24th Jan 2017 Einstein Lives!

Steve Frank has brought the Einstein Newton Emulator back to life:

On behalf of the Einstein team, I’m happy to announce that a new release, Einstein 2017.1.0, is available for download!

(For anyone who doesn’t already know, Einstein is an emulator for the NewtonOS platform.)

This release includes pre-built binaries for macOS 10.8+ and Ubuntu Linux 16 (xenial).

The iOS build is also functional but must be built from source with Xcode. You will need to create an Apple developer account and signing certificate to install Einstein on your iOS device. You can run it in the iOS Simulator without these requirements.

The experimental Raspberry Pi build can also be built from source. The status of the Android and Windows builds is not clear to me at this time.

(I have successfully compiled a version for Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS (Trusty Tahr) for use on MIT’s Project Athena.)

News of improved Mac OS and iOS versions might be exciting to Apple-centric Newton enthusiasts, but I suspect the Linux versions are essential for the platforms survival.

Newton hardware isn’t getting any younger. As each year passes more Newton MessagePads and eMates breakdown — never to be powered on again. For the Newton to be remembered accurately, people need to experience its unique operating system for themselves. But unlike most historical operating systems that are emulated on a desktop PC by way of keyboard and mouse, the Newton needs to be experienced in the field on batteries with a stylus.

That is where the Linux versions come in. Free from the restrictions of the Apple App Store. Available to run on almost host any platform — including Raspberry Pi. The future of the Newton OS is on free software.