!?

So, I've been rewriting and enhancing my nHTML application for the Newton these past couple of days. In the years since I last worked on it, I must have gained some serious programming skills and wisdom, as I've rewritten much of the application from the ground up in a far shorter time than it took me to write the app in the first place. The application is largely dynamic and template driven now, instead of being hard coded with bailing wire and duct tape as it was in the past! There's still much to do, but the application now is infinitely more useful than it was in the past.

With nHTML, NewtFTP, SimpleMail, the Wave LAN driver, and a wireless card, I'll have a very portable web development tool!

Thanksgiving leftovers

Imitating the inimitable Mr. Lau

Watching Vienna's performance

Newton never dies, it just gets new batteries!

I really should go to sleep

I haven't done this type of thing since the beginning of this year. As Vienna was mentioning, it's like being back in college doing an all-nighter paper or problem set or CS Class project. I finally got around to finishing one dub of the performance that she gave at the San Francisco Public Library in November. Cool stuff, indeed. Thanks to Eric for working on getting the sound in sync. With footage from two cameras and a remixed audio track, we were moving the files one frame at a time to the left and right to get everything in sync!

Oh yeah, I cut my hair last week. It's back to shortish-long hair for the time being. I don't care what other people think. I like it! And if I didn't, I can always grow it back to long or shave it all off. I've done it before, and I can do it again... hmmm... maybe I'll get cornrows done on them again!

Enter The Photo Gallery

Reader Comments

Sounds excellent! Congrats for returning to the Newt Developer pool. Can't wait for some of that nHTML'y goodness =]

--posted by John Swaine @ Monday, December 9 2002, 4:02 am EST

Thanks man! You rock. It's great to see you writing for the Newt again. I enjoy using a few of your other packages as it is.

--posted by James Elliott @ Monday, December 9 2002, 6:48 am EST

Great job. How will it compare with "HnewTML 2" from Serg Koren?

When will "Write Here" pass Newton penstrokes to OSX 10.2's "Inkwell" for recognition on the desktop... wirelessly via 802.11?

--posted by Mark Rollins @ Monday, December 9 2002, 8:15 am EST

This was fun to read. Very exciting to learn you are (again? still?) working on cool Newton software. I look forward to seeing the results of your labors. But do get some sleep!

--posted by Tom McDougal @ Monday, December 9 2002, 9:44 am EST

thanks for coding again..

it would be sweet to get Dreamweaver-like menu functions into nHTML.. (wish) I would be happy to pay for a Newton app that would allow some function like DW..

but i'm happy that your back to the Newton..

and about the hair.. i say get a full-on afro.. the bigger, the puffier, the better.. you could always pull it into afro-puffs, or dread it out..

--posted by jim @ Monday, December 9 2002, 16:52 pm EST

Hi there,

when I read at NewtonTalk that you are coding for the Newton again, I couldn't believe it. Having read this page, I can, and I am happy you came back.
Welcome back in the Newton community!

Frank

--posted by Frank Gruendel @ Monday, December 9 2002, 17:33 pm EST

Hmmm, if you don't like the Tungsten, what about the Sony CLIE NX-70? It's very Newton-like with two slots, big display and very cool features.

Maybe it would be fun to develop for this machine as well? ;-)

--posted by Lo Szabo @ Tuesday, December 10 2002, 3:05 am EST

IM NOT SURE IF WELCOME BACK IS APPROPRIATE BUT NEVER THE LESS...WB! I HAVE ENJOYED USING SUM OF YOUR WABA PKGS AND I HAVE RECENTLY, BECAUSE OF MY JOB BEEN, THROWN INTO A WEBMASTER ROLE. SO I THINK I WILL BE VERY HAPPY IF YOU CAN MAKE A DREAMWEAVER PKG FOR THE NEWT. HAPPIER STILL IF I LEARN HOW TO USE IT CORRECTLY.

DO WHAT YOU LIKE TO YOUR HAIR, IT WILL EVENTUALLY GROW BACK AND YOU WILL GET ALL THE SLEEP YOU NEED AFTER YOU DIE.
LONG LIVE THE GREEN!

--posted by L A GREEN @ Tuesday, December 10 2002, 20:21 pm EST

Hi Adam,

I just worked on my Newton software again, too! I moved back to Germany and bought a GSM phone (Nokia 6310i) and tried to get my contacts over from Newton to Nokia. So I am currently writing some Export code for the DIL app I made years ago. Here it's now 4:12am, but that's not because I stayed up for > 24hours but because I still suffer from jet-lag and can't go to bed earlier :^)

Anyhow --- good to read about you again, and that you still enjoy the good old stuff - (like me, who stays with OS 9 and avoids OS X whereever possible - yuck!)

Cheers to my teacher!
Thomas

--posted by Thomas Tempelmann @ Tuesday, December 10 2002, 22:14 pm EST

So glad to hear you are programming again--I love NewtToDo (I just got it a week ago), it changed the way I worked with my Newton. Your work is much appreciated!

--posted by Jeff Abbott @ Tuesday, December 10 2002, 22:59 pm EST

Go man, go! I'm looking for a portable html studio so I can update client sites (and my own) from the road. Looks like you're BBEdit'ing the Newton. Can't wait.

--posted by Tim Swan @ Thursday, December 12 2002, 8:18 am EST

know that the stuff you do is *so* appreciated. i been using some of your apps, and they have made my working life *so* much easier. i big, big thanks to you, man... and merry christmas

ikem.

--posted by Ikem Nzeribe @ Sunday, December 15 2002, 7:41 am EST

thanks for all your work on the newt platform. your software made me get my mp2100 out of the closet and get 802.11 working on it. i've started a blog just to use it! syncingmac.blogspot.com.

Now I just have to unlearn all that graffitti!

--posted by andy diller @ Friday, January 10 2003, 12:53 pm EST