I find myself once again in the deserts of the Middle East. I have
been here a long time and am almost ready to go home.
One of my best friends (other than my wife, who I talk to through
emails and Skype
calls) is my Newton. I have both my PowerBook G4 and
my black MacBook, but what I carry on me as part of my gear is my
MessagePad
120. This is my second deployment with it, and I have it custom
painted tan to match my old desert camouflage uniform.
In one sentence, I am waiting for Apple to replace the Newton.
The iPhone, with its email and Internet capabilities, is great, but
most of Iraq doesn't have cell towers. I need an Apple-based PDA. The
new iPod touch seems good, but it's still missing email, fax, text
editing, and handwriting recognition like my Newton can do.
My Newton doesn't have a WiFi card, but it has a good fax/modem
card. I haven't tried to get my Newton to work with Mac OS X, but
it's simple enough to store everything I need on hand in this hectic
combat zone.
Things I have on my Newton:
Email contact list
Phone numbers
Addresses
Notes
Poems
Serial numbers
LEM articles brainstorms
A letter in case something happens to me
Unclassified job related notes
Training notes
I also have a few games that keep me busy.
My Newton helps me do my job better, and I keep backups of documents
on my 5G iPod.
GIs
love it when I pull out my Newton while I'm instructing or
troubleshooting equipment; they often ask what the NSN (National Stock
Number) - commonly know to civilians as a part number - to order one.
People don't believe me when they see the Apple logo up close and I
tell them its not a piece of military gear.
I want Apple to simply update the software on the iPhone and iPod
touch to have these capabilities. I would go out right now and buy both
and simply take the iPod touch with me overseas.
Sadly my Newton's screen got crushed a few weeks ago, when I had it
in one of my cargo pockets and had to get in the prone position
unexpectedly. I know that many people believe that the Newton is
obsolete and that the only ones worth using were the 2000/2100, but I
loved my MessagePad 120.
I got my MessagePad 120 in the summer of 2000 after a successful
summer at the business I was running. I paid around $100 and really
wanted something better, like the 130 with its backlit display or the
all powerful 200/2100, but that was all I could afford back then. And I
just got used to it and never upgraded.
I already mailed my Newton with a bunch of other things home while I
am in the process of redeploying. If anyone wants to say hi to boost
morale, feel free to email me at mulderbean (at) gmail (dot) com.
GIs
love it when I pull out my Newton while I'm instructing or
troubleshooting equipment; they often ask what the NSN (National Stock
Number) - commonly know to civilians as a part number - to order one.
People don't believe me when they see the Apple logo up close and I
tell them its not a piece of military gear.