[NTLK] Einstein on M1

[NewtonTalk]

> I downloaded NewtTest from https://www.pda-soft.de/newttest.html and
installed it on my MessagePad 2000.
> When I launch NewtTest app and tap 'i' > About I get NewtTest 1.0 - not
1.1i shown in your screen captures.
> I also don't see 'Test Type: Speed'.

I did that on purpose. The speed test writes to the Newton's Flash RAM.
Very, very fast, and hence very, very often.

Flash RAM chips have a limited number of write cycles before they become
unreliable. That's the same problem as that with the old Cisco PCMCIA memory
cards that started acting up on you out of the blue because they had
previously been used in a router.

During normal Newton use you will never get even close to the maximum number
of write cycles, even if you're putting your Newton to (normal) use 24/7 for
the rest of your life. Neither will there be a problem if you start the test
on a real Newton and stop it as soon as you know what you wanted to know.
But if you started this test and forgot to stop it, thus running it for a
very long time, you might eventually kill the mainboard. 

As someone mentioned, the updated version is part of Einstein and hence
available on GitHub. Einstein is the only scenario I'd recommend using it
in, because Einstein will not actually stress the Newton's hardware. If you
feel you absolutely MUST run it on a real Newton, make sure to stop it as
soon as possible.

Frank

-- Newton software and hardware at http://www.pda-soft.de