New from Cupertino -- Last week, Apple formally rolled out the powerful Newton MessagePad 2000 and the sleek Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, while also announcing availability of OpenDoc 1.2. Regarded by some as the first truly functional Newton-based device, the MessagePad 2000 is powered by a 160 MHz StrongARM processor, features reportedly excellent handwriting recognition, and operates vertically or horizontally. The Twentieth Anniversary Mac, on the other hand, seems like a device for prominent display in a gallery, and with its $7,500 price tag, buyers might choose to consider it modern art. On the software side, the new version of OpenDoc (4.3 MB download) fixes bugs dealing with international systems, increases stability in low-memory conditions, and supports Apple Guide 2.1, although some OpenDoc applications (like Nisus Writer 5.0) reportedly do not work correctly with OpenDoc 1.2. [JLC]

<http://www.twentiethanniversary.apple.com/>
<http://product.info.apple.com/productinfo/ datasheets/pi/mp2000.html>
<http://www.opendoc.apple.com/users/getod.html>