So Apple is going to re-invent the Newton to create the ultimate tablet with the return of Michael Tchao? That's the big rumor...

I hope so. None of the current devices really cut it for serious to use the rock band Tubes song title: "keyboard kids." Take it from this longtime (yeah 20+ years) heavy duty portable computing device user: Apple should borrow/swipe/steal as much as it could from Kyocera i.e. Radio Shack, the makers of the TRS-80 T100s and T200s. In fact Apple should lift the entire line for its own tablets and netbooks. Shrink them down, build out the screens, update the guts, but still keep intact two amazing machines.

My first computer was a T200, the clamshell model with 24 KB RAM and that now-so-quaint DTMF tone dialing for the internal modem for the Manchester Union-Leader. If it could take my fat-fingered pounding for cranking out deadline daily news--from boring planning board meetings to multiple pile-ups on I-93--it could withstand anything...

Here's more and why. Says Wikipedia: "The computer is silent when it operates. The keyboard is superior to most others currently on the market.[citation needed] It runs for 20 hours on 4 readily available and easily replaceable AA batteries. Data is protected by a built-in rechargeable battery. There is no boot up routine; the Model 100 operates as soon as the switch is flipped and an application selected. There are several simple programs available on the Internet for transferring Model 100 files to a modern personal computer.

"The Model 100 was also used in industrial applications as a programming terminal for configuration of control systems and instruments.Third-party peripherals for the Model 100 extended its battery life and file storage capacity. Software was designed, and is still available, to extend the display capabilities and to provide more advanced word-processing or calculation software than the supplied programs. To this day, hobbyists continue to design games, applications, and hardware for this device.

"With few exceptions, no modern portable computer has the appearance, or some would argue utility, of the Model 100 line. Modern portable computers (laptops) are larger, heavier, and have much shorter battery life than the Model 100. The closest modern successors include the Alphasmart Dana and the Quickpad Pro. These similar modern "slabtop" units typically are targeted at the education market, although they are often used by writers and mobile professionals.

"Although much larger, the Model 100 actually bears a close resemblance to modern PDAs. Its TEXT program is similar to the Memo program found on PalmOne products, and ADDRSS and SCHEDL are essentially simplified versions of Contacts, Tasks and Calendar. The Model 100 has the additional advantage of a full size keyboard, a built-in modem and BASIC programming language. By including BASIC, the Model 100's designers made it possible for users to design additional applications."