Apple and ParaGraph Announce Joint Venture

As we reported in our May issue (Vol. 1., No. 2), a Soviet company called ParaGraph may have the lead in the development of cursive handwriting technology. We also reported that ParaGraph is working with Microsoft and is rumored to be in negotiations with several other major US hardware and software vendors. And indeed, ParaGraph and Apple Computer have announced a development and licensing agreement for ParaGraph’s cursive handwriting technology.

The news is interesting in that it provides further evidence that Apple is serious about pen-based computing. However, we doubt that any products will emerge from this alliance for at least another year. The license allows Apple to install Paragraph’s recognition engine in current and future versions of Apple’s operating system and also extends to future products developed by ParaGraph.

ParaGraph is based in Moscow, but has a U.S. office which now goes by the name of ParaGraph International (formerly called Astarte Computer), located in Boulder, Colorado. The company produces a cursive and printed character recognition engine called Calligrapher for use with interactive handwriting on digitizing tablets, and a product for static character recognition of optically scanned images called ParaScript.

Contact:
ParaGraph International
1035 Pearl St. Suite 304
Boulder, CO 80302
303-443-8777