Info-Mac 3/Info_Mac_1994-01.iso/Newton/Information/Newton Gripe 'N' Bug 1.1 Part 1

Text File | 1993-12-30 | 22KB | 514 lines

The Canonical List of MessagePad Bugs, Gripes and Wishes
========================================================

  This document is a collection of bug, gripe reports and
  wishes for the future about the Apple Newton MessagePad.

  The items in this list are arranged, very roughly, in a sort
  of priority; the serious items are first, and things get
  more trivial as the list progresses.

  This list has been broken out of the longer Canonical List
  of Newton Questions and Answers; that list was becoming too
  unwieldy, so I'm breaking it into a couple of parts in order
  to maintain them separately and present the information better.


Author
------

  Collected and written by Paul R. Potts, [e-mail].
  Or, call me at home, [phone], and leave a message if I'm
  not there. If you inhabit CompuServe, I can be found on CompuServe
  at 71561,3362, although I don't use my account more often than a
  couple of times per month.


Copyright
---------

  Permission is granted for the free use and distribution, of this
  document, in any form, provided that:

  - My name stays on it.

  - You do not distribute this document with alterations. If
  it has my name on it, I want to be the one to make changes.

  I am writing this posting as a private individual and developer
  and not in my official capacity as an employee of the University
  of Michigan. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the
  views of the University of Michigan.


Version
-------

  version 1.01, Revised 9-16-93.


Update Information
------------------

  Putting together a list like this and keeping it up-to-date takes
  a lot of time, and I'm not paid to do it. So, please don't send me
  requests that will take me a lot of time to fulfill. Please *do*
  send me updates, factual corrections, bug reports, and suggested
  changes. I am trying to keep this document as up-to-date as possible.

  Before sending me something to add, please scan through the list
  and see if there is already an item that describes the problem,
  gripe, or wish that you're suggesting. That will save me time.


Latest Newton System Software
-----------------------------

  System software 1.04 is the latest version of the Newton System
  software. To see which version you have, open the Extras box,
  and tap on the Preferences icon. At the bottom of the preferences
  screen, you will see a number that should range from 1.00 onward.
  If you don't have system software 1.04, see my other document
  (the Newton Question and Answers list) for information on how to
  update your system.


Part 1 - Connection Kits
========================

  (This section of the gripe and bug list is reserved for problems related
  to the use of the Macintosh and/or Windows Connection Kits).

  I have heard from several users that the Connection Kit 1.0 will not
  show their Calendar on the Mac, although it will show the Notes and
  Names. If this happens, try quitting the Connection Kit application
  and then re-launching it.

  I have heard that you can't edit notes attached to Names items, but
  have not confirmed this with the 1.0 version of the Connection Kit.


Part 2 - Newton Bugs
====================

  The word "bug" is a slippery term. What aspect of a piece of software
  constitues a bug, and what doesn't? In this section I have tried to
  collect what I consider to be Newton's bugs. Some of these notes
  come from my experience with the Newton, some come from other
  users, and some come from conversations with 1-800-SOS-APPL.


Severe hardware problems with some early Newtons
------------------------------------------------

  According to rumor, certain early units have a hardware defect;
  several users have reported on the net that after getting their
  units replaced, they are having a much better time with their
  Newtons.

  If you have severe problems with a flickering screen, unstable pen
  tracking (to test this, turn off both recognizers and try drawing
  circles or straight lines), a Newton that won't start up when you want
  it to even on a fresh set of batteries, or a Newton that won't recognize
  handwriting when the AC power adapter is plugged in, contact
  1-800-SOS-APPL; you *may* have a bad unit. Don't worry, all the
  Newtons currently in existence are still under warranty!


Newton won't turn off or on
---------------------------

  This is not really a bug; there are a few different conditions at work
  here.

  Going to sleep:

  On low batteries, Newton may not be able to go to sleep; also, some third
  party applications which don't pay proper attention to system messages
  may not let the Newton go to sleep; try closing these, or even removing
  them, (Prefs/memory/remove software or card/remove software) to see if
  that is the problem. If your Newton still won't turn off, try resetting
  it; it may be frozen and can't respond to the power button.

  Waking up:

  Probably a power problem; try a fresh set of batteries or plugging it
  in. If that doesn't work, try resetting it. If your Newton will
  consistently not wake up on AC power or a fresh set of batteries, you
  may have a hardware problem. You may have this problem if the Newton
  has gotten very cold; at low temperatures, the batteries won't put
  out enough power to keep the Newton alive. Let it come to room
  temperature, then plug in and reset.


Ghost items in the day note area of the datebook
------------------------------------------------

  There is a rather irritating bug having to do with the day note
  area. The "day note area" is the area in the default view of
  a date in the datebook, to the left of the small monthly calendar
  in the upper right corner of the screen and above the hour-by-hour
  list of appointments for the day. If you make an appointment in
  this area and set it to repeat, and try cutting and pasting it to
  another day, it is possible to get the software into a state
  where you can't delete the item.

  There are several workarounds; you can create another item with
  the same name, use the Find feature to find both items, then do
  an overview of the found items, select the ones you want, and
  "delete all" from the routing slip (envelope icon). The screen may not
  refresh properly after doing this, so close the window and
  reopen it to verify that the itme is gone. (Information from Allan
  Marcus, [e-mail]). Also, my utility, Strainer,
  can delete soup entries like this (although I don't recommend
  anyone use it without backing up their Newton completely first).
  In the beta Connection Kit, these items could not be deleted
  from inside the Connection Kit. I don't know if this has been
  fixed with the 1.0 Connection Kit.

  I got a note from Steve Kramarsky ([e-mail]) who told
  me that Apple does, in fact, warn you not to do this kind of thing
  in the eratta sheet that was included with all Newtons. He's right;
  the bug should still be fixed though.


Newton won't recognize the "Getting Started" card
-------------------------------------------------

  There is a bug with the system version 1.0.0 that prevents the
  Newton from recognizing the Getting Started card. You will need
  to get the latest version of the Newton system software.


Sometimes the handwriting recognition stops working
---------------------------------------------------

  (This appears to have been completely or nearly completely fixed
  by system software 1.04).


Handwriting settings lost when switching to guest mode
------------------------------------------------------

  I have heard that the handwriting settings (speed of recognition,
  etc., NOT the Newton's knowledge of your writing) are lost when
  switching to guest mode if the recognizer is set to "Print only"
  or "cursive only." The workaround is to set to mixed cursive and
  printing before changing to Guest mode. I haven't tested this.


My clock is inaccurate
----------------------

  Clock performance seems to have been greatly improved with System
  software 1.04. If you are having strange clock problems with 1.04,
  try resetting the Newton. If you reset the clock, make sure that
  your time zone is correct first.


Newton treats words with parentheses on one or both sides as unique words
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

  When I use the little keyboard emulator to type in a word inside
  parentheses, I get messages like "add (word to dictionary?"
  or "add word) to dictionary?"  The same thing happens with dashes;
  it treats words with parens to to left or right as distinct words.


Items beamed from my Sharp organizer can appear cut off
-------------------------------------------------------

  Apparently if you beam a large item from a Sharp organizer it
  may appear truncated, or with ellipses after the first line
  (for example, 3 lienes of phone numbers can get imported into
  a lone-line field). The workaround is to copy the item out to
  the notepad, edit it appropriately, and copy it back in
  (from Eric Shapiro, [e-mail]). I've also
  heard that imported note items can appear cut off, but in this
  case you should be able to see the remaining text by dragging
  the separator bar at the end of the note down. I also heard from
  T.X. Yuan that he would like to see a way to transfer the
  Scrapbook from his Wizard. Since I don't have a Sharp organizer
  to play with I haven't been able to test these problems.


Newton won't call a number properly when using assist
-----------------------------------------------------

  Also from Eric Shapiro and others: write "Call X," where X
  is a name the Newton doesn't know, and tap "Assist." Newton will
  then try to look up the name. If it can't find it, the assistant
  won't give you an error message; instead, it shows the last phone
  number you dialed, with a 1 in front. This appears to be a bug.


Newton gets phone numbers wrong sometime when dialing
-----------------------------------------------------

  Again from Eric Shapiro: if you enter a phone number in your
  Names list that is in the same area code as your number, and
  in the form "1 + area code + number," Newton may get confused.
  It appears to be trying to apply too much intelligence; it is
  attempting to cut off the area code of the number, but actually
  winds up deleting the 1 and the first character of the area
  code. To fix this, enter phone numbers as "area code + number."

  T.X. Yuan reports a problem with removing the zero in area codes:
  "if a phone in Taipei, Taiwan is [phone], and I'm calling
  from Singapore, Newton will put 005 886 02 555-1234 in the call slip;
  it should be 005 886 2 555-1234." Apparently some non-US area codes
  can legally contain zeroes. (Don't ask me, I just report them : )

  Jerome Chan ([e-mail]) says "Try dialing Singapore with a
  9, prefix, and a credit card number. The 011 international dialing
  code is changed to 1."

  Bob Cunningham ([e-mail]) reports that the Newton puts
  Hawaii in the wrong time zone (2 hours from California instead of 3).
  Also, he says the Newton changes Hawaii away from Daylight Savings
  Time, while the Hawaiians don't). Are there other locations where
  people don't change to Daylight Savings time that are not correctly
  accounted for by the Newton?

  Andy Kniveton ([e-mail]) reports that
  "my phone number at work in the UK is 0793 545349 but if I change
  my location to the US and get the Newton to dial home it dials
  011 44 0793 54349 rather than the correct number from the US:
  011 4 793 545349."


System errors when using the date book
--------------------------------------

  I have heard several accounts of users getting system errors
  when using the date book. The day note item bug (see above)
  can cause system errors. If you are able to reproduce the
  events that led up to the error, contact Apple to report
  the bug. Otherwise I'd suggest that you just reset your Newton,
  grin, and bear it for now.


Flakey to-do list
-----------------

  We have reported a couple of different bugs in the to-do list.
  One may be incorrect documentation: you cannot double-click on
  the bar at the left of a to-do item to open it.

  I have also seen a number of cosmetic problems with the to-do list
  that didn't seem to affect operation; sometimes the black line to
  the left of a to-do item will be drawn off the bottom or top of the
  screen if you drag it beyond the bounds of the notepad. Jakob Nielsen
  ([e-mail]) has also reported this proglem

  I have had some to-do list problems reported by Richard Kiss
  ([e-mail]). He wrote that when to-do list items carry over
  to the following day, if the Newton is on and you are watching, items
  may appear to disappear (they won't appear in either day). Drawing a
  line through the infinite to-do item at the end of the list, as if
  creating a new item, brought them back.

  Eric Klein at Apple ([e-mail]) reports that
  "if you create a To-Do item and do not draw a line to denote the
  end of the to-do, [it] seems to have an infinite length." If to-do
  items get rearranged, you can wind up with smaller, normal to-do
  items appearing *below* this long item. Draw a line across the
  extra-long item and it will return to a normal length.

  John Brewer ([e-mail]) reports "I have had To-do items
  disappear from the regular view but remain visible in the overview.
  This suggests that the problem [is one of formatting rather than
  data loss]."


Certain operations are extremely slow on the Newton
---------------------------------------------------

  I have noticed and heard reports of long delays when dragging a
  separator bar between two notes to resize it, and scrolling in
  notes, especially notes with a lot of digital ink.

   If you've noticed these things, you're not alone. If the problem
  seems severe, you might want to call up 1-800-SOS-APPL. In future
  releases they may be able to speed up some of these behaviors.
  (In software development, getting code working correctly is usually
  the first priority; optimizing is then done on an as-needed basis,
  and it is the squeaky features that will get the grease).

  Eric Shapiro ([e-mail]) reports that if you
  have a lot of names (around 200) and switch to a folder containing
  very few names, "the wait time is unbearable."

  Brice Dowaliby ([e-mail]) reports that getting an overview
  of his to-do list takes 32 seconds, and that SOS-APPL advised him
  that the to-do list worked best with under 21 items.

  Some users are actually reporting that tapping on the Undo or
  scroll buttons does nothing, because by the time the Newton
  responds, they are trying to get it to do something else. It is
  particularly strange on a preemptive multi-tasking system to have
  the *sound effect* of clicking on a button take five seconds to
  arrive. Shouldn't sounds like this be asynchronous? Also, the
  typical user's reaction, when the Newton doesn't make noise when
  tapped on, is to start tapping and drawing on the screen to try
  to get its attention, which makes it go crazy when it finally
  does catch up.


Disappearing text in notepad
----------------------------

  Find a note that has a separator bar at the end of it. Use the
  mini-keyboard to add some text to the end of the note. Leave the
  keyboard on the screen and drag the separator bar down a little bit.
  Your insertion point will disappear. Tap a few more characters on
  the mini-keyboard. Where did they go?


Premature Alarms
----------------

  One user (Bradley Holt, holt.cheme.washington.edu) reported that if
  he sets up a repeat meeting with an alarm, starting in several weeks
  and repeating on the same day of the week, the alarm will go off
  on the proper day and time several weeks *before* the first meeting
  was scheduled. (I have tested and confirmed this bug).

  Dennis Adams ([e-mail]) reports the following bug that could
  cause you some trouble (I have reproduced it on my Newton): Add an
  item to your calendar. Click on the bar to bring up the item's
  properties window. Click on the Alarm button. Tap the check box
  to turn on the alarm. Press the Frequency button. Close the
  window. Bring the properties window again and you will notice that
  the alarm is no longer turned on.


Potential minor security risk putting passwords in dictionary
-------------------------------------------------------------

  Several users reported that if you set your password to a word that
  does not appear in the word list and add it to the dictionary so that
  it will be easily recognized, it appears in the dictionary; if you
  put your Newton in guest mode and hand it to someone, they can see
  it. [I'm not sure how to get around this; generally, in computer
  security, security can *always* be compromised if you can get hands-
  on access to the machine itself].

  Also, if you use a long word as a password which in the dictionary,
  even if you write it incorrectly there is a good chance that it will
  be recognized; this means recognition of password is a little "looser"
  than it could be, giving more tolerance to someone trying to break in.
  (suggested by Dave Heller, [e-mail]).


Odd error message
-----------------

  I've seen, and other users have reported, seeing an error message
  that says "A length in the styles slot is too short and has been
  extended." This happenedd when I opened my To-Do list just now. What
  does it mean? Should I be concerned, as an end-user? If not, why did
  the Newton inform me of this?


Part 2: Cosmetic Bugs
=====================

Error message upon restore from PCMCIA memory card
--------------------------------------------------

  When I erase all the memory, the Newton restarts, and I put in
  my 2 megabyte flash memory card and click "restore" when the card
  window first pops up, I always get an error message. If I try again,
  it always works on the second try.


Temperature gauge drawn under notepad overview window
-----------------------------------------------------

  Here is an example of what I mean by a cosmetic bug: bring up the
  overview of the note pad area (using the round overview button
  located between the up and down arrows). After the overview has drawn,
  click on the clock icon to bring up the date and time. This window
  will be drawn on top, like it should. Continue to hold down the pen
  until the temperature window comes up. This window will be drawn
  *behind* the overview window. A cosmetic bug - this definitely looks
  like it is wrong, but it doesn't really adversely affect operation;
  if you want to see the temperature window on top, close the overview
  window first.


Interface to PCMCIA memory cards awkward
----------------------------------------

  If you have a read-only PCMCIA card in the slot, the routing
  slip on a note will still give you the option to move the note
  to the card. If you try it, you will get an error. It would be
  better if this option did not appear when the inserted card was
  read-only.

  If you have no card inserted, the "Card" icon will still appear
  in the extras box. When you click it, it says "no card is inserted."
  Why not just hide this icon when no card is inserted? Or, better
  yet, replace it with a little card symbox with a circled slash
  through it, to indicate "no card."


Miniature clock time display is inaccurate
------------------------------------------

  The miniature clock that appears in the status bar does not display
  the Newton's time very accurately. For example, when the minute hand
  stays in 4:50 position until 4:56, then stays into the 4:55 position
  until 5:01. Since the mini-clock does not have enough pixels to draw
  good-looking lines at every minute mark, it makes sense to me that
  the miniature clock is rounded off. Newton doesn't seem to use the
  best method to round off the value of the clock, though. It would
  make more sense to me if "stuck" to the five-minute mark at two
  minutes before and two minutes after the mark. This would look more
  correct, in my opinion.

  Oddly, if you open up the Date book, the clocks hands appear in a
  more accurate position. (Reported by T.X. Yuan).


Nothing to undo
---------------

  It isn't nice to tell users that a problem has occurred when they
  simply click a button: T.X. Yuan notes that it is strange that the
  Newton has two different messages that appear when there is nothing
  to undo and the user clicks the "Undo" button. Sometimes, you see
  "There is nothing to undo" and sometimes you see "Sorry, a problem
  has occurred. (There is nothing to undo)."


Overflowing Extras Box
----------------------

  It appears for now that it is possible to overlow the "Extras"
  box by downloading too many applications. It grows by a line or
  two, and then will not grow any further. This should never be a
  problem for most users.


Wacky Word Lists
----------------

  There is some inconsistent behavior when reviewing and editing your
  dictionary. The user interface for this could be improved. To see
  one odd behavior, use the scroll buttons to scroll through your word
  list for a while; you may notice that the display abruptly jumps
  to show words starting with "a" again.

Faxing
------

  Krishnan Aghoramurthy reports that when faxing using the memo format,
  due to the length of his name, the header on the fax gets "mangled."