Mission-critical Newton

You’re surely aware of the serious earthquake that struck New Zealand a few days ago. I was concerned for the safety of an active member of the NewtonTalk mailing list, Tony Kan, who lives in Christchurch, so I sent him an email to ask if all was well with him and his family. He replied that they were all fine, and pointed to this post on his blog, in which you can read an intense report of what happened there.

The last paragraphs fascinated and surprised me, because the Apple Newton makes an unexpected appearance:

Guess what was an indispensable tool in the aftermath? My Apple Newton. During the odd quiet moment I could relax by journalling what had happened and then email the updates to friends and family when power and communications were restored.

Broadcasting the updates to family was so much easier with PowerNames by setting them up in a Group. Prior to getting PowerNames the easiest way to do this was sending it to myself and forwarding it using a Distribution List in MS Outlook.

——-
Sent from an Apple Newton MP2100

File this in the “Old technology proves useful one more time” Department. If you’re interested in what’s happening in Christchurch and environs, you should also read Tony’s follow-up, Surviving the Christchurch Aftershocks, another piece “Sent from an Apple Newton MP2100”. And if you’re into this ever-wondrous Apple PDA you must add Tony’s blog to your bookmarks — it’s one of the finest, most updated blogs on the Newton you’ll find around.

(Hang in there, Tony, and all the best!)