Posts tagged “twitter”.

Newton quote of the week: going retro

December 17th, 2009

“Sometimes I wonder just how “Newton” I could go. Clear off my desk and leave only an eMate and Color StyleWriter 2200? Would love it.”

Morgan Aldridge

Newton keyboard? There’s an app for that

December 1st, 2009

Well I’ll be.

The secret is, you have to have a jailbroken iPhone and a few connectors (details at the namedfork.net source page), but man – look at that thing in action.

Lots of luck to anyone who tries it.

[Via Thomas Brand.]

Google (and Twitter!) on a Mac SE

November 18th, 2009

macsegoogle

From Ken Fager, who has also been using Grackle68k, which I’ve heard about all over the place recently.

It’s geeky enough to get a Mac SE online, but it’s super cool to send toots via Grackle. Kudos to you, Ken.

[Via Ken’s Twitpic and Twitter.]

Biggest day ever

July 21st, 2009

Apple.com's 1983 success wave

What you’re looking at is the high crest of some Mac appreciation wave that is only now breaking.

I posted my Apple.com, circa 1983 picture on June 29 – three days after sharing it on Flickr. Since then, the image has been shared on numerous blogs (including one of my daily reads), and has spread around the world. It’s been an honor to see how this little project took off.

To give you an idea, Newton Poetry typically earns anywhere from 300-700 hits on an average day. For those days that I publish something to Macsurfer, that number can reach into 1,000 or so. But that’s only happened a few times.

Hitting 3,600 hits in a day, however, is unheard of for this blog. It’s madness. And it’s humbling.

The funny thing is, I had a feeling it was coming. Something told me that drafting a snapshot of Apple’s make-believe 1983 web site, something I hadn’t seen anyone tackle before, would be something people could enjoy. But 43,000 views and 30 comments on Flickr (and counting) tells me it reached those Mac fans, like myself, that love the retro kitsch stuff.

Here I thought the first day’s traffic, that little spike you see on the left, was big news. Then things creeped down back to normal, when Cult of Mac wrote about it and – BOOM – off it went. My biggest source of traffic has come from some German web sharing service Swedish blog network that I’ve never heard of. Amazing.

Looking at it almost a month later, there’s some things that I would change about the mockup. For one, someone pointed out that I had the wrong Apple II at the bottom. I’d like to mess with the kerning a bit on the headlines.

Also, some have suggested that I should have used Apple’s old serif font (what would become a modified version of Garamond) for the typeface. But I hate that typeface, and I wanted to keep things simple and more modern. Besides, the picture was thrown together on a Thursday night, the product of an idea and some Google Image searching, and is by no means an accurate representation. It only shows what one could do with Apple’s iconic web site design.

Most of all, my little project has shown the power of the share-able web. After I posted the mockup and Twittered it, the thing spread immediately to blogs and re-Tweets, and started generating unheard-of levels of traffic to this site.

So thanks to everyone who chimed in, shared the picture, and visited this site. I hope some of you will stick around, because I do love me some classic Macintosh, and Newton, and am willing to do more of this kind of thing.

I have a Newton launch day version of Apple.com swimming in my head as I type.

Thanks, Newtontalk

July 9th, 2009

newtontalktwitter

I really do appreciate it. It’s probably the highest, most gracious compliment Newton Poetry has received so far.

Well, besides all the cuss words in the comment section.

By the way, you can follow Newtontalk on Twitter, or head to the only full-powered, highly-specialized e-mail list that discusses all things MessagePad, eMate, handwriting recognition, and poutine.

The gang at Newtontalk have provided me with tons of advice, articles, helpful leads, and loads of laughs. They’re quick to respond when you have a Newton-related issue, and their encyclopedic knowledge of the platform is staggering.

As a relative newcomer, I bow to their collective wisdom.

Ars Technica covers Newton’s Y2010 bug fix

July 1st, 2009

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.

TUAW jumps the gun on Newtpocalypse

June 16th, 2009

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.]

Has Twitter fixed replies yet?

May 18th, 2009

Grant helps us find the answer.

Update: there’s now a Splorp blog post to accompany the site. He puts it well:

Twitter seems a bit too quiet now. I’ve resorted to following dozens more people just to maintain a fraction of the conversational threading that the previous iteration of Twitter afforded.

It’s all in reference to the changes Twitter made to its “@replies” behavior.

[Via Splorp’s Twitter.]

This weekend, ‘Newton Poetry’ 2.1 released

September 18th, 2008

A couple of updates before we head into the weekend, mostly regarding Newton Poetry news.

First, I’ve decided to take the plunge and nab an affordable eMate off eBay. From the auctions I’ve seen, I can get a decent model for about $20. This way, I can finally play around with a Newton OS 2.x MessagePad – and do it on the cheap.

Second, I’m switching my domain name to “newtonpoetry.com.” Newton Poetry will still be hosted on WordPress.com (at least for the time being), but I figured if I ever want to make the big move to a self-published blog, I might as well have Google and blog links directing traffic to a unique domain. So be sure to update your bookmarks and del.icio.us tags.

Just out of curiosity – does anyone have any experience doing this? Has your WordPress.com-hosted site done better, worse, or the same since you switched domain names? And has anyone taken a WordPress.com blog and switched it to a third-party host? I’d love some pointers before I get all this started.

Also, I’d love to have some guest bloggers on Newton Poetry. If reaching an audience of MessagePad enthusiasts has some appeal, and if you have any experience fiddling with your Newt, drop me a line at newtonpoetry [at] gmail [dot] com and let me know what you’d like to write about. The Newton community is one of the most closely-knit ones I’ve ever encountered, and there are tons of people out there with more knowledge about all things Newton than me (though I hope to change that here real soon). Shucks, imagine how useful someone with Newton and Windows experience would be around here.

And hey, your posts don’t have to be just about the Newton. Newton Poetry is a blog for DIYers, hackers, Mac modders, and appreciators of classic Apple machines – plus iPhone and iPod users. We’re not finicky. If you’ve done a fun and useful Mac project, I’d love to feature it.

Part of me is wondering where to take this blog in the next month or so as it approaches the first anniversary. I think a little new blood, and some new ideas, would do wonders. The sad fact is, I don’t have the time to experiment with my Newton like I would like to, and some weeks it’s hard to come up with post ideas.

Finally, a few interesting links that I’ve found going through the web lately:

Thanks for reading!

Apple Design Awards makes Splorp famous

June 12th, 2008

Well, kind of. It helps if you know who he is.

“Splorp”” is actually Grant Hutchinson, a big Newton MessagePad fan and keeper of the Newtontalk list (which seems to be down as of this posting – here’s the Twitter feed), the Newted Community, and his own personal site (and, above, his Twitter feed).

Anyway, one of the 2008 Apple Design Award winner for “Best iPhone Social Networking Application” was Twitterrific for the iPhone, and his picture is right there on Apple’s web site. Kind of cool.

He might not even know it yet, but I’ll let him know right now. Because, you know, us Newton users need all the help we can get, right?

When I first got my iBook, back in November 2005, I saw a Celldweller CD sitting on one of the desktops on Apple’s “Get to know your Mac” tutorial sites. Being a fan, I let him know, and he seemed to appreciate it. “I know we have some fans over at Apple,” Clayton told me.