Newton Poetry

Newtpocalpyse looks to be a pervasive problem in the Newton community.

All those hopes about Newton users using their eMates and MessagePads past January 5 this year? It’s still possible, just a little annoying now that something else is messing with our Newtons. Several Newtontalkers (here, here, and here) have reported that their 2010-patched Newton 2.x devices, when reset, have their dates revert back to January 1, 2008.

Sure enough, so did my eMate 300. Here it is after I did a test reset:

Before resetting my eMate, I made sure the date and time were correct (something I often neglect after my batteries die). After hitting the reset button, the 2010-to-2008 bug (Y2008?) worked its evil magic. My dates were reset to 2008.

Thankfully, Eckhart Köppen is back on the scene after some time away, and had this to report:

The NewtonOS seems to have built in a “protection” against setting the date to a nonsensical value, which kicks in only after a reset. This protection forces the date to a 1996 on an unpatched Newton.

What happens on a patched Newton is the following sequence (assuming the date is past 2009):

1. Reset occurs
2. NewtonOS notices date after 2009 and sets it back back to 1996
3. Y2010 patch kicks in and sets the time to 2008 (since 1996 is not a valid date once the Newton has been patched)

I have so far not found a good place where to disable step 2, and it might be that this is happening in an unpatchable part of the ROM (step 3 is done in a pretty hackish way already), but I’m trying to get this resolved, because it annoys me as well :)

In the meantime, I would recommend not resetting your Newton if you can help it. If it does happen, simply reset your clock and dates.

And we’ll all wait for Mr. Köppen to fight this dragon, too.

The New York Times’s Tech Talk podcast talked with Newton savior and Y2010 bug squasher Eckhart Köppen on avoiding Newtpocalypse, how the Newton stays relevant, and how to find a MessagePad or eMate.

It’s a great (but short) interview, and helps spread the Newton virus into the world at large.

“It is a device that does what it has to do. I keep most of my information on there,” Köppen says of his Newton. “It’s always there, and it’s really practical.”

Köppen brags about the Newton’s battery life, which is excellent, and about its data reliability.

“You don’t have to worry about your stuff when it’s on the Newton,” he says. “It keeps track of your stuff as you need it, when you need it.”

And hey, I learned that Köppen works for Nokia.

Check out the July 29 episode (iTunes link) for the full interview.

[Via System Folder.]

Hip hop hurray.

Newton savior Eckhart Köppen announced yesterday that the Newton eMate and German MessagePad 2100 Year 2010 patches are complete and ready for installation. These patches fix the dreaded Newtpocalypse on Newton OS 2.1 models.

Be sure to download the Y2010 patches at Köppen’s Sourceforge.net project page.

I’ll be running the patch on my own eMate, and will post a breakdown when it’s complete. In the meantime, if you have an MP2x00 or eMate, run these patches yourself and report back to Köppen if you face any troubles.

The entire Newton community appreciates Köppen’s work on this. Thanks to him, and all the volunteers who test the patches, our Newtons will keep running for the foreseeable future.

Eckhart Köppen is looking for testers for his eMate and German MP2100 Year 2010 patch. He says on his blog:

The Y2010 patches for the eMate and German MP2100 are ready, and they seem to work fine here, but I’d still like to give them more testing. Like with the first Y2010 patch, I’m looking for people who can either risk bricking a Newton (with me unbricking it), or who have access to a US MP2x00 to unbrick a Newton themselves via a ROM board swap. Note that I don’t expect any unbricking to be necessary, but you never know.

If you have a spare eMate or Deutschland MessagePad, you can help prevent Newtpocalypse.

Chris Foresman over at Ars Technica does a great job of covering the Newton’s 2010 Patch:

If you are the sort of person who would just as soon have your Newton pried from your cold, dead hand, Köppen’s solution should keep your trusty device in operating condition at least until you or your Newton biodegrades—whichever comes first.

Heed NewtonTalk’s Twitter feed, however, because there are always a few trolls under the bridge.

In fact, these days, I avoid comment sections all together unless the blog or site has a reputation for civil conversation.

Yesterday, the Unofficial Apple Weblog announced that 2010 would be a dire year for Newton users. Some strange Year 2010 bug was bound to make MessagePad fans drown in tears of obsolete sorrow.

It’s too bad TUAW’s Steven Sande jumped the gun, because – as of a few weeks ago – Eckhart Köppen released a patch fixing the Y2010 bug. A quick browse through the Newtontalk list or, shucks, even this modest blog, would’ve brought Köppen’s patch to light.

Sande later fixed his oversight, but attempted to cover his tracks by making fun of Newton users.

“Frankly, considering the caveats listed on the update page, I think it would be a much better idea just to get an iPhone, guys!” he wrote.

Frankly, Steve, we’re doing just fine, thankyouverymuch – even if we don’t qualify as “mainstream consumers.”

What’s weird is that TUAW, at least twice in the last year or so, has reported on this exact same story, offering incremental updates on the situation. Both articles (along with the other Newton articles TUAW has posted, which help to keep the Newton in the public’s eye) are easily found using the blog’s Newton tag.

Do they not discuss Newton matters at the TUAW office before posting on them?

I appreciate that Sande gave an update on his error, but the little dig at the end is what got me.

Also, I can’t help but feel “Newtapocalypse” – as TUAW’s headline reads – sounds clunky. The “a” stuck in the middle adds an unnecessary syllable to the phrase. I much prefer “Newtpocalypse,” if only because it sounds more like the original “apocalypse.”

Four syllables. Rolls off the tongue nicely.

[Thanks to Newtontalk for the heads-up.]

Does the Newton’s 2010 bug got you down? Eckhart Köppen, the same Newton developer who created a Wiki on the 2010 bug, has issued a Y2010 Diagnostic application to help relieve some of the symptoms.

Köppen told the NewtonTalk list:

This small application lets you diagnose the content of your soups, and check which kind of alarms you have set. It should clarify what exactly might go wrong in the future instead of second guessing and brain wiping the Newton without proper reason…If you’re hit by an infinite alarm loop, you can if you’re lucky launch the Y2010 Diagnostic app and use it to clear the alarms.

Köppen suggests anyone who installed the problematic Fix2010 patch should remove it, and says that a fix to the whole issue should be out “well in time before 2010.”

[Thanks to NewtonTalk on Twitter.]

Just a heads up: Eckhart Köppen posted a wiki on his site, 40hz, that describes the 2010 Newton problem and some possible solutions. He also posted a wiki on patching the Newton.

Köppen is a Newton developer as well, and has posted some thoughts on how to do GTD on the Newton.

The good news is there are really smart people working on the Year 2010 issue, and Köppen seems to think getting a patch up and running will require “less black magic than anticipated,” as he told the Newtontalk list.