GO Corporation Certified Developer Letter
This is the original letter sent to certified PenPoint developers.
Note the suggestion from Thom Hogan on how to get started by donning the Certified Developer’s T-shirt!
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Artifact Details
GO Corporation
Thom Hogan
United States
English
1992-09-28
Two single-sided sheets of paper, one printed on letterhead, the other photocopied.
8.5" x 11" (2 pages)
Certified Developer Letter 1992-09-28
1992
Acquired from Publisher
2018-07-11
Organizations
History
The GO Corporation Certified Developer Letter is a welcome packet sent on September 28, 1992 to developers who had joined the company's certified PenPoint development program, signed by Thom Hogan of GO's Developer Relations group.1 GO Corporation, a privately held company headquartered in Foster City, California, was founded in 1987 to develop pen-based computing technology.2 The company first unveiled its PenPoint operating system on January 22, 1991, announcing a developer release for independent software vendors and value-added resellers ahead of a commercial version for end users.2 At that announcement GO disclosed that forty companies — twenty-one software developers, six connectivity hardware and software firms, and thirteen systems integrators and vertical application developers — had committed to develop for or provide technology for PenPoint.3
By the time of the letter, developer interest in PenPoint had grown sharply; GO reported that more than 1,000 developers had attended PenPoint developer training by October 1991.4 When GO announced the commercial release of PenPoint on April 16, 1992, it began shipping the PenPoint Software Development Kit, which bundled an executable copy of the operating system together with tools and documentation, available from GO Corporation, Merisel, and Ingram/Micro D.5 Alongside that release GO introduced its Custom Solutions Program, authorizing PenMagic Software, PenSoft, and Slate to distribute the SDK with their own development tools.6
The Developer's Kit that accompanied the letter bundled a GO Developer Evaluation Kit — including the book The Power of PenPoint, a PenPoint demonstration videotape, a PenPoint datasheet, and a class reference poster — together with a Developer Information Kit containing the PenPoint Developer Products Price List, an order form, the GO Educational Services schedule of classes, and the GO Third Party Support list.1 The kit also held a Third Party Applications videotape, a PenPoint gesture chart, PenPoint datasheets, a PenPoint pen, a Developer's T-shirt, and back issues of PenVentures, the PenPoint developer newsletter.1 The letter's numbered getting-started instructions directed each new developer to put on the Certified Developer's T-shirt, watch the Third Party Applications videotape, read the enclosed brochures, and consult the price list and GO Educational Services information before placing an order.1
Weeks after the letter went out, on November 9, 1992, GO introduced its PenPoint “Hot Apps” promotion, offering a collection of five third-party PenPoint applications to customers who purchased PenPoint before the end of the year.7
AI generated using primary sources referenced in the footnotes
Footnotes
- GO Corporation, GO Corporation Certified Developer Letter (image scan), September 28, 1992
- GO Corporation, GO Announces PenPoint Operating System for Mobile Pen-Based Computing, January 22, 1991
- GO Corporation, GO Corp. Announces 40 Third-Party Developers and Technology Providers, January 22, 1991
- GO Corporation, Momentum Builds Behind PenPoint, October 21, 1991
- GO Corporation, GO Corp. Announces Availability of PenPoint, April 16, 1992
- GO Corporation, GO Announces Industry-Wide Support for PenPoint, April 16, 1992
- GO Corporation, GO Corp. Introduces PenPoint 'Hot Apps' Promotion, November 9, 1992
Oral History
Media
GO Corporation – Introducing PenPoint (1991)
GO Corporation used this video to promote the developer release of the PenPoint OS in 1991. PenPoint was one of the first operating systems designed specifically to run on mobile devices. Featuring: Dr. Norm Vincent (State Farm), Terry Conner (EDS), Phillipe Kahn (Borland), Jack Blount (Novell), David Reed (Lotus), Alan Lefkof (Grid), Vern Raburn (Slate), Dan Bricklin (Slate), and Jim Cannavino (IBM).
PenPoint Demonstration 1991
GO Corporation’s 1991 promotional video about their pen-based operating system, aimed at software developers. Includes an extensive demo by Robert Carr, architect of the operating system, where he shows the notebook metaphor, their use of gestures, the embedded document architecture, and more.
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