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
244
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 244 in the permanent collection.
View all artifacts
Watcom International Corporation 1991

WATCOM C Library Reference for PenPoint
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company 1992
GO Corporation - PenPoint Architectural Reference Volume II (Cover)

GO Corporation – PenPoint Architectural Reference – Volume II
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)
Olivetti Office USA, Inc. 1998

Royal daVinci Palm-Size PDA DV1
Stylus Publishing 1991
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 1, Number 5 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – November, 1991 – Volume 1, Number 5
Volksware, Inc. 1997
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 7 Number 1 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – January, 1997 – Volume 7, Number 1
Volksware, Inc. 1997
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 7 Number 5 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – April, 1997 – Volume 7, Number 5
Creative Digital, Inc. 1995

Pen Computing Magazine – June/July 1995
PenWorld, Incorporated 1994
Personal Electronics News - Issue 17 - May/June 1994 (Cover)

Personal Electronics News, Issue 17, May/June 1994
Stylus Publishing 1991
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 1, Number 2 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – May, 1991 – Volume 1, Number 2
Creative Digital, Inc. 1995

PDA Developers – Volume 3.4 – July/Aug 1995
Volksware, Inc. 1993
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 3, Number 6 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – December, 1993 – Volume 3, Number 6
EO, Incorporated 1993
EO, Inc. - Personal Communicator 440/880 Brochure - Photocopy (Front)

EO, Inc. – Personal Communicator 440/880 Brochure (Photocopy)
GO Corporation 1992

GO Corporation PenPointers October 1992 (Newsletter)
Volksware, Inc. 1994
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 4, Number 5 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – June, 1994 – Volume 4, Number 5
Stylus Publishing 1993
Pen-Based Computing: Volume 3, Number 4 (Cover)

Pen-Based Computing – August/September, 1993 – Volume 3, Number 4
aha! software corporation 1994
aha! InkWriter for Windows 2.0 Quick Reference (Cover)

aha! InkWriter 2.0 for Windows Quick Reference
SOFTBANK America Inc. 1992

SOFT BANK PC\Japan Vol. 1, No. 1 April 1992 (Brochure)

A chronology.

1987 — 2007 Selected from the museum's 2001 catalogued timeline events.
View full timeline
1989Hardware
GRiD Introduces PC-Compatible Computer that Recognizes Printed Handwriting
GRiD Systems Corp. introduces GRiDPad, a computer so light it can be held in one hand and used while standing or walking.
1991Hardware
GRiD Introduces First Pen-Based Computers with Backlit Displays and Hard Drives
GRiD Systems Corp., the only company shipping pen-based computers in North America and Europe, introduces the GRiDPAD, the first pen-based computer with…
1993Software
GO Corp. and No Hands Software Announce Common Ground Mini-Viewer for PenPoint
Jointly developed by GO and No Hands, the application enables users to display, distribute and print identical copies of any Macintosh or…
1995Publication
Electronic Mail and Messaging Systems (EMMS) Announces the Annual Electronic Mail Industry Award Winners
Winning as the "Messaging Event of the Year" is the launch of the General Magic and AT&T alliance. The Apple Newton MessagePad…
1997Hardware
Philips Ships Accessories and a Free Performance Accelerator for Its Velo 1
The software upgrade will accelerate the already best-in-class performance of the Velo by at least 15 percent by allowing the CPU faster…
2001Publication
Seventh Annual Mobility Awards Nominations Announced
The top mobile and wireless products selected by leading press and analysts will be revealed at the Seventh Annual Mobile Insights Conference,…
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 244 artifacts Indexed by category from the collection.
    YI

    Young Ideas

    3 items →
    IA

    Integrated Application

    1 item →
    NB

    Nicholas Baran

    52 items →
    UN

    University

    1 item →
    BR

    Brochure

    12 items →
    WA

    WATCOM

    4 items →
    GC

    GO Corporation

    50 items →
    SP

    Stylus Publishing

    19 items →
    VO

    Volksware

    58 items →
    RE

    Rolodex Electronics

    1 item →
    TD

    Technical Document

    14 items →
    CO

    3Com

    4 items →
    OL

    Olivetti

    2 items →
    HR

    Handwriting Recognition

    7 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 – February, 1993 – Volume 3, Number 1

    Volume 3 · Issue 01 Pen-Based Computing – February, 1993 – Volume 3, Number 1

    16 pp
    Pen-Based Computing – January, 1994 – Volume 4, Number 1

    Volume 4 · Issue 01 Pen-Based Computing – January, 1994 – Volume 4, Number 1

    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
    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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