IBM Announces PenDOS 2.0 for Pen Computer Manufacturers
SAN FRANCISCO — January 27, 1993 — IBM Personal Software Products Division is announcing PenDOS (TM) 2.0, an advanced operating system extension available immediately to pen hardware manufacturers worldwide.
PenDOS 2.0 supports more than one hundred existing mouse-aware DOS applications without modification, and provides support for development of new pen applications. This announcement confirms IBM's commitment to provide pen support across a wide range of platforms which now includes PenPoint and DOS. IBM will offer pen extensions for its OS/2 operating system, which is currently in Beta test. "We believe in providing pen hardware manufacturers and software developers with the operating systems and development tools that best fit their needs for pen-based computing from palmtops to desktops," said John Patrick, vice president of sales and marketing, IBM Personal Software Products Division, Somers, N. Y.
"With PenDOS, IBM offers support on a wide variety of different hardware manufacturers' handheld, mobile and tablet-based computers." PenDOS 2.0 is an extension to the DOS operating system which provides a means for enabling pen input to existing DOS applications. PenDOS 2.0 also opens up new possibilities for applications that require a natural interface such as signature verification, graphics design and annotation of documents. One of the new features of PenDOS is a base set of gestures common across IBM pen systems. In addition to mouse emulation and text input, the gestures can be used to invoke functions such as cutting, copying or deleting a highlighted area, while a special Gesture Macro Editor allows users to map gestures to different functions or keystrokes.
To enable text and special keystroke input, a "soft" keyboard is also provided. PenDOS 2.0 currently offers soft keyboard layouts and Communications Intelligence Corporation's (CIC) consumer-proven Handwriter (R) Recognition System support for seven languages, including English (USA and UK), German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese (Katakana, Hiragana, and Kanji characters). An adaptive trainer allows the handwriting recognition to be tuned to a user's particular writing style and characteristics.
Signature verification software, which authenticates a person's written name, is also available for use in a number of order-taking, delivery and mobile applications. "PenDOS 2.0 is a robust environment that helps hardware manufacturers and software developers make pen-based computing familiar and easy to use," concluded Mr. Patrick. "Instead of developing all-new pen applications from the ground up, developers can easily adapt existing DOS programs for pen-based hardware." NOTE: PenDOS and Handwriter are registered trademarks of Communication Intelligence Corporation, Inc.
CONTACT:
IBM Corporation, White Plains, N.Y.
Rob Crawley, 914/642-5364
or
Jennings & Company
Linda Simon, 914/251-5950