Thread

eMate 300 in box - my first Newton

· Networking · 18 posts · Sep 19, 2009 — Sep 21, 2009 View original thread ↗

#1 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 01:33

I bought it off eBay and it arrived today. Manuals, documentation, and software were still sealed in the original bag. Box got kind of dinged up, thanks to the lovely folks at UPS. Anyways, this is my first Newton. I don't know what I'll use it for yet.

I'll try to get pics tomorrow.

#2 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 09:49

Perform the hinge fix on it.

I tried doing it to mine, but the display cable was wedged under the hinge. It worked fine before, but after removing it (CAREFULLY), the touch portion did not work anymore, but the actual display does.

Try and find the memory card for it too, it seems to make a helluva difference. Doubled RAM and flash storage, plus expanded data bus. Just a matter of finding one.

#3 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 11:42

Welcome to the world of Newton ... I have a 2100 sitting on my desk at home it gets the occasional use (criminal I know) I would probably use it more if my Powerbook 1400 was not broken as I can't connect to it using the iMac it's too fast.

I would like to download the unna archive but their torrent seems to be very slow

if anyone has this on disk I would love to get a copy.

#4 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 12:52

How much did you pay?

#5 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 14:35

... I can't connect to it using the iMac it's too fast.

You obviously don't know what you are talking about.

#6 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 14:58

Perform the hinge fix on it.
I tried doing it to mine, but the display cable was wedged under the hinge. It worked fine before, but after removing it (CAREFULLY), the touch portion did not work anymore, but the actual display does.

Try and find the memory card for it too, it seems to make a helluva difference. Doubled RAM and flash storage, plus expanded data bus. Just a matter of finding one.

1. I would personally not bother with the hinge fix unless and until you start using the machine more intensively than most people tend to do. If the machine is going to sit around on a desk most of the time, just leave it open, and most machines in any case will go on indefinitely with the stock hinge. If you read around about it, the fix becomes necessary when the machine is opened and shut a lot, so that the spring gets deformed. If yours came new in the box, you do not have that problem. You can, furthermore, buy replacement ribbons these days from an online seller should you get into trouble further down the line.

2. The memory card makes a big difference if you are intending seriously to use the machine, say for writing or taking notes in class (for which it is ideally suited - check out the way that you can insert a drawing of, say, a graph into a text document, even in Works). I have a post reporting my findings in the Newton section of these fora. The expansion cards, however, can be expensive. The best way to find one is in an eBay Newton: ask for a photo of the bottom, and if two cards are under the cover, you have the expansion card. Most sellers don't know the difference. That way, you will have a parts machine too, and the total cost will likely be the same as what one of the memory cards alone would typically cost.

For tinkering purposes, however, the machine will work fine and for a long time just as it came to you.

#7 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 16:15

Apparently the internal battery does not hold a charge, which is not surprising. Replacement seems to be pretty easy, too.

How much did you pay?

Don't remember the exact number, I think it was around $20. This is definitely my most fascinating Apple conquest, aside from the QuickTake 200 (coming next week, new thread on that one too!)...My mom thinks this, in addition to the Mac SE, is the cutest little device. :lol:

And now, pics:

Thanks for the helpful information, everyone!

Now I gotta figure out something good to use it for! }

#8 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 16:54

Go to Harper College and take notes.

#9 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 - 17:42

Go to Harper College and take notes.

Haha, for sure!

(BTW, I haven't seen an Ameritech logo in about 10 years.

)

#10 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 - 06:34

Go to Harper College and take notes.

Click to expand...

Haha, for sure!

(BTW, I haven't seen an Ameritech logo in about 10 years. )

You should, it'll show all those rich "daddy buy's me everything" jerks how to really work.

#11 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 - 09:55

... I can't connect to it using the iMac it's too fast.

Click to expand...

You obviously don't know what you are talking about.

i do know what i am talking about ... two reasons

1 the iMac does not have an adb/serial connection so problem

2 I had an adapter which converted to usb the newton communication seems to fail with all settings.

Before you start accusing make sure you are talking to someone with little or no knowledge.

#12 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 - 10:45

Go to Harper College and take notes.

Click to expand...

Haha, for sure!

(BTW, I haven't seen an Ameritech logo in about 10 years. )

Southwestern Bell changed their name to SBC, then proceeded to purchase Ameritech and several other former Bell companies, then proceeded to purchase former parent AT&T.

AT&T is "actually" Southwestern Bell.

#13 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 - 19:43

Cool conquest! I've always been curious about eMates, but one has never come my way at a reasonable price. I have a Message Pad 120 which I haven't gotten farther with than just making sure it runs. QuickTake 200 is another rare beast, and it's entirely different from the QT 100 & 150 which came before. Good scores!

#14 Sun, 20 Sep 2009 - 19:47

Welcome to the world of Newton ... I have a 2100 sitting on my desk at home it gets the occasional use (criminal I know) I would probably use it more if my Powerbook 1400 was not broken as I can't connect to it using the iMac it's too fast.
I would like to download the unna archive but their torrent seems to be very slow

if anyone has this on disk I would love to get a copy.

You can connect to your iMac unless its running Snow Leopard. If your Mac has AppleTalk, then using http://homepage.mac.com/simonbell/connection/ can get you to sync with OSX. Also, I see about seeding the UNNA torrent again for you guys.

#15 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 - 15:17

Just connected my Newton 2100 to my G3 iMac via the most bizarre route but it does work ...

Route is : -

USB to serial adaptor

9 pin serial to apple din serial adapter

apple serial lead (3 foot long)

apple serial to Newton interconnect adapter

can't backup Newton but can install packages using Newten

Crazy things we do

Ncx does not want to work for me

#16 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 - 18:17

One of the ways to connect a Newton to a reasonably modern Mac (albeit running X.3 or below) is to have an Appletalk Router running on your network (even Localtalk Bridge should work, but I use the much more robust Apple Internet Router program running on MacOS 7.1 on an LC475 - I have Zones!). Start NCU on your Mac, and set it to listen for a connection over Appletalk. Run the Dock application on your Newton, and connect over Appletalk. With an Appletalk router, you will see your Mac, as you have a bridge between Localtalk on the Newton (via a PhoneNet box, for instance) and Appletalk over ethernet on the Mac.

After X.3 it gets much trickier, as you need to rely on third party solutions and workarounds that can get expensive (wireless cards and such), that are often finicky at best, that are IP rather than Appletalk based, and that involve using software utilities from the open source movement, which are not as complete a solution to the connectivity question as NCU was and is.

The Newton OS, however, handles Appletalk really well. It is seemingly even capable (though I have not tried it) of Appletalk Remote Access. For those with a X.3 box such as a Cube or the like, therefore, it is useful to know that NCU works flawlessly under Appletalk in Classic. The Newton even syncs with Claris Organizer seamlessly. Everything works well — though I still prefer to work with the Newton via a beige Mac.

#17 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 - 18:48

... is to have an Appletalk Router running on your network (even Localtalk Bridge should work, but I use the much more robust Apple Internet Router program running on MacOS 7.1 on an LC475 - I have Zones!).

A little off topic, but does Apple Internet Router allow you to create zones, or do you use something else for that? Right now I use LocalTalk Bridge in combination with Apple IP Gateway (a very lightweight, simple app that encapsulates TCP/IP into AppleTalk (for localtalk use, especially)). I use Novell NetWare to create zones, but it's a bit of a hassle. I'd be interested in finding out what the differences are between Apple IP Gateway and Apple Internet Router.

#18 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 - 19:53

It creates zones, which are basically the network ports on the machine running it (e.g., ethernet and the two localtalk ports on a typical Quadra would theoretically give you three zones). It is also very easy to use and is immensely stable on 7.1 and a fast 68k machine. (The code is all 68k.)