Stuffleufagus

Update 2 - OK, it’s back.  No clue why it was unavailable for a while/

Update - don’t know why the video disappeared. I am trying to find out.

Robert Scoble sent me the link to this video a few minutes ago. It shows his son playing with an Apple Newton - one in a clear plastic case (rare).

The Newton came from my collection, and was actually given to me by Bruce Hughes - someone I worked with for a lot of years. I gave it to Robert last week so he could surprise his son.Back in the mid 1990’s we worked for a company called Digital Ocean. We took Newton’s and fed them steroids (actually, we did a hell of a lot of re-engineering). We added backlighting, GPS, Wireless LAN, and more. An old news clip is below.

I’m just glad to have it in the hands of someone that will appreciate it.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 3, 1995–Digital Ocean Inc. today unveiled a new Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), named Tarpon, that integrates Apple Computer’s Newton MessagePad technology with Digital Ocean’s wireless connector, the Grouper, while adding many new innovations such as backlighting, a waterproof ruggedized case, a single integrated powerful battery, and support for RS-232 inputs.

In addition, Tarpon supports forms-based data entry, voice communications and plug-in capabilities for wireless LAN (915 MHz or 2.4 GHz modules), wireless WAN, and Global Position System (GPS). It is compatible with off-the-shelf and third party Newton software. Tarpon will ship 2Q of 1995. Pricing is expected to be $3,000.

Tarpon was developed for industries such as medical, maintenance, service and manufacturing. Tarpon’s RS-232 port provides connections to input devices such as laser scanners, digital cameras, as well as output devices such as printers.

Tarpon’s voice capabilities include full duplex bi-directional voice communication over WLAN 300-3000 Hz bandwidth.

The initial Tarpon product line will also include an optional communications server that allows a remote Tarpon to collect or retrieve real-time information from the server.

Tarpon’s communications server supports metropolitan or wide-area networks, which enable Tarpon to remain continuously connected to a remote server. Tarpon provides a wireless transmission range of up to 800 feet. Greater distances can be achieved with the use of Digital Ocean’s Starfish Ethernet Access Point, which features microCellular roaming, or by using a higher output dual density antenna.

written by rob tags: Digital Ocean, Newton

It is nearly 3 am.  I’ve spent the last several hours thinking about an idea.  I needed some Marketing thoughts - so I sought Marketing people on Twitter.  I needed someone to check my math, so I asked on Twitter.  I needed validation of the business, and I asked Twitter.  Not publicly - but privately.  Launching on Twitter is one thing.  Telling everyone WHAT you are launching exactly is another thing (stupid).

But I had all of these amazing people on Twitter that I could reach out to - even in the wee hours of the morning.

And tomorrow I will reach out to more.

And a company will be born.

On Twitter.

Cool.

written by rob

I am blogging again, just in case you hadn’t noticed!  And I know I blogged a lot about Rackspace.  But I haven’t really even started to tell you about my last three days with Rackspace.  Or the time with Scoble, the companies we saw, etc.  I hope to do that this weekend.

But I also need to work this weekend.

And I don’t want to steal the thunder of the FastCompany.TV videos by telling you about the companies that were here.

But I will share more about the overall experience.  Once I get my head back on straight.  MOSSO kind of ate up my entire day!

written by rob