IBM Announces ‘Pen for OS/2’, Adds Pen Capabilities to Virtually any OS/2, Windows or DOS Application
NEW YORK — June 29, 1993 — IBM's Personal Software Products (PSP) division today announced Pen for OS/2(a). Pen for OS/2 is a powerful pen computing system that adds pen capabilities, with handwriting recognition, to virtually any OS/2, DOS or DOS/Windows(b) application. Pen for OS/2 is designed for mobile computing environments, where a keyboard can be impractical, and for collaborative computing on the desktop. It combines the strengths of OS/2 with full-featured pen capabilities, including: integrated user-trainable handwriting recognition; a window which adds handwriting recognition to most non-pen-aware applications; standard and user-customizable gestures, and a pop-up keyboard. Included as part of Pen for OS/2 are two applications — Telepen, a collaborative computing system, and Sketchpad, a freehand drawing tool.
Pen for OS/2 is now available to OEMs and ISVs, and also direct from IBM to end-users. A number of leading pen-based hardware manufacturers today endorsed Pen for OS/2, including: Dauphin Technology, Inc., AST Research(b), TelePad(b) Corp., Tusk, Inc.(b) and FTG Data Systems. Pen for OS/2 also supports desktop workpads and opaque tablets from Wacom, Kurta, Calcomp, Appoint and Acecad. Beta users of Pen for OS/2 include the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and The State of Louisiana House of Representatives. "With Pen for OS/2, we've expanded the boundaries of where and how computers can be used," said Wally Casey, director of marketing for IBM's PSP division. "For today's laptop-carrying business executives, pen means being able to use a computer more comfortably in a meeting, while standing, while making presentations or in other environments where a keyboard is unwieldy."
Pen is also excellent for a host of vertical applications. With pen-based computers, for example, manufacturers can take inventory from the factory floor and hospitals can record patient information direct to their computer from the doctor's waiting room. Pen is also a much more natural and convenient input tool for desktop-based applications where people want to use a pen to 'think on paper,' or jointly review and revise documents, spreadsheets or presentations. Using ThinkWrite(a), a handwriting recognition technology developed by IBM's Entry Systems Technology division, Pen for OS/2 offers users one of the fastest and most accurate handwriting recognition technologies available today.
Pen for OS/2's handwriting recognition program also allows users to improve accuracy by tailoring the system to their unique handwriting characteristics. A large selection of standard handwriting gestures can be used to control applications. Gestures also can be user-defined to execute menu commands or macros in both pen-based and traditional applications. With Pen for OS/2, developers can easily create powerful pen-based OS/2 applications for both mobile and desktop computing. Pen for OS/2 capabilities can be accessed from virtually any OS/2 programming language. Pen for OS/2 enables users to operate virtually any OS/2, Windows or DOS application running in an OS/2 window, using the pen as a mouse. From most traditional applications, a Pen for OS/2 handwriting recognition window can quickly be called up which will accept handwriting and pass it back to the application as traditional text.
A pop-up on-screen keyboard also allows users to enter traditional text, numbers and commands using the pen. Two applications ship with Pen for OS/2. The first is Telepen, a collaborative "chalkboard" application which allows networked users to share a common space in which they can view, draw and annotate. Screen captures can be easily imported into Telepen. The other application is Sketchpad, a tool for creating freehand drawings that can be inserted into applications through the system clipboard. Pen for OS/2 is available now to end-users at a single-unit price of $89. Volume pricing is available for OEMs.
Pen for OS/2 requires the following: a computer running OS/2 version 2.1; a pen sensor (digitizer) integrated with a display or a digitizing tablet; 2MB of RAM over the requirements for OS/2 2.1; and 5MB of hard disk space. A Pen for OS/2 developers tool kit is available to assist ISVs and corporate MIS to develop their own Pen for OS/2 applications. In addition, IBM has scheduled a series of one-week workshops to help developers create pen-based applications or add pen capabilities to existing applications. For more information on these offerings call IBM at the following numbers: end-user sales, (800) 3IBMOS2; OEM sales, (800) 426-4579; and developers' assistance (404) 238-2200.
(a) Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. (b) Indicates trademark or registered trademark of: Microsoft Corporation (Windows); AST Research (AST); TelePad Corp. (TelePad); Tusk, Inc. (Tusk)
CONTACT:
IBM Corp.
Rob Crawley, 914/766-3963
or
Technology Solutions, New York
Gary Baker, 212/505-9900