General Software

"DOS-ROM" redirects here. For the similarly named Datalight product, see Datalight ROM-DOS.

"DOS-XL" redirects here. For the similarly named operating system for Atari 8-bit computers, see OSS DOS XL.

General Software, Inc.

Industry	Computer software
Founded	1989; 35 years ago (1989) in Washington, United States
Fate	Purchased by Phoenix Technologies, Inc.
Headquarters	Washington, USA
Key people	Steve Jones
Products	OEM-DOS, Network-DOS, Embedded DOS, Embedded DOS-ROM, Embedded DOS-XL, Embedded BIOS
Website	n/a

General Software labeled flash memory from Silicon Storage Technology

General Software was a Washington, USA based creator and supplier of system software headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It was founded in 1989 by Steve Jones and later incorporated in 1990 as General Software, Inc. In 2008, the company was purchased by Phoenix Technologies, Inc.^[1]

General Software developed firmware to support telecommunications, data communications, UMPC (Ultra Mobile Personal Computer), general consumer electronics, and support models designed for embedded ODMs (Original Design Manufacturer) and OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer).

Some of the products included General Software OEM-DOS, Network-DOS, Embedded DOS, Embedded DOS-ROM, Embedded DOS-XL and Embedded BIOS.^[2]

In 1998 they partnered with Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. in order to ship their Embedded BIOS with Caldera DR-DOS.^[3][4][5]

See also

• Datalight ROM-DOS

References

1. Cook, John (2008-07-24). "Phoenix Technologies to buy General Software". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
2. Jones, Steve (2008-07-25). Meinhard, Klaus (ed.). "Alternatives, Alternatives… - Alternative DOS flavours". 4dos.info. Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2020-01-09. […] From a communication with [Steve Jones]: "For General Software, Inc., I wrote several more DOSes: OEM-DOS, Network-DOS, Embedded DOS, Embedded DOS-ROM, and Embedded DOS 6-XL. […]
3. Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. (1998-11-02). "Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. and General Software, Inc. partner to provide embedded OS and embedded BIOS". Embedded Systems Conference, San Jose, CA, USA. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
4. "Caldera, General Software To Provide Embedded OS, BIOS". Wireless Design Online / VertMarkets, Inc. 1998-11-09. Archived from the original on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
5. "Caldera unveals embedded browser, allies with reseller". Datamonitor / Gale, Cengage Learning. 1998-11-03. Archived from the original on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2018-08-25.