[zippy50]

just bought a Newton 2000 on ebay. came today and I am excited, but am probably going to be bugging you all for help. I am having trouble seeing the screen -- adjusted the contrast as much as I could. Are they all like this? seems so dim. love the handwriting recognition though. Never could get used to the Palm graffiti.

[sine -''-..-]

the screen on the 2000s are actually really good... do you mean the picture is dim? (like the black is grey) or that the backlight is dim (dim green). if its the the picture, try resetting the machine, and check if theyres a screen protector, that may make it foggy. if its the green thats dim, that means the backlight is dying...

[zippy50]

well, actually right after posting that, I broke down and read the manual and found how to use the backlighting. guess I should have read the manual first. the screen is good -- just in the short time I've had this thing I'm already amazed at what it can do. not that I know how yet. thanks for the info -- and quick response. the manual did say backlighting really eats up the batteries though. maybe I should think of getting the rechargable ones. one more question -- does Apple still sell any products for the Newton line?

[sine -''-..-]

apple doesnt sell anything for newton anymore, at least not to the public. you need to get rechargable unless you want to break the bank buying AAs. heres wat u do, goto radio shack, and by a set of (4) nickel metal (NiMh) 1500mah batteries and the charger. thoes are the best rechargables you can get (short of lithium ion). the whole shabang is like $30 canadian, dunno how much american, but worth it. unless you want to get a rechargable pack off of ebay... which is in fact quite a bit better because then you can charge the batteries with your AC adaptor, in the newt. so have fun with your new exo-brain, and stop by my hotline server at sine.ath.cx . ive got pretty much the largest archive on the net.

[TimmyDee51]

I have a rechargable battery pack from powerwarehouse.com and while it was expensive (~ US$50), I think it's worth every penny. I can recharge the batteries in the Newt, they last a long time on each charge, and they recharge in no time flat. When I used AAs, I was worried about using the backlight, etc. because it eats battery power. With the rechargable, I don't worry about any of that. I use my backlight for as long as I want and I just use my Newton more in general.

By the way, do check out sine's site. When he says he has the biggest archive on the net, he's not kidding. It rocks! Thanks sine!

[zippy50]

thanks for the info on your hotline server. my partner, who is from Toronto by the way, is the hotline maven in our family. so she's looking around now.

[Gametes]

So, how long does the battery last without the backlight on? With it on?
Has anybody tried the replacement white backlights?

[sine -''-..-]

with a good set of batteries, the 2x00s go for twenty four or so hours without backlight, and something like seven or eight with the backlight on.

i havent tried the white backlight, i may, depends on if my new newt's green light is still bright.

[Graymalkin]

Sweet, I just got a MessagePad 2000 as well. I don't have manuals or any other extras however. What I need to know however is when using AA batteries, what do I keep them in? Is there some sort of adapter to stick them in I don't have or something (my MP came with itself and a stylus and that was it)?

The Ni-MH battery pack which is the original Apple one so far has held out pretty well. A Radio Shack universal power supply charged the pack full in about an hour or so. I've been using Battery Counter by P&M Consulting to keep track of my power usage and it is working pretty well. I'd like to pick up a second power packbut if there's a way I could just use normal batteries I'd much rather do that. With the 1xx series it was much easier.

[sine -''-..-]

theres an "AA battery cage" you can get. in fact it comes standard with the newt, i believe the nimh pack was an option.
anyhow. ebay may have some.