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
246
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 246 in the permanent collection.
View all artifacts
Watcom International Corporation 1991

WATCOM C Library Reference for PenPoint
Stylus Publishing 1992
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 2, Number 4 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – October, 1992 – Volume 2, Number 4
aha! software corporation 1994
aha! InkWriter 2.0 Windows Maquette (Front)

aha! InkWriter 2.0 for Windows (Maquette)
Volksware, Inc. 1995
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 5, Number 11 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – November, 1995 – Volume 5, Number 11
Volksware, Inc. 1996
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 6, Number 5 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – May, 1996 – Volume 6, Number 5
GO Corporation 1992

GO Corporation 1993 Catalog of Product and Services Participation Request Form
GO Corporation 1992
GO Corporation - PenPoint Development Tools (Cover)

GO Corporation – PenPoint Development Tools
Microsoft Corporation 1992
GRiD Microsoft Windows for Pen Computing 1.0 User’s Guide (Cover)

GRiD Microsoft Windows for Pen Computing 1.0 User’s Guide
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company 1992
GO Corporation - PenPoint User Interface Design Reference (Cover)

GO Corporation – PenPoint User Interface Design Reference
WPDO 1993
WPDO Meeting Improvement Questionnaire (February 11, 1993)

WPDO Meeting Improvement Questionnaire (February 11, 1993)
WPDO 1993

WPDO News – Volume 2, Number 3, May 1993
Pen Computing Magazine 1996

Pen Computing Magazine – Nov/Dec 1996
Volksware, Inc. 1993
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 3, Number 6 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – December, 1993 – Volume 3, Number 6
GO Corporation 1991

GO Corporation – Installing PenPoint Demo Release, Beta Phase 2
Creative Digital, Inc. 1993

PIE Developers – Volume 1.15 – November, 1993
Palmtop Publications 2001
Palmtop Journal – Issue 34 (Cover)

Palmtop – Issue 34
Volksware, Inc. 1994
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 4, Number 1 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – January, 1994 – Volume 4, Number 1
aha! software corporation 1994
aha! software corp. - InkWriter 2.0 for Windows Brochure (Front)

aha! software corporation – InkWriter 2.0 for Windows (Brochure)

A chronology.

1987 — 2007 Selected from the museum's 2001 catalogued timeline events.
View full timeline
1990Organization
Hastings & Humble Becomes Independent, Changes Name, Moves to Larger Offices
Hastings, Humble, Giardini & Freeman, the public relations firm for GO Corp., completes a management buyout.
1993Hardware
Compaq Announces Fully Featured Notebook PC with a Keyboard and Pen
Compaq Computer Corporation announces a fully featured notebook PC offering interactive use of a keyboard and pen; Compaq’s first notebook to support…
1995Software
Sony and Mobile Products Put Orange County Real Estate Agents on the Road to High Tech Home Sales
Local Multiple Listing Service first to adopt Sony Magic Link personal communicator for in field access to timely home sales information.
2000Organization
Procter & Gamble Canada Selects Quicksheet, SmartDoc Suite for Palm Computing Handhelds
Cutting Edge Software, Inc. announces that the agreement marks the first enterprise-wide selection of Quicksheet and SmartDoc.
2001Hardware
Targus Introduces USB Charge-Sync Cable for the Palm V
Allows Palm V users to both sync and recharge PDA with one easy-to-carry cable.
2003Hardware
Wolfson Becomes Mixed-Signal Supplier of Choice for PDA Vendors
Wolfson Microelectronics plc receives endorsement for its high-performance audio CODECs from two leading players in the consumer electronics field. Both Toshiba and…
2004Organization
Survey: Psychiatrists Using Handheld Computers to Improve Quality of Patient Care
Skyscape survey finds key psychiatric reference use on PDAs helps reduce medical errors.

The collection.

Browse 246 artifacts Indexed by category from the collection.
    HO

    Hobbit

    2 items →
    RM

    Regis McKenna

    2 items →
    CO

    3Com

    4 items →
    VO

    Volksware

    60 items →
    JJ

    John Jerney

    61 items →
    DA

    Dauphin

    2 items →
    OU

    Olivetti Office USA

    1 item →
    CI

    Communication Intelligence

    3 items →
    TD

    Technical Document

    14 items →
    EI

    Eidetic

    4 items →
    PC

    Personal Communicator

    4 items →
    LE

    Lexicus

    4 items →
    BR

    Brochure

    12 items →
    NB

    Nicholas Baran

    52 items →

    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 – May, 1992 – Volume 2, Number 2

    Volume 2 · Issue 02 Pen-Based Computing – May, 1992 – Volume 2, Number 2

    16 pp
    Pen-Based Computing – February, 1996 – Volume 6, Number 2

    Volume 6 · Issue 02 Pen-Based Computing – February, 1996 – Volume 6, Number 2

    16 pp
    Pen-Based Computing – October, 1992 – Volume 2, Number 4

    Volume 2 · Issue 04 Pen-Based Computing – October, 1992 – Volume 2, Number 4

    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

    PBCHM
    Monthly.

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

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