Editing Newton OS

{{Short description|Discontinued operating system by Apple Inc.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox OS
| name = Newton OS<!-- Name of program or distribution -->
| logo = Apple Newton logo.svg<!-- filename only (no wikilink, no Image:/File:) -->
| logo caption = 
| logo size = 70px
| logo alt = 
| screenshot = Apple_NewtonOS.png<!-- filename only (no wikilink, no Image:/File:) -->
| caption = Screenshot of Newton OS 2.0
| screenshot_size = 
| screenshot_alt = 
| collapsible = 
| version of = <!-- For articles about releases of operating systems ONLY -->
| developer = [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer, Inc.]]
| family = <!-- "Unix-like" or "Microsoft Windows" -->
| working state = Historical<!-- "Current", "Discontinued" (operating systems), or "No longer supported" (releases) -->
| source model = [[Closed source software|Closed source]]<!-- "Open source", "Closed source", or "Shared source" -->
| released = {{Start date and age|1993|08|03}}
| discontinued = {{End date|1997}}<!-- DON'T use this for articles about releases of operating systems -->
| RTM date = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes/no}} ONLY for articles about OS releases -->
| GA date = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes/no}} ONLY for articles about OS releases -->
| latest release version = 2.1
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|1997|03|21|df=yes}}
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes/no}} -->
| marketing target = 
| programmed in = [[C++]]
| language = <!-- Supported human languages (English, French, Italian, Arabic, ...) -->
| update model = <!-- APT, Windows Update, etc. -->
| package manager = <!-- dpkg, rpm, Windows installer, etc. -->
| supported platforms = [[ARM architecture family|ARM]]<!-- IA-32, x64, Itanium, ARM, etc. -->
| kernel type = [[Microkernel]]<!-- Hybrid, Monolithic, Microkernel, Exokernel, Nanokernel, etc. -->
| userland = 
| ui = [[Graphical user interface|GUI]]
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]] [[EULA]]
| succeeded by = [[iPhone OS]]
| website = <!-- {{URL|www.example.org}} -->
| support status = <!-- For articles about releases of operating systems ONLY -->
| other articles = 
| Succeeded by = 
}}
'''''Newton OS''''' is a discontinued [[operating system]] for the [[Apple Newton]] PDAs produced by [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer, Inc.]] between 1993 and 1997. It was written entirely in [[C++]] and trimmed to be low power consuming and use the available memory efficiently. Many applications were pre-installed in the [[Read-only memory|ROM]] of the Newton (making for quick start-up) to save on [[Random-access memory|RAM]] and [[flash memory]] storage for user applications.

==Features==
Newton OS features many interface elements that the [[Classic Mac OS|Macintosh system software]] didn't have at the time, such as drawers and the "poof" animation. An animation similar to this is found in [[Mac OS X]], and parts of the Newton's handwriting recognition system have been implemented as [[Inkwell (Macintosh)|Inkwell]] in Mac OS X.

*Sound responsive — Clicking menus and icons makes a sound; this feature was later introduced in [[Mac OS 8]].
*Icons - Similar to the Macintosh Desktop metaphor, Newton OS uses icons to open applications.
*Tabbed documents — Similar to [[tab (GUI)|tabbed browsing]] in today's browsers and Apple's [[At Ease]] interface, documents titles appear in a small tab at the top right hand of the screen.
*Screen rotation — In Newton 2.0, the screen can be rotated to be used for drawing or word processing.
*File documents — Notes and Drawings can be categorized. E.g. Fun, Business, Personal, etc.
*Print documents — Documents on the Newton can be printed.
*Send documents — Documents can be sent to another Newton via Infrared technology or sent using the Internet by E-Mail, or faxed.
*Menus — Similar to menus seen in Mac OS, but menu titles are instead presented at the bottom of the screen in small rectangles, making them similar to buttons with attached "pop-up" menus.

Many features of the Newton are best appreciated in the context of the history of [[Pen computing]].<ref>[http://users.erols.com/rwservices/pens/penhist.html Notes on the (relatively unknown) History of Pen-based Computing]</ref><ref>[http://user.erols.com/rwservices/biblio.html Annotated Bibliography in Pen Computing]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|4xnqKdWMa_8|Notes on the History of Pen-based Computing}}</ref>

==Software==
Shortly after the [[Apple Newton|Newton PDA]]'s release in 1993, developers were not paying much attention to the new Newton OS API and were still more interested in developing for the Macintosh and Windows platforms. It was not until two years later that developers saw a potential market available to them in creating software for Newton OS. Several programs were made by third-party developers, including software to enhance the disappointing  hand writing recognition technology of Newton OS 1.x.

'''The basic software that came with Newton OS:'''

*'''Works''' — A program for drawing and word processing, with typical capabilities such as: rulers, margins, page breaks, formatting, printing, spell checking and find & replace tools.
*'''[[Apple Newton#Notes|Notes]]''' — Used for checklists, as well as both drawing and writing in the same program either with a newton keyboard or a stylus pen.
*'''[[Apple Newton#Dates|Dates]]''' — Calendar program where you can schedule appointments and other special events.
*'''[[Apple Newton#Names|Names]]''' — Program for storing extensive contacts information in a flexible format.
*'''Formulas''' — Program that offers metric conversions, currency conversions, loan and [[mortgage calculator]]s, etc.
*'''Calculator''' — A basic calculator with square root, percentage, MR, M+ and M− functions additional to the basic functions found on a calculator.
*'''Clock''' — A small floating window type application, known as a desktop accessory on the Macintosh. The Newton clock also includes features for an alarm, minute timer and the date.
*'''Book Reader''' — Support for displaying electronic books is built in.

==Version history==
{| class="wikitable"
!Date released
!OS version
|-
|August 3, 1993
|1.0
|-
|October 30, 1993
|1.1
|-
|?
|1.2
|-
|March 4, 1994
|1.3
|-
|March 14, 1996
|2.0
|-
|March 21, 1997
|2.1
|}

==Handwriting recognition==
The Newton uses the CalliGrapher word-based [[handwriting recognition]] engine developed by [[:ru:Параграф (компания)|ParaGraph International Inc]], led by former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] scientist [[Stepan Pachikov]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/01/stepan_pachikov.html |title=Stepan Pachikov Wants to Study Your Handwriting |access-date=February 6, 2009 |last=Calore |first=Michael |date=January 23, 2007 |publisher=WIRED |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222123409/http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/01/stepan_pachikov.html |archive-date=December 22, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url =https://www.msu.edu/~luckie/hallofame.htm|title=Newton Hall of Fame|access-date=February 6, 2009| last=Luckie|first=Douglas}}</ref>

The earliest versions had weaknesses that resulted in bad publicity and reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://technabob.com/blog/2007/07/20/classic-apple-moment-newton-handwriting-recognition/|title=Classic Apple Moment: Newton Handwriting Recognition}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/5452193/the-story-behind-apples-newton|title=The Story Behind Apple's Newton}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023689_2025276_2025278,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028091348/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023689_2025276_2025278,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 28, 2010|title=Five Gadgets Ahead of Their Time Apple Newton | date=October 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/tag/doonesbury/|title=Will the iPhone's Siri have its 'Egg freckles' moment?|work=CNN|access-date=October 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407231539/http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/tag/doonesbury/|archive-date=April 7, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, with the release of [[Apple Newton|Newton PDAs]] based upon version 2.0 of the OS, the handwriting recognition substantially improved, partially being a product of ParaGraph and an Apple-created recognizer pair: Apple's Rosetta and Mondello. Newton's handwriting recognition, particularly the print recognizer, has been considered by many reviewers, testers, and users to be the best in the industry, even 10 years after it was introduced.<ref>HWR accuracy:
*See comments in Wired's [https://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,54580,00.html Apple Newton Just Won't Drop] (four years later)
*See text under "Handwriting Recognition" in [http://www.pencomputing.com/developer/newton_20.html Pen Computing's First Look at Newton OS 2.0]
*See "Opportunity Squandered" in Pen Computing's [http://www.pencomputing.com/frames/newton_obituary.html Why did Apple kill the Newton?]
*See comments under "Software" in [http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.13/13.04/NewtonGetSerious/index.html MacTech's MessagePad 2000 review]
*[http://www.pencomputing.com/editor/editor_34.html Comments by Pen Computing's editor]
*See user testing results discussed in part 6 of this [ftp://ftp.apple.com/research/neural/larryy/ANHR/AIMag/Yaegeretal.AIMag.pdf A.I. Magazine article on Newton HWR]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
*[http://www.smalldog.com/newsarchive/kibbles_display.php?id=29 MessagePad 2000 review at Small Dog Electronics]
*See comments under "Note-taking" in [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~mac/mp2000.html MessagePad 2000 review at "The History and Macintosh Society"]
*[http://perlnet.umephy.maine.edu/bio/wittmann/pooter/newtuse/hwr.html What's Right With The Newton: HWR] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20060908164609/http://perlnet.umephy.maine.edu/bio/wittmann/pooter/newtuse/hwr.html |date=September 8, 2006 }}
*[http://www.beanblossom.in.us/larryy/ANHR.html Assessment by Apple developer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717074702/http://www.beanblossom.in.us/larryy/ANHR.html |date=July 17, 2012 }}
*[http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej07/mr1.html Prof. Warden's MessagePad 130 review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231035454/http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/tesl-ej/ej07/mr1.html |date=December 31, 2006 }}</ref> It was developed by [[Apple's Advanced Technology Group]], and was described in 2012 as "the world's first genuinely usable handwriting recognition system".<ref name="arstechnica yaeger">{{cite news | url=https://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2005/06/504.ars | title=In the Loop with Larry Yaeger: part I | work=[[Ars Technica]] | date=June 2005 | access-date=February 27, 2012 | author=Smykil, Jeff | quote=Also at Apple, in the Advanced Technology Group, [Larry Yaeger] was Technical Lead in the development of the neural network-based handprint recognition system, the world's first genuinely usable handwriting recognition system, showcased in second generation Newton PDAs and Mac OS X's "Inkwell."}}</ref>

The Newton can recognize hand-printed text, [[cursive]], or a mix of the two, and can also accept free-hand "Sketches", "Shapes", and "ink text". Text can also be entered by tapping with the stylus on a small on-screen pop-up [[QWERTY]] keyboard. With "Shapes", Newton can recognize that the user was attempting to draw a circle, a line, a [[polygon]], etc., and it cleans them up into "perfect" [[Vector graphics|vector]] representations (with modifiable control points and defined [[vertex (geometry)|vertices]]) of what the user is attempting to draw. "Shapes" and "Sketches" can be [[Image scaling|scaled]] or deformed once drawn. "Ink text" captures the user's free-hand writing but allows it to be treated somewhat like [[Handwriting recognition|recognized text]] when manipulating for later editing purposes ("ink text" supported [[word wrap]], could be formatted to be bold, italic, etc.).<ref>[http://www.pencomputing.com/developer/newton_20.html Pen Computing's First Look at Newton OS 2.0]</ref> At any time a user can also direct the Newton to recognize selected "ink text" and turn it into [[Handwriting recognition|recognized text]] (deferred recognition). A Newton Note document (or the notes attached to each contact in Names and each calendar event) can contain any mix of interleaved text, ink text, Shapes, and Sketches.<ref>Read about HWR, ink text, Sketches, & Shapes in Apple's [http://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/newton/0307258ANEWTONMP.PDF MessagePad Handbook] available in Apple's [http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50092 Newton Manuals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406215949/http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50092 |date=April 6, 2008 }} collection</ref>

==NewtonScript==
{{main|NewtonScript}}

Newton OS runs applications written in C++, along with an interpreted, user-friendly language called ''[[NewtonScript]]''. These applications are stored in [[Software package (installation)|packages]].

== Timeline ==
{{Timeline of Newton models}}

==See also==
*[[Apple Newton]]
*[[eMate 300]]
*[[Pen computing]]
*[[iOS]]
*[[Motorola Marco]]

==Notes==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080406215949/http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50092 A selection of PDFs of Apple's Newton manuals]
*[https://newtonfaq.com/ Newton FAQ]
*[http://www.pencomputing.com/developer/newton_20.html Pen Computing's First Look at Newton OS 2.0]
*[http://cf.psl.msu.edu/hallofame.htm The Newton Hall of Fame: People behind the Newton]
*Pen Computing's [http://www.pencomputing.com/frames/newton_obituary.html Why did Apple kill the Newton?]
*Pen Computing's [http://www.pencomputing.com/Newton/ Newton Notes] column archive
*[ftp://ftp.apple.com/research/neural/larryy/ANHR/AIMag/Yaegeretal.AIMag.pdf A.I. Magazine article by Yaeger on Newton HWR design, algorithms, & quality]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} and associated [http://wwnc.newtontalk.net/2004/program/larryyaeger/slides-larryyaeger.pdf slides]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120717074702/http://www.beanblossom.in.us/larryy/ANHR.html Info on Newton HWR from Apple's HWR Technical Lead]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==

===Additional resources & information===
*[http://www.newtontalk.net/ NewtonTalk discussion email list]
*[http://www.kallisys.com/ Einstein: a Newton emulator]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080516225206/http://www.phatware.com/calligrapher/ CalliGrapher handwriting recognition software]
*[http://users.erols.com/rwservices/biblio.html Annotated bibliography of references to handwriting recognition and pen computing]
*{{YouTube|4xnqKdWMa_8|Notes on the History of Pen-based Computing}}

===Reviews===
*[http://www.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.13/13.04/NewtonGetSerious/index.html MacTech's review of MessagePad 2000]
*[http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~mac/mp2000.html MessagePad 2000 review at "The History and Macintosh Society"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101208053412/http://perlnet.umephy.maine.edu/bio/wittmann/pooter/newton.htm Prof. Wittmann's collection of Newton & MessagePad reviews]
*[http://digitalliving.cnet.co.uk/specials/0,39030785,49282099,00.htm CNET compares a MessagePad to a Samsung Q1 UMPC]

{{Apple Inc. operating systems}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton Os}}
[[Category:Apple Inc. operating systems]]
[[Category:Apple Newton]]
[[Category:ARM operating systems]]
[[Category:Discontinued operating systems]]
[[Category:1993 software]]