Under Construction
2026 / SUMMER EXHIBITION
GCFeatured Exhibition

GO Corporation
and the Vision of
Pen-Based Computing

GO Corporation's PenPoint, released in 1991, was the first operating system designed from the ground up for pen input rather than keyboard — pioneering gesture commands, embedded handwriting recognition, and a notebook metaphor that would echo through every stylus and touch system that followed.

GO Corporation and the Vision of Pen-Based Computing
Now on view
Permanent collection
Artifacts
Approx. 30,000
Catalogued
249
Timeline span
1987 — 2007
Recorded events
2001 milestones

Exhibitions
now on view.

One Special Exhibition Drawn directly from the museum's collection of artifacts, magazines, and primary documents.
GC Featured Exhibition
Under Construction GO Corporation and the Vision of Pen-Based Computing

GO Corporation and the Vision of Pen-Based Computing

GO Corporation's PenPoint, released in 1991, was the first operating system designed from the ground up for pen input rather than keyboard — pioneering gesture commands, embedded handwriting recognition, and a notebook metaphor that would echo through every stylus and touch system that followed.

Featured artifacts.

From the collection 18 objects selected at random, drawn from 249 in the permanent collection.
View all artifacts
Psion, Inc. 1996

PSION Press Package (November 18, 1996)
Hewlett-Packard 2000

HP Jornada 720 Handheld PC User’s Guide
Creative Digital, Inc. 1994

PIE Developers – Volume 2.1 – January, 1994
aha! software corporation 1994
aha! software corporation - InkWriter 2.0 for Windows Press Kit

aha! software corporation – aha! InkWriter 2.0 for Windows Press Kit
Stylus Publishing 1991
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 1, Number 1 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – January 22, 1991 – Volume 1, Number 1
Palmtop Publications 1997
Palmtop Journal - Issue 12 (Cover)

Palmtop – Issue 12
aha! software corporation 1994
aha! software corp - InkWriter 2.0 Windows Screen Shots and Captions (Document)

aha! software corp. – InkWriter 2.0 for Windows Screen Shots and Captions (Document)
Metrowerks, Inc. 1997
Metrowerks, Inc. - CodeWarrior for PalmPilot Brochure

Metrowerks, Inc. – Metrowerks CodeWarrior for PalmPilot (Brochure)
Palmtop Publications 2000
Palmtop Journal – Issue 29 (Cover)

Palmtop – Issue 29
Communication Intelligence Corp. 1997
Communication Intelligence Corp. - QuickNotes 2.0 Windows CE User's Guide (Cover)

Communication Intelligence Corp. – QuickNotes 2.0 Package Windows CE (Shrinkwrapped)
Creative Digital, Inc. 1993

PIE Developers – Volume 1.15 – November, 1993
Creative Digital, Inc. 1994

PDA Developers – Volume 2.6 – Nov/Dec 1994
Creative Digital, Inc. 1994

PIE Developers – Volume 2.4 – July, 1994
Casio, Inc. 1998

Casio Cassiopeia A-20 8MB (Brochure)
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company 1992
GO Corporation - PenPoint User Interface Design Reference (Cover)

GO Corporation – PenPoint User Interface Design Reference
IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. 1999

Palm Computing for Dummies (Book)
Apple Computer, Inc. 1994
Apple Newton MessagePad – Getting Through the Day … (Brochure) – 1

Apple Newton MessagePad Getting Through the Day … (Brochure)
Creative Digital, Inc. 1996

PDA Developers – Volume 4.2 – March/April 1996

A chronology.

1987 — 2007 Selected from the museum's 2001 catalogued timeline events.
View full timeline
1989Hardware
Software Companies Writing Programs for GRiDPad
GRiD Systems Corp. announces that numerous software vendors are building applications for the handwriting and electronic pen interface capabilities of GRiDPad, its…
1990Hardware
GRiDPad Makes Computing History with First Use in Election Exit Poll
The San Francisco Examiner has broken new ground by conducting the first ever election-day exit poll using GRiDPAD, the only computer in…
1993Software
FutureWave Software Inc. Announces Sketching Product for AT&T EO Personal Communicators
SmartSketch is a full-featured graphics software package designed for Personal Communicators using the AT&T Hobbit chip and PenPoint operating system.
1995Service
ARDIS is First Wireless Network for Debut Of Motorola’s Envoy Wireless Communicator
Envoy wireless communicator users can send and receive information from virtually any location using the ARDIS nationwide wireless data network.
1998Software
Fujitsu Personal Systems First to Market with 32-Bit Pen Solution
Fujitsu Personal Systems, Inc. announces it is the first manufacturer to offer pen tablets with 32-bit pen support.
1999Software
Strata Systems’ Punch List Version 2 Offers Compatibility With Primavera Software
New version of project tracking software offers Primavera users palm-based access to projects.
2007Hardware
Apple Reinvents the Phone With iPhone
Apple introduces iPhone, combining three products-a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with…

The collection.

Browse 249 artifacts Indexed by category from the collection.
    WA

    WATCOM

    4 items →
    CO

    3Com

    4 items →
    CA

    Cassiopeia

    1 item →
    ZO

    Zoomer

    2 items →
    LE

    Lexicus

    4 items →
    YI

    Young Ideas

    3 items →
    EI

    Eidetic

    4 items →
    VB

    Visitor's Badge

    1 item →
    TA

    Tablet

    2 items →
    MA

    Maquette

    4 items →
    JO

    Journal

    61 items →
    PI

    ParaGraph International

    2 items →
    AP

    AP Professional

    1 item →
    IA

    Integrated Application

    1 item →

    Pen-Based Computing,
    the newsletter.

    Eight volumes · Sixty five issues The original newsletter — every issue digitized in full (soon).
    View all issues
    Pen-Based Computing – June 20, 1991 – Volume 1, Number 3

    Volume 1 · Issue 03 Pen-Based Computing – June 20, 1991 – Volume 1, Number 3

    16 pp
    Pen-Based Computing – February, 1997 – Volume 7, Number 2

    Volume 7 · Issue 02 Pen-Based Computing – February, 1997 – Volume 7, Number 2

    16 pp
    Pen-Based Computing – March, 1995 – Volume 5, Number 3

    Volume 5 · Issue 03 Pen-Based Computing – March, 1995 – Volume 5, Number 3

    16 pp
    04 · Donate

    Donate an
    artifact.

    The museum collects hardware, software, manuals, photographs, marketing collateral, oral histories, and ephemera related to the early history of stylus-based computing.

    Learn how to donate →
    05 · Subscribe Coming Soon

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    Learn about new acquisitions, recovered manuals, oral histories, and unearthed discoveries.

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