09/03/2003 Interview with Lynn Formanek- President of Cerience Corporation.
1/ I noticed that RepliGo is cerience's only product so far. What has the company done since it's launch in 2000 and how long has RepliGo taken to make.
RepliGo took over two years to develop. The majority of the work was developing our conversion and compression technology. Since our goal is to work with any type document you have on your desktop no matter how complex, we had to test it with a large amount of documents. We have a test set of well over two hundred thousand documents (representing close to two million pages) that were tested through our conversion process. Working with graphically rich and unstructured documents like PDF files and automatically determining their structure and reading order was a huge undertaking.
2/ What does RepliGo offer that iSilo and HandStory do not?
Both of them are excellent products with many advanced features. Our goals were slightly different when developing RepliGo. The two most important goals were to work with any document type and to allow viewing of the document in the original desktop layout as well as a layout optimized for reading a small screen. This means we can work with Microsoft Project files, PDF files, faxes, Visio diagrams, or any other type of document that you can print. We are able to display that document in its original desktop layout and zoom in and out, as well as read textual documents in a reflowed mode fit to the small screen. All the original fonts on the desktop are used on the handheld.
3/ What future features would you like to implement into RepliGo and do you expect to add support for even more document formats? (My choice would be the ability to categorize documents, scheduled downloads of web pages and ability to choose link depth)
RepliGo will convert any document type you have on your desktop via our print driver. We would like to add more conversion and viewing support for each specific document type that is optimized for that particular document type. More flexibility on how to convert web pages is an excellent example. Also being able to view more parts of a document, such as the notes in a PowerPoint slide, is another example. We are getting a lot of good feedback from users and will be listening to them to help shape our future products.
4/ Was it easier to make RepliGo for the Palm or Pocket PC and why?
I would estimate that over ninety percent of our development was the conversion technology which is Microsoft Windows based. We developed the viewer code first for the Palm OS, so porting over to the Pocket PC and other platforms is relatively easy after that. We had to develop our own display technology for fonts and graphics since neither platform has true support for this, and all this code is device independent and didn't require porting.
5/ What is the best film you have ever seen and why?
I'd have to say Memento. It really engages your mind and has a great twist. I like a movie that makes you think long after you have left the theatre.
6/ What PDA do you use and why?
I use a Sony Clie NX60. The large high-resolution screen is the best out there for viewing documents, and the fast processor really makes it fun. I borrow the NZ90 when I give demos though, because its screen is the best for this.
7/ Give us 3 reasons why everyone should own a PDA?
1) Always have your documents with you no matter where you are. This includes the latest data sheet, the conference schedule off the web, or the map to your hotel (plug: you may want to use RepliGo for this). 2) Use it to fill wasted time while waiting in airports or when you are in a boring meeting by reviewing documents you have brought with you. 3) A PDA fits in your pocket better than a laptop computer.
8/ What one feature would you like to see added to future PDAs?
High-resolution screens are a must, but after that I would like wireless connectivity. This greatly enhances the utility of PDAs when they can be also used as a communication tool. Also printing is so much faster over a Bluetooth connection than infrared.
9/ Do you have plans to make other PDA software besides RepliGo and if so can you give us a hint as to what it will be?
All our future plans are based on using RepliGo as a platform for working with documents. It's a very flexible and powerful platform. Some hints for the future are that the data compression makes it ideal for working in the wireless environment, and the file format is cross platform and can easily be ported to other platforms.
10/ Anything you would like to ask me? :)
Ok, here's one. If you had one question for one person about a current PDA product, what would that question be and whom would you ask? I can't just ask one question:- 1) To the makers of the NX/NZ CF Driver- can I have a Beta copy please?!!! 2) To Jason Goldman- any news on the Flight Simulator 3) To Sony- where is the Sony Keyboard driver for the NX?
If you want more information on RepliGo please visit cerience. Many thanks to Lynn for taking the time to answer my questions.