Slate Corp. Set to Pioneer Pen-Based Applications Software Market; Corporate Funding and Founders Announced

April 17, 1990 — Slate Corp. Tuesday stated its intention to develop and market personal computer applications software products for the emerging pen-based computer market.

The company also formally announced its founders and sources of funding.

Slate, founded in January 1990, is dedicating 100 percent of its software development efforts towards serving the needs of the pen-based computer market. Slate is the first independent software vendor (ISV) founded expressly to develop application software products for this market.

Slate was founded by five personal computer industry veterans.  Vern L. Raburn, a former executive of Microsoft Corp. and Lotus Development Corp., and current chairman of Symantec Corp., is chairman and chief executive officer of Slate.

Thomas H. Byers, former executive vice president of Symantec Corp., is president of Slate. Prior to joining Symantec in 1985, Byers was marketing manager for operating environments and computer languages at Digital Research Inc.

Daniel S. Bricklin, co-creator of VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet, and co-founder of Software Arts Inc., is vice president of Slate’s Boston Area Development Center. Bricklin is also founder and president of Software Garden Inc., where he created Dan Bricklin’s Demo Program and Dan Bricklin’s PageGarden program.

Mitchell J. Stein is vice president of the Bay Area Development Center for Slate. Stein created TrueForm, a forms processing program, and founded Spectrum Digital Systems. In 1988, Adobe Systems Inc.  acquired Spectrum Digital Systems. Stein was most recently product marketing manager for forms products at Adobe.

Dorothy L. Hall, a former marketing manager at both Microsoft and Symantec Corp., and co-founder of Marketing Partners, a PC industry marketing consulting firm, is vice president of marketing for Slate.

Slate Corp. has been funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Hummer-Winblad Venture Partners and Symantec Corp.

Slate’s board of directors include Raburn; Ann L. Winblad, partner, Hummer-Winblad Venture Partners; James P. Lally, general partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; and Gordon E. Eubanks, chief executive officer and president, Symantec Corp.

Pen-based computers are personal computers which use a stylus or ”pen” as the input device — data and commands are input directly on the computer screen with the pen. These computers are made possible because of recent advancements in handwriting recognition and personal computing technologies.

”Great pen-based applications will be more than handwriting-recognition technology grafted onto existing applications; they will leverage the pen interface to deliver new functionality that is more natural to users,” said Raburn.

The naturalness of the pen interface is expected to spark rapid market growth, but Raburn cautions that first generation pen-based software applications will not replace traditional personal computer software or pen and paper for everyone.

”We’ve reached the threshold to deliver the first useful pen-based applications. As technology progresses, the pen-based computing market will become broader, and broader,” continued Raburn.

Additional information regarding Slate will be available from the company at a later date. At this time, no further information regarding products is available.

Slate Corp. is headquartered at 15035 No. 73rd St., Scottsdale, Ariz., 85260. The telephone number is 602/443-7322.

CONTACT:
Wilson McHenry Co., Redwood City, Calif.
Julie McHenry or Kim Tarter, 415/592-7600
or
Slate Corp., Scottsdale
Dottie Hall, 602/443-7322