Connectix
Encyclopedia
Connectix Corporation was a software and hardware company, noted for having released innovative products that were either made obsolete as Apple Computer
incorporated the ideas into system software, or were sold to other companies once they become popular. It was formed in October 1988 by Jon Garber; dominant board members were Garber, Bonnie Fought (the two were later married), and close friend Roy McDonald. McDonald was still Chief Executive Officer
and president when Connectix finally closed in August 2003.
With the sale of Virtual PC development and support, staff were transferred to Microsoft, including Connectix's Chief Technical Officer
Eric Traut
, but not including any of the Connectix board members or Technical Support. Its Macintosh products, including DoubleTalk, CopyAgent and RAM Doubler, were discontinued.
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
incorporated the ideas into system software, or were sold to other companies once they become popular. It was formed in October 1988 by Jon Garber; dominant board members were Garber, Bonnie Fought (the two were later married), and close friend Roy McDonald. McDonald was still Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and president when Connectix finally closed in August 2003.
Products
Primary products included:- Virtual: Its original flagship product, which introduced virtual memoryVirtual memoryIn computing, virtual memory is a memory management technique developed for multitasking kernels. This technique virtualizes a computer architecture's various forms of computer data storage , allowing a program to be designed as though there is only one kind of memory, "virtual" memory, which...
to the Mac OS years before Apple's implementation in System 7 (Virtual also ran on a motley assortment of accelerator cards for the original Mac / Mac Plus / Mac SE line, which were not supported by Apple). - HandOff II: The file launcher developed by Fred Hollander of Utilitron, Inc. This INIT for Macintosh solved the "Application Not Found" problem by launching a substitute application for the one that created the file the user was trying to open. Apple would later build a similar functionality into System 7.
- SuperMenu: The first commercial hierarchical Apple menu, developed by Fred Hollander of Utilitron, Inc. Again, Apple would make a hierarchal Apple menu standard in System 7, by buying one of the many sharewareSharewareThe term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
versions of the same concept as SuperMenu. - MODE32MODE32MODE32 is a software product originally developed by Connectix for certain models of the Apple Macintosh. It was published in 1991 and originally cost $169, however on September 5, 1991, the software was made available free to customers under licensing terms with Apple Computer.-Overview:MODE32...
: Software which allowed 32-bit addressing on "32-bit-dirty" Macintosh systems. Later bought by AppleApple ComputerApple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
and distributed for free, at least in part to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by customers who demanded to know why their 32-bit 68020 microprocessors could not access more than 8 megabytes of RAM. - MAXIMA: A RAM disk utility, better than the one that later came with the Mac OS as it saved its contents before and after reboots, while also allowing booting from the RAM disk.
- RAM Doubler: The first product to combine compression with virtual memory. A top selling Mac utility for many years which eventually was made obsolete as Apple improved their own virtual memory. There was also a RAM Doubler for Windows 3.1 which increased system resources — using a compression technique — therefore allowing more applications to run.
- Speed Doubler: Software that combined an enhanced disk cache, better Finder copy utility, and a dynamically recompiling 68K-to-PowerPC emulatorEmulatorIn computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
, which was faster than both the interpretive emulator that shipped in the original PowerPCs and the dynamically recompiling emulator that Apple shipped in later machines. It was made obsolete as 68K applications became less common and OS code improved. - QuickCamQuickcamQuickCam is a line of webcam video camera products by Logitech.The original QuickCam was developed by Connectix in 1994 for nationwide commercial sale and was the first widely marketed webcam-like device, although its original advertising did not use the term "webcam" or refer to the World Wide...
: The first webcamWebcamA webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
. Originally the sole design of Jon Garber, he wanted to call it the 'Mac-camera', but was vetoed by Marketing, who saw the possibility of it one day becoming a cross-platform product. Indeed, it was to become the first Connectix Windows product 14 months later, with RAM Doubler for Windows 3.1 being the next to take the leap (the Mac QuickCam shipped in August 1994, RAM Doubler for Windows in April 1995, and QuickCam for Windows in October 1995). The line was later sold to LogitechLogitechLogitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
. QuickCam is now considered one of the Top Gadgets of all time. - Virtual Game StationConnectix Virtual Game StationThe Virtual Game Station is an emulator by Connectix that allows Sony PlayStation games to be played on a desktop computer. It was first released for the Macintosh, in 1999. VGS was created by Aaron Giles...
: PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
emulationEmulatorIn computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
software. Sold to SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, who bought it only after their lawsuit to stop it failed, and then dropped the product immediately. - Virtual PCWindows Virtual PCWindows Virtual PC is a virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006 Microsoft released the Windows-hosted version as a free product...
and Virtual serverMicrosoft Virtual ServerMicrosoft Virtual Server is a virtualization solution that facilitates the creation of virtual machines on the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Originally developed by Connectix, it was acquired by Microsoft prior to release...
: Emulation software of x86-based personal computers for the Macintosh, WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and OS/2OS/2OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
. Sold to MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, the transaction was completed on February 18, 2003.
With the sale of Virtual PC development and support, staff were transferred to Microsoft, including Connectix's Chief Technical Officer
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
Eric Traut
Eric Traut
Eric Traut is an American software engineer and software emulation pioneer. Traut graduated from Stanford University in 1992. From 1993 to 1995 he worked for Apple Computer, creating a Mac 68K emulator to be used in PowerPC-based Macintoshes...
, but not including any of the Connectix board members or Technical Support. Its Macintosh products, including DoubleTalk, CopyAgent and RAM Doubler, were discontinued.