NetHopper 2.0
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`Motorola PX 1013_1
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`Pen Computing Magazine: Reviews
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`http://www.pencomputing.com/archive/PCM_11/nethopper.html
`
`Pen Lab Review
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`First true web browser for Newton
`
`It's a cliché to write about the incredible rate of change on the Internet. However, when it comes to Newton
`devices accessing the Internet, there hasn't been much to report. The source@hand email-based text retriever
`from info@hand and AllPen's NetHopper 1.0 Mac OS-reliant web browser make up the whole category of
`commercially available access software. The well publicized reason for this dearth of tools was the lack of a
`TCP/IP stack for the Newton, enabling direct PPP or SLIP dial-up access to the net via an Internet service
`provider (ISP). This stack is the sine qua non of net connectivity; no stack, no Internet.
`
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`NIE!
`
`Apple finally released the stack, which was dubbed the Newton Internet Enabler, or NIE for short. The first
`application to take advantage of the enabler is drum roll please NetHopper 2.0. Essentially unchanged from
`version 1.0, which I reviewed in Pen Computing #9 last April, the new version of NetHopper depends entirely
`on the NIE to do its business, and the golden stack is bundled with the product.
`
`NetHopper 2.0 is a text-only World Wide Web browser, turning raw HTML coded documents into formatted
`screens of text on your Newton. Netscape Navigator it is not, but the MessagePad isn't a fully-featured
`computer, either. Due to the memory and display limitations of the current MessagePad, graphics are just too
`unwieldy to display. Other fancy HTML tricks like frames are also unsupported by this version of NetHopper.
`You get the basics: text and links to other documents on the web. We'll all have to adjust our rampaging
`expectations until Apple releases new MessagePads with fire-breathing StrongARM processors, grayscale or
`color displays, and lots more memory. Within the current Newton hardware limitations, however, NetHopper
`does a terrific job.
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`
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`Vertical applications
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`If you work mostly with textual information this will be less of a limitation than you might think. Technical
`maintenance specialists in the field, for example, could use NetHopper 2.0 to access customer histories, repair
`instructions, or directions to a work site. Another ideal candidate for the NetHopper approach is filling out
`web-based forms, such as the popular package tracking form at the FedEx web site. Searching through card
`catalogs, scanning through UseNet newsgroup articles, executing trademark searches; all could be
`accomplished with this tool. None of these uses require graphics to be effective.
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`9/21/2012 3:43 PM
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`Motorola PX 1013_2
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`Pen Computing Magazine: Reviews
`
`http://www.pencomputing.com/archive/PCM_11/nethopper.html
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`Performance
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`NetHopper 2.0 requires a device running Newton 2.0. While it will run on a MessagePad 120, Apple and
`AllPen strongly suggest you use a MessagePad 130 because of its additional system heap memory. At press
`time, Apple said it planned to offer a version of NIE tuned specifically for the MessagePad 120, which may
`be out by the time you read this. My testing was on the MessagePad 130 using a Megahertz XJ2288 PC Card
`modem capable of 28.8Kbps throughput. Due to the lack of a Newton driver, though, I had to use the Hayes-
`Compatible setting, making it impossible to determine the connection speed. I believe it was connecting at
`14.4Kbps, based on my previous experiments using this modem. On this assumption, NetHopper's
`performance was surprisingly good. Loading and interpreting a typical index page took around ten seconds,
`though one particularly ambitious site I visited overwhelmed NetHopper and crashed my Newton. It was
`some consolation to see that NetHopper had put up an alert declaring that this problem was a "known bug".
`Apparently, NetHopper encountered an unusually large and complex web object and choked on it, but AOL's
`wimpy browser does this, too.
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`Features
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`NetHopper may ignore graphics out of necessity, but other big-browser features are part of the mix. You can
`make bookmarks as you browse for later access from a menu, though editing them later is limited to deleting
`them individually or as a group. NetHopper also gives you control over your display font and size, though you
`cannot assign these characteristics based on HTML tags such as Largest Heading. You may jump to a specific
`URL at any time using the menu command. NetHopper even offers a terrific popup menu of commonly used
`Internet address character strings, such as "http://" and ".com". This menu is activated, like the standard
`punctuation menu, by tapping the insertion caret. Great feature! You can set a maximum cache size for
`storing web pages, each of which will occupy around 5K. I lowered the default cache size of 250K to 50K
`with no ill effects. You can even elect to show the cache contents at any time, and a simple tap can take you
`to any stored item for immediate viewing. The cache can be cleared manually if desired.
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`Routing
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`Any web document can be routed in a variety of ways. You can print, fax, email, or even beam a document.
`The manual recommends you choose to perform these operations after you have exited from NetHopper, due
`to potential memory limitations. Routed web documents remain in the Out Box until you want to deal with
`them.
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`
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`First of a new category
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`NetHopper is an exciting first offering in a whole new category of Internet-enabled software for the Newton
`platform. Expect to see a bumper crop of email clients, web browsers, and many other interesting and useful
`Internet tools emerge from this fertile platform in the months ahead.
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`
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`Cost/Contact: US$99.95 AllPen 408-399-8800
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`9/21/2012 3:43 PM
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`Motorola PX 1013_3
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`Pen Computing Magazine: Reviews
`
`http://www.pencomputing.com/archive/PCM_11/nethopper.html
`
`Email: NetHopper@allpen.com
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`Web: http://www.allpen.com
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`Newton memory: NIE 213K-254K, NetHopper 278K
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`System needs: Newton 2.0 (MP130 recommended)
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`3 of 3
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`9/21/2012 3:43 PM
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`Motorola PX 1013_4
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