OS/2 Shareware BBS: 16 Announce/16-Announce.zip/od_press.sds

Text File | 1995-09-25 | 7KB | 151 lines

STARDOCK SYSTEMS, INC.
7977B Ronda Drive
Canton MI, 48187

Stardock announces Object Desktop!
Advanced environment targets both corporate and retail markets

For Immediate Release
Monday, September 25, 1995
Contact:    Brad Wardell
(313)/453-0328, (313)/453-1480 FAX, Email: [e-mail]

Canton Michigan--Stardock's long awaited desktop environment,
Object Desktop was announced  today.  Targeting both the
corporate and retail markets, Object Desktop is an advanced
desktop environment that "turbo-charges" OS/2, improving the
system's performance, flexibility, and ease of use.

"Object Desktop is an IS Manager's dream!" said Oliver Franklin
of Frankson Information  Management of Artarmon, Australia.
"It makes OS/2 much easier to use and a much more productive
environment.  My customers have found that Object Desktop
reduces their training costs while significantly improving
their productivity."

Object Desktop enhances the existing OS/2 environment with
updated icons, frame controls, and command buttons, and adds
new tools designed to boost productivity and system
performance.  The new features include the Object Navigator,
Control Center, Keyboard LaunchPad, Object
Archives, and HyperDrive and HyperCache features.

"For all intent and purposes, Object Desktop is like a third
party upgrade for OS/2." said Matt Hite of I/O Magazine. "It's
more than a suite of applications and operating system
enhancements--it is what OS/2 advocates have been waiting for
all these years."

Object Desktop provides many ways for users to organize their
work.  The Tab LaunchPad allows users to organize programs,
data objects, and running tasks using named tabs.  The Control
Center offers virtual desktops for organizing running
applications and minimizing window clutter.  In addition, the
Control center provides an object launcher, and real-time
resource monitors.

"Object Desktop really delivers the goods." said Alex Bradley
of OS/2 Review.  "Unlike some products that are all hype,
Object Desktop backs up its claims with solid performance,
excellent usability and more.  Any OS/2 user or IS manager
would have to be crazy to use OS/2 without this product."

Object Desktop boosts performance with HyperDrive, a feature
which reduces the time required to display data object icons
by making a "best guess" at file types.  By storing folder
contents in RAM, the HyperCache feature speeds up the display
of folder views.  One of the most impressive folder performance
improvements is Browse Mode, which displays the contents of a
subfolder in the parent window.  Less memory is utilized and
desktop clutter is minimized because new windows are not opened
each time a nested folder is opened.

"I haven't been this excited about a product since OS/2 Warp
itself." said David Barnes, Senior Marketing Manager at IBM
Personal Software Products.  "My competitors recently released
a product that has some nice features.  But Object Desktop
gave me everything they have and a lot more (and on a more
solid foundation--OS/2 Warp!).  Object Desktop will be the
first thing I install on any of my systems from now on!"

Object Archives enable users to work with compressed files as
Workplace Shell folders, without the extra steps of entering
commands to archiving and unarchiving files before performing
tasks such as opening, copying or saving the files.  When
objects are stored in an archive, the compression and
decompression tasks are performed automatically.  Object
Desktop provides disk compression that uses safe, standard
compression standards--ZIP, LZH, ARC, and ZOO.  Users can
view and manipulate data from within archives, and in many
cases, run programs directly from archives.  Best of all,
because Object Desktop uses standard compressed file formats,
users can copy compressed archives to other machines that don't
have Object Desktop and work with them there using the standard
archive executables (such as Unzip).

"Object Desktop brings the OS/2 desktop up to its potential
and, in doing so, brings it up to date.  And it does it so well,
I predict it will be an instant hit and best-seller for OS/2
for a long time." said Nicholas Petreley (InfoWorld, June 19,
1995).  "No one who sees it will want to do without it.  Keep
your eye on this company--Stardock knows what OS/2 should be
and it looks as though it is single-handedly transforming the
operating system into that ideal."

The Keyboard LaunchPad provides a fast way to configure keys
for opening any object.  While graphical user interfaces have
increasingly alienated keyboard users, Object Desktop brings
together the best of both worlds. For example, users can launch
a command line by associating an OS/2 window with
Ctrl+Alt+Spacebar or other keyboard sequence.

These features only scratch the surface.  Many analysts,
consultants, end users, and journalists have long requested the
powerful features that Object Desktop brings to OS/2.

Object Desktop delivers both power and ease of use in a single
package. Two years in the making, combined with input from
thousands of everyday PC users, helped ensure that Object
Desktop provides an advanced user interface design coupled with
a rich set of must-have features.

"The developers at Stardock have answered the wishes of every
OS/2 user by providing system-level tools and objects that are
tightly integrated with the OS/2 Workplace Shell to combine the
very best interface elements of major PC operating systems
today--OS/2, Apple Macintosh, and Windows 95--for the OS/2
desktop."  said Theo Mandel, Ph.D. and author of  "The GUI-OOUI
War: Windows vs. OS/2 The Designer's Guide to Human-Computer
Interfaces."  "Object Desktop contains the best set of tools
and utilities I've ever seen for the OS/2 desktop.  As a user
interface consultant and author, I use Object Desktop as an
excellent example of user-centered design and object-oriented
technology."

To ensure reliability, Stardock developed an extensive beta
program for Object Desktop which included thousands of users
with a wide range of configurations.  A great deal of emphasis
was placed on ensuring that Object Desktop would work on every
OS/2 configuration imaginable. Moreover, a CID-enabled
installation and national language support for English and
German will also be available from Stardock shortly after release.

"Make no mistake, our marketing goal with Object Desktop is
simple: every PC with OS/2, whether running in the enterprise
or in the home, should have Object Desktop.  Stardock will do
whatever it takes to make this a reality," said Brad Wardell,
President of Stardock Systems, Inc.

Object Desktop will begin shipping on October 2, 1995 with a
suggested retail price of $99.95.  Stardock expects the typical
street price to be significantly less than that.  Site
licensing and wholesale pricing sheets can be obtained from
Stardock at 313/453-0328 (fax [phone]) which are priced
to sell in large volume.

Press kits are also available.

More detailed information on Object Desktop can be found on
Stardock's World Wide Web site: http://oeonline.com/~stardock/.
Email: [e-mail]