The Cole Digest, March 8, 1995

We're exploring publishing without the benefit of ink or paper. Our guide is Christopher J. Feola, newsroom technoid par excellence at the Republican-American in Waterbury, Conn. Here are some of his observations:

Take the first Newton -- please. It looks like a baby Etch-A-Sketch; as a communications tool, it's about as functional.

Using its little plastic pencil to write on the small, dark, greenish-gray screen has become a computer nerd parlor game: Write your name, then fall down laughing at the machine's improbable interpretations.

The Apple Newton is exactly what it seems to be -- a cool toy. In that regard, it's just like the first Apple Macintosh of a decade ago -- clearly useless.

The first Mac had just one floppy drive, and you couldn't add hard drives. It had so little memory its word processor was limited to writing letters. Short letters.

But the Macintosh broke ground not by what it could do, but just by existing. Visionaries looked at its graphical user interface and saw the desktop publishing powerhouses that exist today.

And so it is with the Newton and its siblings, such as the Hewlett-Packard palmtop. Where some people see the latest yuppie plaything, others see the portable information appliance people have dreamed of since the day Dick Tracy strapped on his first wrist radio.

Flaws and shortcomings aside, Newton is a wonder.

It weighs .9 pound, occupies the space of an average daily planner (7.25 inches high, 4.5 inches wide and .75 inch thick) and contains the processing power of a desktop computer.

You can already buy a wireless messaging setup for the Newton, and products have been released that strike at traditional news media strongholds.

In real estate, for example, Portable MLS allows real estate agents to access a multiple listing service from their offices, clients' homes or even their cars. For sports fans, Fingertip Technologies and Sports Team Analysis and Tracking Systems shipped a baseball statistics program for the Newton that is updated inning-by-inning.

And at least one newspaper company is already exploiting Apple's new technology. Southam Newspapers of Canada, with 17 newspapers, has signed an agreement to be an information provider for Apple's wireless service, according to Wayne MacPhail, director of Southam Newspapers' InfoLab.

The Newton "is the Model T of PDA and heralds, I think, a whole new breed of computers," MacPhail wrote in an overview of the InfoLab. "I believe there are information products that can be developed for the Newton that leverage Southam's information strengths."

The device itself opens many doors.

"One of the problems with desktop computers is that you need a desktop. Sales reps that are on the road could use a laptop, but often they don't have laps. That is, they're in situations where it's tough to set up shop even temporarily," MacPhail wrote.

"Pen-based devices offer flexibility and ease-of-use that keyboards can't compete with. As well, pen-based machines allow the capturing of digital signatures on contracts, a feature that could greatly speed up and reduce paperwork.

"The new Apple PDAs are the first generation of an exciting new computer type and are worth our attention."

Why would you pay to read yesterday's news in a newspaper when you can get the news that's breaking right now -- plus video, and access to thousands of other services -- on your Newton?

And why would you carry a portable television when you can get live video on a Newton -- while checking your stocks, compiling a spreadsheet for your next meeting and answering electronic mail from Hong Kong?

Onward.

\dmc

[THE COLE DIGEST is written by consultant David M. Cole, editor and publisher of the industry newsletter THE COLE PAPERS. The DIGEST is made available to PressLink members every Wednesday at no extra charge. Send comments by e-mail to cole@plink.geis.com. The COLE DIGEST is the property of The Cole Group, a California sole proprietorship. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of The Cole Group is prohibited. Copyright (C) 1995, The Cole Group. Opinions expressed are those of The Cole Group, unless otherwise noted.

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