Tag: emulator

Einstein Update

As an active Apple Newton user, I love it when fellow users continue finding ways to improve the platform. This week Matthias Melcher deserves a huge “Great Job” from everyone. Matthias is the current maintainer of Einstein, the Newton Message Pad emulator. This week he released an updated version of the Android version of the emulator that included many improvements that increased the speed considerably.

After using the new release on both my Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7 I have to agree with the claims. The emulator is feels like it is running at about 90% the speed of my Newton 2000u. the Screen reaction seems to be a little slower than the real thing but given time can only improve. I could see an Android tablet with Einstein replacing my beloved green machine one day.

There are still some things to fix in Einstein. Sound doesn’t work, there is no way to set data in or out, and the app menu needs to fix for 4.0+ devices. Regardless, I think we are closer to realizing Paul Guyot’s original idea for Einstein.

If you would like to run Einstein on your Android device, please check out My previous post here.

Einstien Update Announcement: [NTLK] New version of Einstein for Android
Einstein Project Page: http://code.google.com/p/einstein/

Written on Message Pad 2000u

1997 OS Meets 2011 Hardware

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish there was a way to use my Newton on my phone or tablet?” Well now you can. For all of those Newton Users who have an Android device, you can now run the Einstein emulator.

Let me give you a little backstory. Back in 2005 Paul Guyot, a well-known and respected Newton programmer, released the first public version of his Newton emulator called Einstein. The original concept was to come up with a solution to make the Newton operating system hardware independent and possibly license the OS from Apple (1). That was going to open the way for new hardware and therefore keep the Newton platform alive. Unfortunately the project never got past the emulator step, but Paul continued to working and was able to build Einstein to run on OS X, Windows, and a few Linux tablets like the Nokia 770/800. In 2007 Einstein was released as open source software so other programmers could join in and help bring Newton OS to new devices. Once such programmer was Matthias Melcher (2).

Since 2007 Matthias has continued to work on Einstein to improve its speed, reliability, and functionality. 2011 has been particularly exciting because Matthias ported Einstein over to the iOS platform giving users the potential to run Newton OS on their iPhones and iPads. Unfortunately Apple rejected Einstein from being released in the App store and the iOS port is no longer being developed (3).

Now Matthias is working on an Android port of Einstein (4). An early build is available for download, but a lot of work still needs to be done to optimize the speed and reliability. Running the emulator on a Droid 1 is slow, but good enough to show off to friends. I personally can’t wait to see what happens to Einstein in the near future as devices get faster. What are you waiting for? Go dump the ROM off your Newton and get to emulating.

Have fun,
Tony

http://code.google.com/p/einstein/
(1) http://marc.info/?l=newtontalk&m=109452984605975&w=2
(2) http://marc.info/?l=newtontalk&m=118396241728586&w=2
(3) http://marc.info/?l=newtontalk&m=129745881308428&w=2
(4) http://matthiasm.com/einstein.html

Mario and the PS3 Collide

I knew it was only a matter of time and now I am proud to say that SNES gaming works on the PS3, again. One coder by the name of eiz compiled the Snes9x emulator for the PS3. Another coder, squarepusher2, has taken the source code and worked to improve it. As of writing, Squarepusher2’s 4.2.1 build plays most games with no issues. Both NTSC and PAL roms are supported. Things such as a GUI still need to be address and loading freezestates hasn’t been implemented, but those are not the highest priority. Even with only two people working on this project the progress has been phenomenal. I can’t to see what comes out next.

Eiz’s source code: http://github.com/eiz/ps3_snes9x

Squarepusher2’s build and source: http://www.ps3news.com/forums/ps3-hacks/snes9x-super-nintendo-emulator-ps3-port-arrives-112925-19.html#post311837