Backyard

Backyard is designed for quick access to

applications (one tap buttons and pop-ups for programs located in one Extras folder),
special actions (like rotating the screen) and
informations (displays current settings, offers quick notes stored in Backyard and links to important notes, calls or contacts)

So it is perfectly suited to be the central point to start your work. That´s why I would recommend using it as backdrop (the application that is always open) but you can also use it as any other package and open it only when needed.

Pins

Central to Backyard are its notes which can be added to the Backyard screen simmilar to a pin-board. To distinguish these small notes from the notes in the standard notepad I call them just "pins".

You can even link notes, contacts or calls to a pin (see chapter "About Pins") giving you a new way to organize the informations stored in your Newton. Each linked item will be represented by an icon within the pin and tapping it will open the corresponding application and show the linked entry.

Button bars

Backyard can be configured in various ways. There are lots of one-tap actions that you can include in the status bar (the button bar at the bottom of Backyard) or in one or two optional bars. A button can

launch an application (thawing the package on the fly if needed),
perfom other actions (turning light or sound on/off, rotate the screen,...) or
pop up a list of packages that are located within a folder of "Extras" to open one of those packages.

Additionally, Backyard gives you an overview about the state of the system. At a glance you´ll find the curent state of the battery, the current default store and of course the date and time. Some state-changing buttons will also display the current state (e.g. the sound button shows whether the sound is turned on or off).

Price and Registration

When it is released Backyard will be shareware and cost US$15. The unregistered version will have all features of the registered one but the more you use it the more you will get "registration reminders". There is no expiration date.

There are also two bundles available:

For US$25 you can register i++, WittyKeys and Backyard (saving US$20).
If you already registered one of these packages and register another one later you will receive the third code for free (saving US$15) automatically.

Download

The files are compressed and binhexed using StuffIt from Aladdin Systems. So you need their (free) StuffIt Expander which is available for Mac and Windows. If you use a Windows-PC please make sure that you have set the cross platform preference of StuffIt to NEVER.

Download English version (V1.00e)

Download German version (V1.00d)

In case of any questions feel free to contact me.