CompuServe to Port HMI Toolkit to Magic Cap Environment; Reaffirms Commitment To Personal Intelligent Communicator Market
COLUMBUS, Ohio — March 1, 1994 — CompuServe Incorporated today announced it is porting its Host Micro Interface (HMI) toolkit to the Magic Cap software environment, laying the groundwork for users of hand-held Magic Cap communicators to access selected areas of the CompuServe Information Service, the leading worldwide online information service.
Magic Cap, introduced in January by General Magic, is a software platform developed to run on a new class of hand-held personal intelligent communicators. The Magic Cap communicators will be built by Matsushita, Motorola, Philips and Sony, four of the companies which constitute the General Magic alliance.
Once HMI is ported to the Magic Cap environment, CompuServe will license the HMI toolkit to developers planning to create Magic Cap applications. This will enable developers to design applications allowing users to access selected areas of CompuServe, such as electronic mail and stock quotes. "CompuServe is committed to delivering global electronic mail and information easily and cost- effectively to users of personal intelligent communicators," said Rob Mainor, CompuServe's vice president of business information and electronic communications. "By porting HMI to the Magic Cap software environment and giving third party developers access to the HMI toolset, we are opening the door to CompuServe's breadth and depth of services for a wide range of mobile devices."
CompuServe's HMI protocol allows microcomputer software to optimize the presentation of remote information services by taking advantage of the microcomputer's native interface. HMI is designed to allow the user's microcomputer to interact efficiently with the CompuServe system across a wide variety of worldwide networks.
CompuServe's HMI toolkit is available to third party developers in the DOS, Windows, Macintosh and OS/2 environments. More than 700,000 of CompuServe's nearly 1.7 million members worldwide use CompuServe's interface based on the HMI protocol.
"The ability of personal intelligent communicators to access the databases and services offered by CompuServe will greatly increase the value and functionality of this new category of products," said Brian Sroub, vice president of Sony Electronics' Personal Communicator Products Division. "Providing access to CompuServe is another important step in establishing Magic Cap as the leading software environment for personal communications."
CompuServe's support for General Magic also includes the Palmtop Forum, a popular gathering place for users and developers of mobile computing equipment and software. The General Magic section already sports lively discussion of Magic Cap and Telescript progress, including explanations and answers to members' questions provided by the General Magic development staff.
General Magic was founded in May 1990. Its mission is to create personal intelligent communication products and services by developing and licensing technology to equipment manufacturers, network and information service providers, and software and entertainment companies. General Magic has teamed with standard-setters in the entertainment, information, and communications fields to ensure that its technologies reach the widest possible audience.
Established in 1979, the CompuServe Information Service provides its nearly 1.7 million members worldwide with almost 2,000 databases and services to meet both business and personal interests. CompuServe can be accessed by any modem-equipped personal computer using the CompuServe Information Manager interactive interface or any general communications software.
In addition to the CompuServe Information Service, CompuServe Incorporated provides frame relay, wide and local area networking services, electronic mail, business information services and software to major corporations and government agencies worldwide.
CompuServe is an H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) company.
CONTACT:
David Kishler, 614-538-4571, CompuServe Mail 70003,2154; or Jan Bowers, 708