Is there some way to connect to a printer without a built-in IR port?
Maybe. There’s two parts to the problem: hardware and software. The hardware part involves getting the printing signal from the Newton to the printer. There are several IR to serial/parallel adaptors available, with either or both of the Sharp ASK and IrDA protocols. Attaching one of these to the printer port will get you a hardware connection. The next problem is the driver software. This has two components: tranferring the data correctly, and generating the correct printer language. The Newton has a limited set of inbuilt printer drivers. You can also install more using the Newton Print Pack from Newton Inc (or Apple). These convert the Newton views into a specific printer language. I’d be interested to hear of any success or failure in attempting to print from a Newton via either IrDA or beaming protocols. Please let me know how it works out if you try it.
