PenPoint OS

Last updated
PenPoint OS
Developer GO Corporation
Working stateAbandoned
Source model Closed source
Initial release1991;34 years ago (1991)
Marketing target Tablet computer
Available in English
Supported platforms EO Personal Communicator, IBM's ThinkPad 700T series, NCR's 3125, 3130 and some of GRiD Systems' pen-based portables
Default
user interface
Graphical user interface
License Proprietary

The PenPoint OS was one of the earliest operating systems written specifically for graphical tablets and personal digital assistants. It was a product of GO Corporation. PenPoint OS ran on a number of Intel x86-powered tablet PCs including IBM's ThinkPad 700T series, NCR's 3125, 3130 and some of GRiD Systems' pen-based portables; it was later ported to the Hobbit chip in AT&T Corporation's EO Personal Communicator. [1] PenPoint was never widely adopted.

Contents

Developers of the PenPoint OS included Robert Carr, who was involved with the Alto computer at Xerox PARC. He commissioned Dr. Tinker, the naming service company of Mark Beaulieu who generated the name 'PenPoint', using proprietary algorithms.

Awards and innovation

Byte magazine awarded PenPoint best Operating System in the 1992 Byte Awards. PenPoint won in the Standards and Operating Systems category in PC Magazine's 1991 Technical Excellence awards. [2]

The PenPoint operating system had novel early implementations of several computing advances, including:

In April 2008, as part of a larger federal court case, the gesture features of the Windows/Tablet PC operating system and hardware were found to infringe on a patent by GO Corp. concerning user interfaces for the PenPoint OS. [3]

Third-party applications

The novel user interface of PenPoint and the mobile form factor of pen computers inspired many startup software companies, including:

References

  1. Kirkpatrick, David (May 17, 1993). "COULD AT&T RULE THE WORLD?". CNN. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  2. "The 8th Annual Awards (1991) - Standards and Operating Systems". PC Magazine. 2002-03-12. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  3. Mintz, Jessica (2008-04-04). Microsoft to Appeal $367M Patent Ruling. The Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  4. Codeworks Mark Lentczner's Projects
  5. "Pensoft Ships Perspective and Announces Distribution Agreements" (Press release). Pensoft. January 11, 1993. Retrieved 2025-09-07.

Further reading