Notes From the Pen Windows Conference

Microsoft held its Pen Windows conference last February and passed out software development kits (SDKs) to some 75 independent software vendors (ISVs) attending the conference (about 200 total attendees). According to Microsoft product manager Pradeep Singh, the company had to turn away over 150 additional developers who wanted to attend the conference. Singh tells us that Microsoft has now distributed about 300 SDKs and that “active development work” is already in progress. Windows 3.1, which includes the Pen Windows extensions, is on schedule to ship “near the end of the year,” says Singh. For more details on Pen Windows, see the first issue of this publication (Vol. 1, No. 1, January 22, 1991).

“Feature Frozen” Release Due in June

A “beta 2” release of Windows 3.1 is expected next month, which will provide a “feature frozen” version of the product. In other words, developers will then be working with a version of Windows 3.1 with the complete set of features as they will appear in the commercial product.

The February developers’ conference consisted of a combination of technical presentations and heavy marketing of Microsoft’s “vision” of pen-based computing and “information at your fingertips.” Bill Gates previewed Windows 4, a full 32-bit implementation of Windows scheduled for initial release at the end of this year (see separate article on Windows 4 in the righthand column).

Note From the Editors: Welcome to the second issue of Pen-Based Computing. As we stressed in the first issue, we are very interested in input and contributions from our readers. We invite you to send us your comments, criticisms, and article contributions. If you’re developing a pen-based application or product and would like to publicize it, please contact us. We are also interested in reviewing and evaluating both pen-based hardware and software. This is a fast moving and fascinating new technology and many of you are actively involved in pen-based development. To make this journal as informative as possible, we encourage you to let us know what you are doing.

Microsoft announced at the conference that twenty-one computer manufacturers have committed to developing hardware systems that will support Pen Windows. These companies include most of the major Japanese electronics firms as well as CalComp, Grid, Momenta, and Wang Laboratories from the United States.

Speakers from GRiD Systems, NCR, Momenta, and Wang promoted their companies’ enthusiasm for the pen-based market and Pen Windows. A systems analyst from G.M.’s Electronic Data Systems (EDS) data processing unit spoke of the growing importance of notebook computing in fields such as plant automation, sales support, and system integration.

Venture Funds Not For “Shovelware”

Venture capitalist, Ann Winblad of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, cautioned the conference attendees that only a few companies offering unique applications with a “tight fit to customer needs” will be funded before venture capitalists consider the pen-based market too crowded. Winblad emphasized that “shovelware” or ports of existing applications to support pen-based features would not make the grade in the quest for venture funding. She also added that it may be too late for developers to get funding for projects based on GO’s PenPoint operating system.

Technical Sessions

On the technical side, Slate Corporation’s Dan Bricklin gave a presentation entitled “What’s So Special About The Pen And How Do I Take Advantage Of It?” Bricklin’s talk emphasized the difference between the pen and the mouse and the concept of “pen-centric” applications, in which the pen has direct control of the screen.

James Dao of CIC gave a presentation on his company’s work in multilingual character recognition including “dynamic signature verification.” CIC’s handwriting recognition system is compatible with Pen Windows (it runs under MS-DOS) and includes recognition of 3500 Kanji and Kana characters.

Microsoft engineers presented technical sessions on a variety of topics, including the new application program interfaces (APIs) that comprise Pen Windows, hardware drivers for power and display management, object linking and embedding (OLE), the Pen Windows user interface, handwriting recognition, and details of the Windows 3.1 SDK.

The Pen is a Natural

Microsoft demonstrated its Excel spreadsheet and Borland’s Object Vision forms application operating with a pen as the main input device, as well as a daytimer “applet” designed specifically for Pen Windows. Object Vision provided a good example of how a pen can be a preferable input device, even on a standard desktop application.

According to Singh, Microsoft sees the pen as a natural extension to many existing applications. “Pens will become a mainstream, integral part of application solutions,” said Singh. Microsoft is encouraging developers to start working with integrated digitizing tablets connected to PCs to gain experience with the pen interface in their existing environments.