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[Image] [Image][Image] [Image]Oct 22, 1996

Corel Sees PC Future In Net Client (10/21/96) By Junko Yoshida, Electronic Engineering Times

OTTAWA -- Software vendor Corel Corp. will move into the hardware business early next year with network computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) based on Microware Systems Corp.'s OS-9 real-time operating system and an embedded PowerPC from Motorola. The company hopes to leverage its portfolio of Java authoring tools and suite of Java-based office applications, implemented on a multitasking RTOS with built-in networking facilities, to take on the Wintel platform.

Corel last year bought out Novell Inc.'s applications business, including the rights to WordPerfect, and has written Java versions of much of its office software. Eid Eid, vice president of technology at Corel, said that the company's initial foray into hardware for the end-user market will be with Java-based NCs and PDAs sold under its own brand name. Microware is also angling to offer turnkey packages for NCs and PDAs through its OEM customers.

Under a cross-licensing pact with Corel, Microware will bundle the Corel Office for Java applications suite and Corel's NC and PDA applications framework with OS-9 for the OEM market. "Many of our customers are consumer-electronics manufacturers looking for products in new form factors such as NCs and PDAs," said Arthur Ordu¯a, director of marketing and business development at Microware.

Microsoft Corp. has its own plans in those markets. Through its Pegasus project, Microsoft spun a Windows 95 subset, called Windows CE, for the wireless-communicator market. The company drafted its Simply Interactive PC concept in response to the NC phenomenon.

The main advantage of Corel's PDA, Eid said, is that "it is not Windows 95. Windows CE was essentially developed as a companion to a Windows 95 PC. The connectivity of the Windows CE-based devices is only targeted at the Windows 95 system, excluding any other platforms." [end] [TechWire] + Headlines + Top Stories + Industry + Financial + Internet/Online + Software + Networking + Components + Products + International [Techsearch] Search All of CMP's Publications:

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