<s>
MultiMate	B-Protocol
was	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
developed	O
by	O
Multimate	B-Protocol
International	O
for	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
MS-DOS	B-Application
computers	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
1,000	O
computers	O
,	O
Connecticut	O
Mutual	O
Life	O
Insurance	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
large-volume	O
customers	O
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
hired	O
W	O
.	O
H	O
.	O
Jones	O
&	O
Associates	O
to	O
write	O
word-processing	B-General_Concept
software	O
for	O
the	O
computer	O
that	O
would	O
not	O
require	O
retraining	O
its	O
employees	O
,	O
already	O
familiar	O
with	O
Wang	O
Laboratories	O
word	O
processing	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
renamed	O
itself	O
to	O
SoftWord	O
Systems	O
,	O
then	O
Multimate	B-Protocol
International	O
,	O
while	O
renaming	O
WordMate	O
to	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advertisements	O
stated	O
that	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
"mimic[ked]	O
the	O
features	O
and	O
functions	O
of	O
a	O
dedicated	O
system	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
modeled	O
after	O
the	O
Wang	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MultiMate	B-Protocol
was	O
not	O
marketed	O
heavily	O
to	O
end-users	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
quickly	O
popular	O
with	O
insurance	O
companies	O
,	O
law	O
firms	O
,	O
other	O
business	O
computer	O
users	O
and	O
US	O
government	O
agencies	O
and	O
the	O
military	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
Wang	O
WP	O
keyboard	O
was	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
PC	O
keyboard	O
,	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
compensated	O
by	O
providing	O
a	O
large	O
plastic	O
template	O
that	O
clipped	O
on	O
the	O
PC	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
stick-on	O
labels	O
for	O
the	O
fronts	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
keys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
template	O
and	O
labels	O
color-coded	O
the	O
combination	O
keystrokes	O
using	O
the	O
SHIFT	O
,	O
ALT	O
and	O
CTRL	O
keys	O
with	O
all	O
10	O
of	O
the	O
PC	O
's	O
function	B-Application
keys	I-Application
and	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
character	O
keys	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Wang	O
systems	O
,	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
controlled	O
most	O
editing	O
operations	O
with	O
function	B-Application
keys	I-Application
,	O
assigning	O
four	O
functions	O
to	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
10	O
function	B-Application
keys	I-Application
,	O
which	O
IBM	O
initially	O
located	O
at	O
the	O
left	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
keyboard	O
in	O
two	O
vertical	O
rows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
included	O
a	O
"	O
document	O
summary	O
"	O
screen	O
for	O
each	O
document	O
,	O
another	O
Wang	O
feature	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
document-management	O
than	O
the	O
brief	O
file	O
names	O
allowed	O
by	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
PC	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
function	O
selection	O
through	O
key-controlled	O
screen-top	O
drop-down	O
menus	O
was	O
popularized	O
by	O
other	O
programs	O
,	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
added	O
menus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MultiMate	B-Protocol
's	O
popularity	O
rapidly	O
grew	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
fiscal	O
1984	O
sales	O
were	O
$15	O
million	O
or	O
more	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
early	O
1985	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
's	O
installed	B-Operating_System
base	I-Operating_System
in	O
companies	O
was	O
as	O
large	O
as	O
former	O
market	O
leader	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
products	O
included	O
foreign	O
language	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
"	O
MultiTexto	O
"	O
in	O
Spanish	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
hardware	O
interface	O
card	O
for	O
file-transfer	O
with	O
Wang	O
systems	O
,	O
a	O
keyboard	O
with	O
extra	O
function	B-Application
keys	I-Application
,	O
versions	O
of	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
for	O
different	O
PC	O
clone	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
computers	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
use	O
on	O
PC	O
networks	O
from	O
Novell	O
,	O
3COM	O
and	O
IBM	O
(	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
attempts	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
Data	O
Manager	O
and	O
List	O
Manager	O
in-house	O
never	O
reached	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multimate	B-Protocol
International	O
developed	O
the	O
core	O
word	O
processing	O
software	O
and	O
utilities	O
(	O
file	O
conversion	O
,	O
printer	O
drivers	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
purchased	O
and	O
adapted	O
sub-programs	O
for	O
spelling	O
and	O
grammar	O
checking	O
,	O
list	O
management	O
,	O
outlining	O
and	O
print-time	O
incorporation	O
of	O
graphics	O
in	O
word	O
processing	O
documents	O
(	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
GraphLink	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
rebranding	O
such	O
externally	O
developed	O
programs	O
,	O
Multimate	B-Protocol
rewrote	O
the	O
documentation	O
for	O
each	O
program	O
and	O
adapted	O
the	O
program	O
interfaces	O
to	O
more	O
closely	O
resemble	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
version	O
of	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
was	O
packaged	O
with	O
many	O
of	O
these	O
add-on	O
programs	O
under	O
the	O
product	O
name	O
"	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
Advantage	O
"	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
other	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
software	O
of	O
the	O
day	O
,	O
especially	O
IBM	B-Protocol
DisplayWrite	I-Protocol
for	O
DOS	O
,	O
which	O
Multimate	B-Protocol
International	O
developers	O
saw	O
as	O
their	O
main	O
competition	O
in	O
the	O
business	O
market	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
a	O
lesser	O
extent	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
,	O
the	O
DOS	O
incarnation	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Samna	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
had	O
its	O
roots	O
in	O
another	O
office	B-Application
word	I-Application
processing	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
"	O
clone	O
"	O
versions	O
of	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
was	O
bundled	O
with	O
an	O
early	O
portable	O
PC	O
made	O
by	O
Corona	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
versions	O
were	O
written	O
to	O
match	O
PCs	O
by	O
Radio	O
Shack	O
,	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
,	O
Toshiba	O
,	O
the	O
early	O
Grid	O
laptop	O
and	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
Junior	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
detailed	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
documentation	O
,	O
which	O
quickly	O
grew	O
to	O
three	O
volumes	O
,	O
gave	O
the	O
product	O
a	O
solid	O
"	O
office	O
product	O
"	O
feel	O
,	O
using	O
high-quality	O
paper	O
with	O
its	O
main	O
reference	O
section	O
presented	O
in	O
a	O
padded	O
binder	O
with	O
fold-out	O
easel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
A	O
company	O
legend	O
was	O
that	O
the	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
user	O
manual	O
was	O
written	O
first	O
,	O
by	O
an	O
experienced	O
Wang	O
WP	O
manager	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
programmers	O
were	O
told	O
to	O
write	O
software	O
to	O
match	O
it	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
how	O
the	O
Wang	O
WP	O
was	O
created	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
program	O
came	O
with	O
both	O
color-coded	O
key	O
stickers	O
and	O
a	O
plastic	O
full-keyboard	O
template	O
to	O
make	O
Wang	O
operators	O
more	O
comfortable	O
with	O
the	O
smaller	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
keyboard	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
MultiMate	B-Protocol
eventually	O
sold	O
a	O
hardware	O
keyboard	O
with	O
dedicated	O
function	B-Application
keys	I-Application
and	O
issued	O
versions	O
of	O
its	O
software	O
for	O
networked	O
PCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
adapted	O
list-management	O
,	O
graphics	O
and	O
outlining	O
software	O
from	O
other	O
vendors	O
to	O
the	O
look-and-feel	O
of	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
,	O
shipping	O
the	O
expanded	O
version	O
as	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
Advantage	O
,	O
with	O
additional	O
volumes	O
of	O
MultiMate-style	O
documentation	O
for	O
the	O
add-on	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
releases	O
of	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
also	O
gave	O
users	O
unlimited	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
toll-free	O
support	O
number	O
and	O
a	O
promise	O
of	O
low-cost	O
upgrades	O
,	O
which	O
contributed	O
to	O
its	O
dedicated	O
user	O
population	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MultiMate	B-Protocol
was	O
especially	O
good	O
at	O
supporting	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
PC	O
clones	O
and	O
hundreds	O
of	O
computer	O
printers	O
,	O
each	O
of	O
which	O
required	O
its	O
own	O
printer	O
driver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
printer	O
support	O
was	O
very	O
strong	O
with	O
daisy-wheel	O
and	O
dot-matrix	O
printers	O
,	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
take	O
much	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
PostScript	B-Language
fonts	O
and	O
laser	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ashton-Tate	O
never	O
released	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
discontinued	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
's	O
development	O
efforts	O
on	O
VMS	B-Operating_System
and	O
Unix	B-Application
platforms	O
and	O
closed	O
a	O
development	O
group	O
in	O
Dublin	O
,	O
Ireland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Magazine	O
in	O
February	O
1983	O
stated	O
that	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
"	O
virtually	O
remakes	O
your	O
computer	O
into	O
a	O
Wang-like	O
dedicated	B-General_Concept
word	I-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
very	O
fast	O
,	O
easy	O
to	O
learn	O
,	O
and	O
capable	O
"	O
with	O
many	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
review	O
noted	O
the	O
application	O
's	O
inability	O
to	O
use	O
more	O
than	O
128K	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
but	O
praised	O
the	O
documentation	O
and	O
built-in	O
help	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
many	O
commands	O
required	O
half	O
the	O
keystrokes	O
of	O
the	O
WordStar	B-Application
equivalent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
review	O
concluded	O
"	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
stands	O
head	O
and	O
shoulders	O
above	O
many	O
if	O
not	O
most	O
[	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
word	O
processors ]	O
...	O
an	O
impressive	O
entrant	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BYTE	B-Application
in	O
1984	O
was	O
less	O
positive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
review	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
called	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
"	O
the	O
klunkiest	O
package	O
"	O
of	O
five	O
tested	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
because	O
of	O
the	O
overemphasis	O
on	O
safety	O
,	O
criticized	O
the	O
built-in	O
help	O
and	O
slow	O
performance	O
,	O
and	O
reported	O
being	O
unable	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
spell	O
checker	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
poor	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
reviewer	O
mentioned	O
that	O
MultiMate	B-Protocol
version	O
3.30	O
was	O
already	O
shipping	O
when	O
the	O
article	O
went	O
to	O
press	O
.	O
</s>
