Slate Announces PenBook: Electronic Book Software for Pen-Computers

Oct. 1, 1991 — Slate Corp. Tuesday announced the PenBook electronic book software for pen-computers.

PenBook is the first electronic book environment to successfully combine the familiar feel of paper books with the power of computers.  PenBook will be available for both PenPoint and Windows for Pen Computing.

PenBook is a software application that allows users to take PostScript documents or files and publish them on a pen-based computer.  Using PenBook, mobile workers can take their books and reference materials with them wherever they go.

By taking full advantage of pen-computing gestures, PenBook allows users to navigate through electronic books as easily as they would through paper books.

Documents are displayed in pages which can contain mixed text and graphics. Bookmarks and tabs can be created to access frequently used passages and documents can be rapidly searched for user-defined words or phrases. A markup layer lets users annotate their documents with personal notes.

John Warnock, chairman of Adobe Systems Inc., said: ”Electronic publishing is going to be a major growth area and Slate’s PenBook is a good example of this trend. We’re especially pleased because it demonstrates the potential of PostScript as the universal medium for information exchange.”

PenBook was created in response to Slate’s customers who wanted to do away with bulky manuals that are difficult to carry and update.  These inconvenient paper reference manuals are currently used by millions of mobile workers. Because PenBook manuals and books are stored electronically, updates can be quickly created and easily distributed.

In addition, millions of others carry personal reference information every day. Maps, price lists, address lists and tax tables could all be placed into PenBook for rapid access and ease-of-update.

In the future, PenBook could also be used for publishing.  Newspapers, magazines, novels and reference works could be published in PenBook.

PenBook consists of two components: the PenBook Author and the PenBook Reader. PenBook Author runs on both IBM-compatible personal computers and Macintosh computers and is used to translate documents to the PenBook file format. PenBook Reader runs on Windows for Pen Computing and PenPoint computers and enables users to read and navigate through PenBook documents.

PenBook Author translates, compresses and stores any document that can be printed to a PostScript printer. By utilizing PostScript as an input format, PenBook can publish documents produced with virtually any word processing or desktop publishing program.

For example, users could create a PenBook source document in PageMaker on a Macintosh, then read it on a pen-based computer.  PenBook documents are compressed; they take up only 40 percent of the space that the original documents occupy.

”Because of the convergence of portable computers and pen-based computing, corporations will be able to create electronic reference books that feel as natural as their paper counterparts, without the associated weight and bulk,” stated Slate Chairman Vern Raburn.

”Individuals will easily be able to place frequently referenced information in PenBook, giving them immediate, familiar access to much needed information.”

PenBook will be available in the second quarter of 1992. Pricing has been set at $695 for the PenBook Author and $99 for the PenBook Reader.

Slate Corp., headquartered in Scottsdale, was founded in February 1990 to develop software applications for pen-based computers.  Slate shipped PenApps, the first applications software package for the PenPoint operating system, on March 11.

Note to Editors: PenBook and PenApps are trademarks of Slate Corp.  Other brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holders and should be noted as such.

CONTACT:
Slate Corp., Scottsdale
Dottie Hall or Bradley Jung, 602/443-7322
or
Wilson McHenry Company, Redwood City, Calif.
Julie McHenry or Alisha Farris, 415/592-7600