Apple Core
A podcast about the history of Apple. In each episode, hosts Graham Bower and Charlie Sorrel explore the story behind a different Apple product, and consider what it tells us about the company’s game plan and where it might be heading next.
Apple Core
Newton MessagePad - the little device that left a huge legacy
Apple launched its first handheld computing device way back in 1993. With no internet access, flaky handwriting recognition, and an eye-watering price tag, the Newton MessagePad never stood much chance of success. But the writing was really on the wall with the arrival of the PalmPilot, a cheaper, more compact alternative, with a breakthrough text input system.
Inspired by the “Knowledge Navigator” concept video Apple published in 1987, the Newton MessagePad was ahead of its time, featuring bleeding-edge technologies like Assist, which enabled users to control the device using natural language, much like Siri today.
Although Steve Jobs scrapped the Newton on his return to Apple in 1998, its legacy lives on to this day. Apple’s investment in the Newton’s processor paid off big-time, providing vital working capital during the company’s darkest hour, and spawning a line of processors that powers every Mac, iPhone, and iPad today.
Featuring special guest D. Griffin Jones from The CultCast and Cult of Mac.
LINKS
Doonesbury “Egg Freckles” cartoon:
https://newtonglossary.com/terms/egg-freckles
Apple Knowledge Navigator Video:
https://youtu.be/umJsITGzXd0?si=1VNFsKBqXjt4bLeQ
Michael Tchao pitched the idea of the Newton to Apple’s CEO, John Sculley:
https://web.archive.org/web/20211112015207/https://www.wired.com/2013/08/remembering-the-apple-newtons-prophetic-failure-and-lasting-ideals/
How Newton’s handwriting recognition software was acquired on a trip to: Moscow:
https://www.cultofmac.com/436469/today-in-apple-history-steve-jobs-visits-the-soviet-union
How Griffin uses his MessagePad 2000 for playing Dungeons and Dragons:
https://www.cultofmac.com/825770/using-an-apple-newton-today/
Inkwell - Newton handwriting recognition in Mac OS X:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkwell_(Macintosh)
Newton and the ARM processor:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/09/05/apple-arm-have-been-crucial-to-each-others-survival-for-three-decades
eMate 3000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate_300
Apple Newton Messagepad 2000 image:
Ralf Pfeifer, GNU Free Documentation License
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_Newton.jpg
Apple eMate 300 image:
Felix Winkelnkemper, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_Newton_eMate_300_(cropped).jpg
