‘Tis a sad day, Newton fans.
Today is the ten-year anniversary of the death of our beloved MessagePad platform.
John Sculley’s dream was dashed when Steve Jobs arrived back on the scene. Says AppleMatters.com:
Having hastened Sculley’s departure or not, the Newton made it through two more CEOs and hundreds of thousands of wasted development dollars before it was spun off as an independent company. he world will never know if the Newton could have stood on the merits of the product without Apple’s backing, and true Newton fans cried a bitter tear on February 27, 1998, when Apple announced that further development of the Newton would cease.
*Tear* Poor sales, lack of development, Palm chipping away at market share – it was all too much for the newly refurbished Apple to deal with.
CNet.com has a great breakdown of the announcement on the day it happened, so check it out for the full story.
Now? The Newton community is still alive and well, thankyouverymuch, thanks to folks like you and me.
But remember, remember, the 27th of February…or something like that.
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