Inkwell: Newton Technology

[arn]

Finally, it seems Newton technology has resurfaced...

Inkwell was rumored back in July, 2000 -- almost 2 years ago. ZDNet had an article complete with screenshots of the software. To see the Newton Rosetta engine in action, see this demonstration in quicktime

[dantec]

That the newton OS is dead and the next-gen iPad will run Mac OS 10!!!

Although it is probably usefull to write text with a tablet instead of switching to the keyboard... doesn't that sound a little oubious to you??

[dantec]

Apps for the iPad or new newton will not have to be rewriten. They will run natively provided that apple sticks enough ram & a 3d card into it's next newton...

[keithcobbett]

Hmmmm. Seems like the same/closely resembled video to the one that Spymac release last year of the iWalk.

[arn]

Originally posted by keithcobbett
Hmmmm. Seems like the same/closely resembled video to the one that Spymac release last year of the iWalk.

Read the article. the videos were created in response to the iWalk hype...

I made these Newton videos.

arn

[eric_n_dfw]

Originally posted by dantec
Apps for the iPad or new newton will not have to be rewriten. They will run natively provided that apple sticks enough ram & a 3d card into it's next newton...

Somehow, I doubt Quartz Extreme would be needed on such a device.

[kainjow]

All these years I knew Apple wasn't just letting the Newton code sit around and get dusty. I knew they were doing something with it!! And he's Inkwell for proof!

(Also, the poof animation when you drag an item out of the Dock or out of a Toolbar is from the Newton too! ~ remember fellow Newton users?)

[kishba]

i'm dreaming here but here's what i think they will do *before* they introduce a pda type thing with Ink:

a bluetooth pen that acts a way to input text; just write and it figures out through the optical sensor (maybe like in mouse?) what you were trying to write

or maybe they'll just intro a really cool tablet

but i can always dream can't i

[arn]

Originally posted by kishba
i'm dreaming here but here's what i think they will do *before* they introduce a pda type thing with Ink:

a bluetooth pen that acts a way to input text; just write and it figures out through the optical sensor (maybe like in mouse?) what you were trying to write

or maybe they'll just intro a really cool tablet

but i can always dream can't i

http://www.anoto.com

bluetooth pen.... with HWR

arn

[mywar2000]

A bluetooth Pen!?
That is an awesome idea! Wow.

Thats an expensive pen to lose though...hehehe

[bobky]

Sorry for being dumb, but would inkwell work with a wacom??????
(just a question....)

[backspinner]

Would it work with my PowerBook touch pad?

[mcrain]

Well, how bout a bluetooth 3G phone with always on 128k internet access, color screen, mini-x-cam, and OSX?

[dongmin]

Don't you guys find it a little surprising that Apple is building all these personal information manager type apps right into the OS? Combine that with the re-emergence of Inkwell and adoption of Bluetooth, and it's sounding more and more like Apple is readying a PDA-like device.

Perhaps it'll be a suped-up iPod with a touchscreen and some sort of camera module for running videoconferencing. The software is in place. Come on Apple, bust out the iPod 2.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by dongmin
Don't you guys find it a little surprising that Apple is building all these personal information manager type apps right into the OS? Combine that with the re-emergence of Inkwell and adoption of Bluetooth, and it's sounding more and more like Apple is readying a PDA-like device.

Perhaps it'll be a suped-up iPod with a touchscreen and some sort of camera module for running videoconferencing. The software is in place. Come on Apple, bust out the iPod 2.

And what CPU is it going to run on? How are you going to get a APG card with 32 megs in a small case along with everything else?

If they start doing this, or use a different version of the OSX.2 lite, they could put it in an eMate type enclosure. But to put it in a Palm sized device just wouldn't happen right now.

Not that I would want one, mind you.....

[wHo_tHe]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Apple will release a combination wireless handheld computer/ input tablet/ Mac companion/ Media player. Read it again until you believe it.

Gosh I hope I'm right... teehee.

[Timothy]

Now...if only the OQO Device ran OSX; I'd be set.

[maiku]

Something else has to be in the pipeline.

APPLE bluetooth PEN?
(Does anyone recognize the pen in the Inkwell icon? Looks like an Apple)

Inkwell isn't too practical for someone with a keyboard. I type much better than I write. And I probably should buy a Wacom, but I draw even worse than I write. A Wacom just for text input? hahaha... And is a laptop user going to tote around a 9x12 Wacom?

Ever try to use a Wacom. Not exactly like writing with a good olde ink pen.
But to have a pen that you can write with on paper (like Anoto), and whatever you scribble pops up on your screen.... now that's something!
If you could write on paper, It would have the direct visual feedback that a Wacom lacks (unless you dish out $1500+ for the LCD Wacom.) But of course this traditional pen is retractable for using the stylus on non-writeable surfaces.

Does Anoto hold the patent on a stylus with an optical sensor on the end?
I doubt it....
Oh wait, Anoto works with in conjunction with digital paper, right?
A tiny grid on the paper to let the pen know where it is.
Maybe a device like I dream of isn't possible with out some kind of grid.

Who knows....
sorry, I was just scribbling with my keyboard...

[AudiA4]

"Inkwell" is a virtually useless technology for a desktop machine and keyboard - anyone can type faster than they can write by hand. Therefore, I agree with some of the other comments that this must be in preparation for implementation with mobile devices. Even if it just means notebooks with touch-sensitve screens; i.e. a "tablet" (though I'd MUCH prefer a handheld PDA device).

Don't get me wrong, I am TOTALLY enthralled with handwriting recognition, having owned a Newton Messagepad 2000 and purchased a new 3850 iPaq on the basis of actually handwriting recognition alone (not that hen-pecking joke called "graffitti" that Palm tries to pass off). Having witnessed the somewhat bizzare cancellation of the Newton by Jobs (just as it was taking off), I had presumed that there must be some valid reason that he wouldn't sell the technology outright to numerous companies that begged him for it.

I truly hope that Apple develops the "next generation" wireless handheld device - leapfrogging the competition by bundling the ease of Palm, technology of iPaq and connectivity of RIM. Apple - please deliver.

[Note: for those who are interested, owning both a Newton and iPaq, I can honestly say that the Newton is outright superior in OS implementation and sophistication over PocketPC. It's mind boggling how cuttin edge it was/is. Frankly, the hardware of the iPaq is its only real advantage - and I suppose it should be given its FIVE years newer than my Newton! Why switch you ask? I got tired of its large form factor.]

[Gelfin]

Originally posted by bobky
Sorry for being dumb, but would inkwell work with a wacom??????
(just a question....)

Apple's description of the technology led me to believe that, at the time Jaguar is released, it will work on a Wacom (or similar) tablet only, just because those are the only pen input devices available at this time.

I'll probably wind up turning this into an excuse to finally upgrade from my little Graphire to a largish Intuos2. Makes me kind of glad the release is still a few months off, since that's kinda 'spensive.

Of course, for the vast majority of desktop users, why would you want to write instead of typing? Even hunt-and-peck typing is faster than writing in longhand. The impracticality of a pen interface (when a keyboard is available) is probably the best reason to believe Apple will eventually release a pen-based solution.

[lucs]

People, cmon, i think we have to reason here for a while. Apple has no reason to enter the pda market again. They already said they will not do it, at leat not in the coming years. Inkwell was designed so people using tablets could save some time, instead of constantly switch to the keyboard to type a few words. We gotta move on folks, no matter how tremendously sweet and amazing the newton was.

[bobky]

It does seem a bit pointless without apple bringing out, some new device. otherwise it will be a bit like the speech recognistion Os9 had.

"tell me a joke......tell me a joke"
"knock, knock"
"who's there?...................who's there?...........who's there!!!!???....sod it"

[AudiA4]

Originally posted by lucs
People, cmon, i think we have to reason here for a while. Apple has no reason to enter the pda market again. They already said they will not do it, at leat not in the coming years. Inkwell was designed so people using tablets could save some time, instead of constantly switch to the keyboard to type a few words. We gotta move on folks, no matter how tremendously sweet and amazing the newton was.

While I do not disagree that the possibility of a PDA is a long shot, Apple, and specifically Jobs has never said that he wouldn't do it. All he said when asked, as I recall:

"...you would not believe the internal debates we had about bringing out such a device...."

"...now that's quite a volitile market to be in right now..."

or something to this affect. All of the quotes I've ever been privy to were elusive answers at best - yet everyone seems to think that he was quoted so matter-of-factly. Hardly.

Actually, my guess is that inkwell has been developed for implementation on a wireless notebook (i.e. "tablet") that wouldn't neccessarily require a keyboard. It would run a full version of OSX and as such, would not be a PDA. Again, applying such an advanced technology to make it convenient for what few Wacom users there are to avoid using the keyboard is entirely short-sighted. Entirely.

[G4scott]

Why would Apple release this technology like this? Definately not for a PDA. What I believe that Apple is going to release, is an iBook with a screen that swivels, so you can close it, and have a tablet Mac (I'm trying not to sat Tablet PC). Why else would Apple release software for such a small product niche? I'm sure that there is allready software out there for it.

For those of you who don't believe that this software is for an Apple device, then why doesn't Apple make a program to use with a scanner? (now that would be nifty, and cheaper than vue scan...)

A tablet mac, or a mac with a touch screen that you can write on is the only thing that I can see coming from a program like Ink.

[dongmin]

PDA no. But that doesn't leave out other pen-based solutions like a tablet device.

I'm also a believer that the iPod hasn't reached anywhere near its potential. I think an expanded contacts feature is in the works, something that allows user inputs. Via a touchscreen.