Apple Newton Internet Enabler Spezifikationen PDF herunterladen (Seite 10)

June 1996 Newton Technology Journal

Today, the definition of “work environment” is rapidly changing. People are

roaming farther and farther from their base of operations, whether that base

is a corporate desk or a home office. Job-related information now resides

not just on a local hard drive, but on servers maintained by in-house MIS

staff or remote information service providers. Although it’s easier than ever

to work where you want to, keeping in touch and getting to the information

you need can still be complicated, involving multiple communications

methods with different protocols, interfaces, and software.

Newton 2.0 OS supports a broad range of communications technologies.

Whether mobile users require wired or wireless means to exchange

information, Newton 2.0 OS supports numerous communications protocols

and standards for each. The Newton 2.0 OS architecture supports the

following communications technologies:

• Fax send and receive (built-in)

• E-mail (built-in and third-party)

• One- and two-way paging and messaging

• Networking (built-in AppleTalk)

• Internet protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, PPP)

• Packet radio networks (ARDIS, CDPD, RAM)

• Cellular fax and data (AMPS, digital, GSM)

• PCS fax and data (CDMA, PCS-1900, TDMA)

• Wireless LAN support

NEWTON PLATFORM COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

The basic communications strategy for the Newton platform is threefold:

core communications, wireless communications, and Internet connectivity.

Newton Systems Group has a number of initiatives to fulfill this strategy.

They are:

• Build in the most essential capabilities (e.g., serial connection, fax)

• Encourage developers to enhance the built-in capabilities and to provide

new capabilities

• Assist developers by providing communications APIs and enablers

(enablers are described below)

The Newton 2.0 OS has a full set of communications APIs such as

Transport, Routing, In/Out Box, and communications scripting. Because

most types of communications applications have one or more common

functions, we believe that providing a higher-level program interface will

simplify the development of many communications applications. The

developer functions that provide this higher level of interface are called

enablers. The first enabler we provided was the Modem Enabler. In this

article we will introduce you to three new enablers: Newton eMail Enabler,

Newton Messaging Enabler, and Newton Internet Enabler.

Some enablers – like the eMail Enabler and the Messaging Enabler –

provide higher-level APIs and code that developers can use to streamline the

development process. Others – like the Internet enabler – provide new

functionality. (For more information on these enablers, see “Enabler Kits.”)

We have five groups in Newton Systems Group working on

communications: Developer Relations, Developer Technical Support,

Communications OS Engineering, Communications Solutions Engineering,

and Product Marketing. Two of the groups – Developer Relations and

Developer Technical Support – are entirely devoted to supporting third-

party developers, who continue to be the most important part of our

communications strategy. The Enabler Kits discussed here are one method

of taking key enabling technology developed by our Communications OS

Engineering and Communications Solutions Engineering groups and making

it available to developers.

CORE COMMUNICATIONS

Our first strategic goal is to have the best core communications of any PDA.

When we talk about core communications, we mean much more than basic

communications; core communications includes all of communications

capabilities one expects on a laptop or desktop computer. Today, Newton

PDAs include more built-in communications capabilities than many laptops

and desktop machines. We intend to expand this leadership in future

Newton PDAs.

Let’s review the core communications elements, as well as a new e-mail

initiative.

Universal In/Out Box. This capability provides common access and

control for most communications, including e-mail, faxing (send and

receive), infrared transmission, wireless messaging, and printing.

Modem support. Newton 2.0 OS allows Newton PDA users to connect a

modem via the serial port or through a PCMCIA-standard PC Card slot.

Newton 2.0 technology supports data transfer over a modem at up to 28.8K

bps and beyond. Our Modem Enabler allows developers and device

manufacturers to easily write scripts (we call them “setups”) for most

modems to operate with the Newton 2.0 platform.

Network Connectivity. One of Apple’s strategic directions for the

Newton platform is to provide network connectivity to the most popular PC

networks. Newton 2.0 OS uses AppleTalk for this purpose. AppleTalk

support provides connectivity to most Macintosh and Windows NT

networks. Future versions of the Newton Internet Enabler (see “Enabler

Kits”) will allow TCP/IP over Ethernet networks.

Access to corporate LANs. Newton 2.0 OS provides an extended

AppleTalk stack, so users can access a local AppleTalk network from any node

just by connecting to that node’s AppleTalk connector. AppleTalk is also

supported as a standard network (AppleTalk ADSP) by Windows NT, which

allows connectivity to most Windows networks.

Access to the Ethernet LANs. Our strategy for network access is to expand

from AppleTalk to support TCP/IP over Ethernet. We expect this capability to

be available through future Apple enabler capabilities and the use of third-

Communications Strategies for Newton 2.0

by Barney Dewey, Apple Computer, Inc.

Newton Directions

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