GO Announces Pen-Based Operating Environment Strategy; IBM is First Licensee; Software Vendors Writing Applications

July 18, 1990 — GO Corp. Wednesday unveiled its strategy to develop a broad-based market for computers operated by pens.

To build this emerging market, the company is developing a pen-based operating environment available for license to hardware companies interested in what GO termed ”pen-based computing.”

GO also announced that IBM Corp. is the first licensee of the GO operating environment, and that numerous independent software companies, both established and start-up, are doing software development for the GO system. Those companies include Borland International, Lotus Development Corp., WordPerfect Corp., Slate Corp. and PenSoft Corp.

”Today we are beginning the process of establishing an open operating environment for this new marketplace,” said S. Jerrold Kaplan, GO president and co-founder. ”By announcing this significant ISV support, our fundamental licensing strategies and our first licensee, IBM, we hope to demonstrate the momentum for the GO operating environment and to invite others to join with us to accelerate the delivery of user solutions.”

GO also intends the open licensing strategy to motivate computer manufacturers to produce computers of different sizes, styles and prices, that can run the GO operating environment.

”We recognize that new standards and new markets are established through the collective support of numerous vendors,” said James A.  Cannavino, IBM vice president and general manager, Personal Systems. ”Therefore, IBM encourages others to join with us to build the worldwide, pen-based computer marketplace.” IBM and GO will cooperate on pilot projects with selected corporate customers.

”The GO operating environment makes possible a range of pen-based computers running new applications software that can be used by mobile professionals when they are away from their desks and working with others,” said Kaplan. ”This contrasts to current DOS-compatible laptops that basically make desktop applications more portable.”

For example, pen-based computers will be used to mark up and edit documents in consultation with a client; provide electronic drawing pads for architects, artists and designers; consult a database while talking with a customer; receive, edit and resend faxes without losing image quality; make a formal electronic presentation; capture and index large quantities of handwritten notes; and process computer mail. They also can be used for standard applications such as spreadsheets and word processors, designed for the pen.

The GO operating environment will not be DOS-based, but will have data compatibility with DOS. ”Users want data compatibility; they need to move files between systems without loss of information.  We’ll provide that ability,” said Kaplan.

”DOS was created a decade ago expressly for desktop computing,” Kaplan added. ”We determined after considerable research that a new operating environment — designed from the ground up, rather than bolted onto an existing operating system — was now needed to realize the potential of pen-based computing. Existing technology can’t deliver the power, flexibility and compactness that pen-based computing demands, and that didn’t need to be considered in designing MS-DOS, OS/2 or UNIX.”

Technical teams from the software vendors announcing their support today have evaluated the GO technology, attended formal software development training courses and received developer tools, technical support and documentation. Other software vendors, value-added resellers and in-house corporate developers are also actively developing GO operating environment-based applications for custom and general-purpose use. More than 150 of them have completed GO’s five-day developer training seminar.

GO is a privately held company headquartered in Foster City, Calif., founded in 1987 to develop pen-based computing technology.

NOTE: The GO logo and name are trademarks of GO Corp. All other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of the manufacturers or marketers with which the marks are associated.

CONTACT:
GO Corp., Foster City
Carol Broadbent, 415/345-7400
or
Hastings, Humble, Giardini & Freeman Inc.
Charles Humble, 503/221-1063