I was always amazed by it. Other PDAs used a special alphabet one had to memorize, but Newton learned and recognized natural handwriting. And while Newton didn't last long, the handwriting recognition did, reincarnated as Inkwell.[1]
And then Microsoft acquired the company that made Calligrapher (which originally ran on the Newtons), and it ended up in the early WinCE PDA devices. I used it with the WinCE devices, and it worked quite well. "Egg freckles", indeed.
> Other PDAs used a special alphabet one had to memorize,
Graffiti was so easy to use that you would see people write with it on whiteboards.
This has always baffled me. Graffiti was generally less than 20 characters per minute for me and I was an early palmpilot adopter. Eventually better options came out resembling the smartphone keyboards we have today.
I never used a Newton but the Microsoft handwriting recognition was pretty good on the iPAQ. Maybe the Palm graffiti approach is ok for people who don't care about feedback and can edit tiny characters on a tiny device.
Re:Egg Freckles: The Newton at 30
by macstainless on Wednesday August 31, 2022 @09:20AM
(#32661731)
Graffiti was great to use, but felt like a step down because it required memorizing the input method whereas the Newton's promise was to have full handwriting recognition. Granted I was on as MP 1200 but I don't think the 2000 series improvements were enough.
The motivation for Graffiti was it could be recognized by a small microprocessor meaning the palm devices could be quite inexpensive.
Re:Egg Freckles: The Newton at 30
by macstainless on Tuesday August 30, 2022 @07:20PM
(#32656448)
I actually installed Graffiti onto mine and it made a huge difference. I have bad handwriting in general so I could never fault it for misinterpreting my chicken scratch.
Agreed - the hand writing recognition was fine, especially in later versions!
I worked at Apple UK at the time, and for a while did Newton Support!
I loved those devices!
They were so capable. They had IR built in, and you could send files to each other. You could also get TV Remote apps! All amazing stuff to me at the time!
And unlike the Palm devices of the time, didn't erase themselves when the batteries ran out!
The bad handwriting trope has always baffled me. I've never had a problem. I know that the 2000 series Newtons are considerably improved compared to the original generation, but I did also use an original generation Newton, and it was actually fine.
I think the "Eat up Martha" gag from the Simpsons became such a trope that people just assumed it must be awful.