Yep, you need a cable and some software. When I bought my Newton, Apple
shipped a tiny installer program and a free cable. Since then I've picked up
the Newton Connectivity Kit for backup, since it would be a disaster if I lost
my data.
Actually, Apple has a pretty good deal going right now where you can get
Graffitti, Action Names (a contact management package) and some other
utilities, all on a 2 meg card. Both Graffitti and Action Names are pretty
good, and you get a 2 meg card in the process, for just about what you'd pay
for a 2 meg card in the first place.
-R