[NTLK] Newton 2100 PDA Panache Styli Requested and Why Needed

[Michael Rebar]

In 2003 I purchased a MP2000 from eBay that was previously upgraded by
Apple to MP2100.
It came with the keyboard and the base stylus.

At the time the Newton was used as a PDA for generation of patient notes.
The PDA Panache stylus was purchased and made data entry a bit more
comfortable.
The electronic health record for general use had not yet caught on, so
either used the IR to print notes or later at home connected over wifi to
my desktop system for inclusion in my EHR program (Patient Tracker).
When the Newton reached peak productivity for my workflow in the office, it
was cumbersome to use in the hospital. After a year I sold it to someone
else on eBay for about what I paid.

Jump ahead to 2020 and EHR/EMR use is everywhere. Smartphones are
ubiquitous. After 20 years of practice I want to give something meaningful
back to medicine and PDA computing. Over the years of tinkering in Visual
Studio and Xcode I have constructed a prototype AI which I think might be
helpful. It is called AIRA and has a GitHub - michaelrebar/AIRA: Automatic
Interpolative Reciprocating Algorithm <https://github.com/michaelrebar/AIRA>.
The base code will be open source. Compaction of code and making the
project modular from the intel based desktop to mobile was spurred by the
M1 processor. While I do not have an ARM based Mac, the iPhone and iPad are
rooted in that type of CPU. Shifting gears probably could be done just in
Xcode, however the chance to start over on the Newton came to mind when
seeing the "Love Notes to Newton" movie. Re-learning Newton runs on ARM was
refreshing and immediately made the 2100 a required add-on to the
development of AIRA.

Recently I was able to acquire a MP2000 that is being sent for upgrades via
NewtonSales to make the MP more in line with the 2100 I had before. Also I
have been learning the UI once again using Einstein, and probably could do
some of the development in that emulator. However for something this
critical the real device seems more important as AIRA's functions may touch
real people someday. Some of the coding will be likely done with the
keyboard (which is coming from China as NOS). The Apple Pencil also can be
used so should be better than the stock stylus. However, the weight and
feel of the PDA Panache line I recall was very helpful when I was just
using the Newton for generation of progress notes.

Since the Newton has flash memory I think development will be hard with the
constraint limits of the system. Yet given how everything in Newton is a
"soup" this should offer some strengths for development that can not be
found in Xcode. My feeling is that if I can get parts of AIRA to work on
the Newton, then I should be able to expand on the RISC model toward iOS
and Mac type ARM systems with all the extra security layers.

This will take time. The PDA Panache stylus would be helpful in this
effort. I did get an email back from PDA Panache that the product I am
looking for no longer is for sale. I have requested here recently for some
help in acquiring the black copper stylus for MP 2000/2100 but will
consider others of the same line if the weight and feel is about the same.
The Newton sent for upgrades will likely be kept at home while the other
MP2100 I just purchased from eBay will be used more on the road and
synchronized with the upgraded Newton for further testing of code
developed.

I figured whoever can help supply styli should know where their hardware is
going and its purpose of use.