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AlphaWindows

AlphaWindows was a proposed industry standard from the Display Industry Association (an industry consortium in California) in the early 1990s that would allow a single CRT screen to implement multiple windows, each of which was to behave as a distinct computer terminal. Individual vendors offered products based on this in 1992 through the end of the 1990s.

These products were targeted at a low-end market.

The initial concept relied on custom (but low-cost) terminals which would support mouse interaction, (text) windowing support, and colored text. With that, plus special host software, the vendors proposed to support semi-graphical applications "transparently".

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Organization

The Display Industry Association was at the same location as Cumulus Technology (the same street address in Palo Alto, CA).78 Cumulus was a manufacturer of displays since 1986.910 Cumulus was heavily involved with development of the AlphaWindows standard. The members of the association in 1993 were:11

Terminal vendors Software vendors
  • Cumulus
  • JSB
  • Nutec
  • SSSI

Only Cumulus was proposing both to develop the terminals and the host software. However, Cumulus did not survive: it went bankrupt.131415

Software

JSB Software Technologies produced MultiView Mascot. As noted in Unix Review:16

MultiView Mascot helps users access graphical applications, such as Web sites and e-mail systems, from a character-based browser. It does so by mapping graphical applications to a multiwindowed character system. Although there is the inevitable loss of graphics and formatting, the result is surprisingly workable. A hot-key feature allows any old character terminal to offer switching between multiple applications at the same time, with no programming required.

As of 2007, the product is owned by FutureSoft.1718

SSSI (Structured Software Solutions, Inc.) produced the FacetTerm session multiplexer.19

See also

References

  1. Richard Shuford (ed.). ""Alphawindows" -- a windowing setup for character-cell video terminals". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2007-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20081007095640/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal/alphawindows_news.txt

  2. Information Technology Standards Guidance — User Interface Services. Vol. 3 of 14. U. S. Department of Defense. April 7, 1997. http://sw-eng.falls-church.va.us/itsg/P03V31.htm

  3. "First AlphaWindows Character-Based Terminals Set For To Appear in May, At From $600..." CBRonline.com. 1992-02-14. http://www.cbronline.com/news/first_alphawindows_character_based_terminals_set_for_to_appear_in_may_at_from_600

  4. New Products (July–August 1992). "Cumulus Technology Announces Support for New AlphaWindow Standard". Sys Admin Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2007-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20110723144219/http://anselmo.homeunix.net/SysAdmin-Journal/html/v01/i02/products.htm

  5. "Microvitec First Past Post in Europe with AlphaWindows Terminals; IBM OEM Pact in Prospect..." CBRonline.com. 1992-08-12. http://www.cbronline.com/news/microvitec_first_past_post_in_europe_with_alphawindows_terminals_ibm_oem_pact_in_prospect

  6. "First AlphaWindows Character-Based Terminals Set For To Appear in May, At From $600..." CBRonline.com. 1992-02-14. http://www.cbronline.com/news/first_alphawindows_character_based_terminals_set_for_to_appear_in_may_at_from_600

  7. Richard Shuford (ed.). ""Alphawindows" -- a windowing setup for character-cell video terminals". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2007-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20081007095640/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal/alphawindows_news.txt

  8. Brad Myers (March 1995). "User Interface Software Tools". https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bam/toolnames.html

  9. "Cumulus Technology Wins Contract from Unisys". CBRonline.com. 1988-01-18. http://www.cbronline.com/news/cumulus_technology_wins_contract_from_unisys

  10. "Company Summary — Cumulus Technology Ltd". March 1994. http://infoventure.tsx.com/TSXVenture/TSXVentureHttpController?GetPage=CompanySummary&PO_ID=24082&HC_FLAG2=on

  11. Richard Shuford (ed.). ""Alphawindows" -- a windowing setup for character-cell video terminals". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2007-09-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20081007095640/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal/alphawindows_news.txt

  12. "Microvitec First Past Post in Europe with AlphaWindows Terminals; IBM OEM Pact in Prospect..." CBRonline.com. 1992-08-12. http://www.cbronline.com/news/microvitec_first_past_post_in_europe_with_alphawindows_terminals_ibm_oem_pact_in_prospect

  13. "Company Summary — Cumulus Technology Ltd". March 1994. http://infoventure.tsx.com/TSXVenture/TSXVentureHttpController?GetPage=CompanySummary&PO_ID=24082&HC_FLAG2=on

  14. David Kallman (1997-05-21). "Did Cumulus drop off the face of the earth, again?? (HP3000-L mailing list comment)". http://raven.utc.edu/cgi-bin/WA.EXE?A2=ind9705c&L=hp3000-l&P=24722

  15. Henry Keultjes (2005-05-04). "Small Box 'To End Digital Divide' (InterLUG mailing list comment)". http://www.freelists.org/archives/ncolug/06-2006/msg00036.html

  16. Tim Parker (March 1999). "MultiView v. 4 — Breathing new life into old character-based UNIX applications is easier with MultiView". Unix Review. http://www.unixreview.com/documents/s=1262/urm9903b/

  17. "JSB reports record revenues increase". E-consultancy. 2000-07-05.[permanent dead link] http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/8611/jsb-reports-record-revenues-increase.html?keywords=intranet

  18. "SurfControl sells off MultiView". E-consultancy. 2001-02-19.[permanent dead link] http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/8876/surfcontrol-sells-off-multiview.html?keywords=intranet

  19. "Structured Software Solutions, Inc. Again Named to Fast Tech 50". FacetCorp. May 1996. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2007-09-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20080511162036/http://www.facetcorp.com/pr_facetwin1.1.html