First and foremost, NS BASIC is programmed on the Newton-not on the Macintosh and then ported to the Newton. While this does have certain disadvantages in terms of screen visibility and speed of entry, there is still no substitute for the look and feel of programs running on the Newton. (However, you can also link to your Macintosh or PC through the serial port of the Newton and use a keyboard and screen to write the initial code.)
If you're going to take advantage of NS BASIC's many Newton specific features-such as handwriting recognition, window objects, drawing-then you need to do it on the Newton. Particularly useful are NS BASIC's control over the infrared and serial port capabilities, which can be put to use in many kinds of specialized Newton applications; for example, synchronizing data on several Newtons via infrared.
The development environment, though diminutive, is comparable to those you find in other BASIC systems, including a complete toolbox with built in window objects. Unlike most Newton software, NS BASIC comes with a real 180 page manual (this is a programming language). Anyone with a modicum of experience in BASIC will become immediately productive with NS BASIC. -Nelson King
NS BASIC 2.01, NS BASIC Corp.; phone 416/264-5999; e-mail via the Internet (info© nsbasic.com). List price $99.