”The PC Industry Needs a Pen Computing Revolution”; Statement Issued by President of PenMagic, Norm Francis
NORTH VANCOUVER, British Columbia — April 20, 1992 — The following is a statement by Norm Francis, president of PenMagic Software Inc.:
The PC industry routinely strokes its ego and self image with grandiose statements about innovation, progress and how much it is doing for 'customers.' More hype than reality? I think so. For many, the reality is that the desktop PC has not fulfilled the promise of greater productivity, and it never will. We should not continue lemming-like over the PC cliff. I think it is time to reassess what real innovation and true progress we can offer ordinary computer users as well as the millions of people still untouched by the PC revolution.
Our industry is dominated by a war of the titans, battling for shares of a stagnating market, and more importantly, for control of the user. Product releases seem to be increasingly dominated by feature one-upmanship, whipped on by power users' and reviewers' seemingly insatiable appetite for more features, more power — more, more, more. DOS, icon bars with dozens of cryptic pictures, drawing with a mouse, hundreds of calculation functions, macros, 101 scalable fonts, file management, client/server networks, and memory-gobbling programs. Useable by the common person? Not really.
Moreover, as I look at the industry today, words like 'monolithic', 'technical', 'complicated' and 'power' come to mind: words that applied equally well to the mainframe industry of the 70's. Wasn't the founding vision of the PC industry to make computers 'personal'? Is the PC industry in a collective, blind rush in the wrong direction?
Yes, progress has been made. The desktop PC and its attendant applications have brought useful tools to many. However, I believe the paradigm of the desktop PC is particularly inappropriate for many of those for whom computers are not accessible today. How can we bring real value to the millions of potential new customers who are constantly on the move and who are not using computers?
Perhaps we can develop a new vision of personal computing for these people: to make computers (maybe we shouldn't even call them that?) that work like they do, that don't intimidate, and that work when they want and wherever they want — computers that are fun to use. That is, computing not for the technical elite but for ordinary people.
Only pen computers can deliver the size, mobility, and ease of use necessary to achieve all these objectives. By applying this technology properly, we have a real opportunity to take another big step towards achieving the ultimate personal computer.
But, we must work to avoid the trap of transferring old thinking and old software design to these new devices. The goal of the pen computing revolution should be to go back to the drawing board and rethink what people really want from a 'mobile computer' as a tool. This requires a close look at how people really work and what we can do to help them get their jobs done effectively.
There are several basic design qualities that I think should be part of such software. The software should be:
– Familiar — The software should be based on what people already know how to do. Like most other people I know, I am comfortable with a pen and a variety of pieces of paper. Let's use this 'natural' interface as a starting point.
– Useful — Applications should be designed to help people get their jobs done where and when they need to get them done. Application tools should be accessible quickly and should anticipate an interruptible work style. The requirement to re-learn skills should be minimized.
– An intelligent assistant — The software should do work for people, not make them do work for it. Wherever possible, it should make common-sense interpretations of their pen strokes and do as much extra for them as it can.
– Straightforward — The software should not get in the way. It should let people do what they want to do directly and let them use their time being creative rather than dealing with the computer. They should be able to freely intermix information: electronic ink, type (translated ink), graphics, and so on.
– Able to communicate — The software should allow people to easily exchange information with other data sources, other people and software from different vendors.
– Personal — Most importantly, the software should make people feel they are in control of the 'computer' rather than the other way around. It should be enjoyable to use.
Where can pen computers take us? I foresee a world where almost everyone carries a small hand-held assistant which they use with a pen on a paper-like surface. It helps them daily at work and in many of their personal activities.
Through the power of communications, users can link, wherever they are, to ad hoc wireless networks and exchange information automatically without having to think about it — the ultimate in work group cooperation.
New technologies have give us the foundation on which to base this new tool. This, surely, is the next 'personal' computer. We have an opportunity. Let's be bold. Let's not just do it the same old way. Let's break from the past and seize the chance to give new users something truly new and great.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Norm Francis is president of PenMagic Software Inc., a company developing and marketing applications for emerging pen computer technologies. He has been involved in developing software for personal computers since 1977.
CONTACT:
PenMagic Software Inc.
Norm Francis, 604/988-9982
or
Eastwick Communications
Carol Moran, 415/617-8684