GeoWorks and Palm Computing Think Small is Better

A Conversation with Palm and GeoWorks Executives

by John Jerney

The new Tandy/Casio personal digital assistant (PDA) code-named Zoomer that is supposed to be delivered this summer has the potential to be a very exciting device for at least two reasons: it promises to be priced more in line with consumer electronic devices (albeit somewhat high-end devices), and it will be the first device incorporating a new version of GEOS from GeoWorks based in Berkeley, CA.

From the information available at this time, the new GEOS system appears very interesting. From early on, GEOS was designed to work with smaller, slower, and less expensive processors in the Intel 8086-family. Initially released as a multitasking desktop operating system, its small and highly optimized kernel seems natural for the new class of consumer-oriented computing devices which are likely to appear this year.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Brian Dougherty, Chairman and CEO of GeoWorks, Mike McGuire, GeoWorks Public Relations Manager, and Donna Dubinski, President and CEO of Palm Computing. Palm is one of the key partners developing advanced applications in the Tandy/Casio team and also supplies the handwriting recognition engine used in GEOS.

GeoWorks expects to make the new version of GEOS (version 2.0) widely available at their developer’s conference scheduled for July 1993 in San Francisco. Although version 2.0 will be the first version to include support for pen extensions, the strength of GEOS lies in its use of an advanced object model directly within the operating system. This, coupled with an ample set of “rich” objects including Text, Spreadsheet, Flat File, Graphic, and others, enables developers to build sophisticated applications while leveraging many of the features from the system. For example, the full-featured word processing application available from GeoWorks weighs in at about 100K.

The first indication of GeoWorks’ direction is evident in the name selected for the new handheld devices. While Apple suggested the moniker “Personal Digital Assistant” (PDA), and even Tandy and Casio refer to the Zoomer as a “Personal Information Processor” (PIP), GeoWorks prefers the term “Consumer Computing Device” (CCD), reflecting their focus on the potentially massive consumer market.

GEOS Multiple Interface Model

In any consumer market, the user interface of the device is likely to play a significant role along with the size, weight, and battery life of the device. In this respect, GEOS is in a strong position. GEOS enables the entire user interface to be swapped out and replaced dynamically, including all the interactive widgets and gadgets that make up the interface. Instead of programming to a specific interface, application developers create a generic display that is then mapped to a specific user interface by the operating system.

This technology may have tremendous implications. First, it simplifies the localization process when software is translated for use with other languages and in other cultures. This is because the operating system has a great degree of flexibility in displaying the interface taken from the generic description. Perhaps more importantly for the emerging CCD market is that applications designed for one user interface style can be seamlessly mapped over to another style by the system without extra developer effort.

For example, Dougherty described a common scenario where an application designed for desktop interaction with a mouse can be converted to full pen-centric interaction by changing the specific interface library. In effect, the system supplies the unmodified application with the input it expects while performing the correct operation at the user level. Daugherty went one step forward by foreseeing the possibility of a voice interface some day integrated on top of existing GEOS applications.

In addition to helping software developers, Dougherty sees the multiple interface model as a significant opportunity for hardware OEMs. He claims that the “one interface” model stifles innovation and product differentiation, particularly for hardware manufacturers. “One of the things we’re offering our hardware manufacturers that they’re very interested in is the ability to come up with new ideas and new interface approaches to differentiate their products.”

According to Dougherty, when these computing devices become true consumer devices, flexibility in interface design will be one of their strongest features. He points out that there are literally dozens of slightly different walkman-type devices, each subtly differentiated for its particular segment of the market. Likewise, he envisions no single interface serving the broad class of CCD users. A system like GEOS enables manufacturers of these devices to provide extra value while maintaining a standard operating system on the device.

Miniaturization Adds Cost

When asked about his views on the state of the industry, Dougherty outlined an interesting perspective with respect to the current crop of pen-based notebook and tablet computers by noting that “the hardware [in these pen notebooks] is more expensive than in desktop machines. You’re taking all of the processing power and storage requirements of the desktop and then figuring out how to make that small and fit into a compact package. That miniaturization process into a handheld causes it to be more expensive than desktops.” He continued, “by the laws of market economics, the price elasticity makes it a subset market. Since it’s more expensive than a desktop, the laws of economics say it’s going to have to be a subset market.”

In the context of software, Dougherty views Microsoft’s current attention to the CCD market as being “a little bit like DEC building the Rainbow.” He has confidence in Microsoft’s technical ability, however he hasn’t seen a product which addresses the needs of this new market. He notes “that’s the opportunity for new companies to emerge. Whenever you have this kind of paradigm shift, the big players in the previous wave are almost held captive by the industry that they emerged in.”

When put into the context of cost to the consumer, Dougherty claims the current hardware model represents pen computing’s largest weakness. “We think of thousand dollar 486 machines as wonderfully cheap, and wonder why doesn’t everyone go buy them, because we’re in the industry. However, if you go out to Kansas somewhere, to a family with a combined income of say $35,000 a year, their refrigerator was a five hundred dollar purchase and that’s a major appliance. So thousand dollar PC’s are just off the disposable purchase income scale.”

Dougherty’s experience at Mattel and as founder of video game company Imagic gives him an interesting perspective on the follow-on software market for CCDs. He expects the market for applications, utilities and games to be as large as the current home video entertainment software market which is estimated to be around 7 billion dollars a year.

Brian Dougherty: “The first time you can’t get at your calendar or you can’t return an important phone call because the batteries are out on your device, that’s when you stop using the device.”

Battery Life is Key

Interestingly, despite all the hullabaloo about personal communicators and intelligent communications (a la General Magic), Daugherty views communications as a subset of the total market. “There is a complete disconnect between the biggest use of these [information management] devices and communications, and that’s because of the battery life.” He sees two-way communications as currently too power consuming. According to companies such as Sharp and Casio, anything under 80 hours of battery life prevents people from depending on the availability of the information stored on their devices. He notes, “The first time you can’t get at your calendar or you can’t return an important phone call because the batteries are out on your device, that’s when you stop using the device.”

Compounding the battery problem is the lack of a proper infrastructure, which he admits will be solved later. However, he views paging as a feasible early wireless medium because of its low power requirements.

When asked about General Magic, he feels they are pursuing an interesting and ambitious concept that has exciting potential and admits to having introductory meetings with General Magic. He adds that from General Magic’s point of view, “the fear is that something else that’s not as elegant usurps it because it’s out there first, gets established and distributed.” GeoWorks, however will explore the option of supporting General Magic’s new environment.

GeoWorks is preparing a new version of the software developers’ kit (SDK) to match the release of version 2.0 of the operating system. Unlike previous versions of the SDK which required a Sun workstation, version 2.0 runs on a desktop PC enabling developers to work under the Microsoft Windows environment. Developers can get early access to the SDK by attending an intense one-week training class which will accommodate approximately 20 developers per month. The first such class is scheduled for April. In July, GeoWorks will host a full-scale developer’s conference at which the SDK will be available on CD-ROM. Following the conference, the CD-ROM will be made available for $99.

The View from Palm Computing

Jumping from Berkeley to Los Altos, Donna Dubinski, President and CEO of Palm Computing expressed a similar interest in the potentially huge CCD market. Palm Computing produces the PalmPrint recognizer which is used in the GEOS system and GRiD’s PenRight! environment. The GRiD connection comes from Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm Computing, and former V.P. of Research at GRiD Systems Corp. where he was the primary architect of GRiD’s pen-based product line. PalmPrint is an incredible 40K in size and claims to recognize eight international languages while running on 8086-class processors.

Dubinski stated that Palm’s focus is applications for “consumer palmtops,” devices that weigh less than one pound and fit inside a person’s coat pocket or purse. She stressed that the company does not consider itself to be a “pen computing” company, and views the pen market as only one segment of a very large industry. Palm will complement the efforts of GeoWorks by supplying personal productivity tools for the consumer palmtop market.

Palm hopes to capitalize on the existing market of people who purchase productivity tools but need to perform these tasks more efficiently. For example, Dubinski views the existing personal schedulers, high-end calculators, and electronic forms of dictionaries and reference works as ideal applications for the new class of Consumer Computing Devices. Breaking with EO, ATT, and General Magic, she also prefers to focus more on information management as the early primary strength of these devices instead of communications. She believes that communications should be available on these devices when requested, but that hardware costs shouldn’t necessarily be burdened by these features. Of course, Dubinski rightly recognizes that properly implemented, these devices can serve as excellent handheld game machines.

When asked about software delivery mechanisms, Dubinski described several options she sees as feasible for the CCD market. The first is to license applications to hardware manufacturers and have it bundled in ROM. She also believes that PCMCIA cards will serve as a popular mechanism allowing end-users to swap applications in and out of their devices. For example, she expects PCMCIA cards to be available which will emulate the most popular high-end calculator on the market today. Finally, some users may want to download software into a flash memory card directly from their desktop PCs.

Dubinski also sees electronic publishing to be a massive market. CCDs are an ideal platform for carrying information around. She notes that contractors have mentioned the desirability of carrying the building code around with them at all times. Indeed, any professional that requires mobility along with instant availability to information that they can depend on is a potential market.

Contact:

GeoWorks 2150 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 644-0883 Palm Computing 4410 El Camino Real, Suite 108 Los Altos, CA 94022 (415) 949-9560

Note from the Editors: Contributing Editor John Jerney will provide inside looks at pen computing companies and their leading executives’ perspectives on the pen industry as a regular feature in Pen-Based Computing. Jerney can be reached on the Internet at [email protected].