Re: Autoserver: Tweet from @bryanstearns

I found a bunch of old CDs with back ups on them this weekend. I spent all
day loading software and files onto my Sheepshaver and BasiliskII virtual
machines, reliving those heady days! I was even able to rescue as pdfs a
couple of my old PublishIt! Easy files. Also found a bunch of old Newton
software, including my Newtonbook collection, containing... (drumroll), the
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and four or five books of the Hitchhiker's Guide
to the Galaxy trilogy! I have been able preserve my LOTR books as other
etexts, but thought I had lost my HHG2G books! That was quite a pleasant
surprise. :-D

But here's the thing. I don't think I'd ever want to go back to those
times. In some ways, it all feels so primitive! Opening my old files, and
remembering how limited, for instance, PiE was, or Nisus 5 and 6, and even
ClarisWorks. I thought that when Apple "regressed" Pages a few years ago,
to bring feature parity between the desktop, iOS and web, that it was a
huge step backwards, but it was still ahead of CW 4. Hardware was cool,
then, though. Now, all we have is non-user-servicable toasters ;-)

On Fri, Jul 19, 2019 at 4:29 PM Clu <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hey Bryan, been a Mac user since 1989 (give or take two years) and the
> Newton era was my favorite time hands down.
>
> So what was the Autoserver?
>
> -Doctor Clu
>
>
>
> > On Jul 19, 2019, at 9:07 AM, Marco Mailand <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Bryan,
> >
> > It's nice to read something from a former Apple employee. Despite I don't
> > know what the purpose of an "Autoserver" is I'm often questioning, what
> is
> > going on with the current PDA devices. I will doubtlessly not go back to
> > the Newton - simply because of its size - but it already had so may good
> > features which are missing today. I wonder why? Why does nobody program
> > Newton style notes with hierachic checklists and this excellent
> handwriting
> > capability? Where is cliphoard?? Where is MoreInfo with its cross-linking
> > features between the standard PDA apps? Are they gone, because the
> concept
> > of Soups to store data has been vanished?
> >
> > In this context: The Newton and its ideas where ahead of time and
> therefore
> > it will never die.
> > --
> > best regards and have a nice weekend,
> >
> > Marco Mailand
> >
> > Switzerland
> >
> > [email protected]
> >
> > On Fri, 19 Jul 2019 at 08:33, sirizaac <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> Bryan Stearns ‽ @bryanstearns
> >> Here’s a story that I’ve been thinking a lot about this week: My last
> role
> >> at Apple, from 92-96, was doing builds-and-tools stuff in the Newton
> >> project - I built a thing called the "Autoserver" that was really 30-odd
> >> Quadra 950s (1/13)
> >> 18 July
> >>
> >> Conversation sent from Twitterrific
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Newton Never Dies; It gets it's battery recharged.
> >>
> >> Mailed from my treehouse
> >>
> >> sir iZaac
> >>
> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> http://newtontalk.net/
> >> http://twitter.com/newtontalk
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > --
> > best regards
> > viele Grüsse
> >
> > *Marco Mailand*
> > Senior Engineer
> >
> > ABB Switzerland AG
> > PGHV-XE
> > Fabrikstrasse 13
> > 5400, Baden, SWITZERLAND
> >
> > Phone:  +41 58 585 40 23 <+41%2058%20585%2040%2023>
> > Mobile:  +41 78 965 40 23 <+41%2078%20965%2040%2023>
> > email: [email protected] <[email protected]>
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > http://newtontalk.net/
> > http://twitter.com/newtontalk
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> http://newtontalk.net/
> http://twitter.com/newtontalk



-- 
 -Jon Glass
Krakow, Poland
<[email protected]>
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