# SoftRAM95 Archives

Last updated: February 10, 1996
by Andrew Schulman
Senior Editor, O'Reilly & Associates
andrew@ora.com

Click here for the latest information on SoftRAM95

- Bill Machrone's column in PC Week (December 4, 1995):

  > "This program did nothing to help my systems, and subsequent investigations by PC Week and PC Magazine Labs were unable to find any shred of compression code in the product. Significant portions of the code bear a striking resemblance to a popular, copyrighted PC Magazine utility, 1MBFORT.... Is 'scam' too strong a word?"

- Some rough notes on Syncronys Softcorp (BB:SYCR); if you have any additions or corrections to this sketchy summary, please let me know:
  - Syncronys was created on May 8, 1995 in a merger between Seamless Software Corp. and a public "shell" corporation, Redstone Capital, Inc. The latter showed no commercial activities and owned no assets, but had issued 1.2 million shares of penny stock. Through the merger with this already-registered company, Syncronys Softcorp did not have to undergo an approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is a legal procedure.
  - The new company was mainly owned by Rainer Poertner (20.9%), Wendell Brown (13.5%), and Mobius Capital Corp. (55.3%), which is located in the Virgin Islands.
  - Seamless Software (predecessor to Syncronys) was formed by Daniel Taylor, merging two previous companies, Hypro and Autoship. Autoship produced an add-in to AutoCAD. Hypro was headed by Rainer Poertner; its chief programmer was Wendell Brown, developer of Mac Access. The Fall 1994 Comdex exhibits guide (p. 266) has the following:

    > "Hypro Systems
    > 3960 Ince Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
    > (310) 842-9203
    > Hypro's MacAccess for DOS and Windows reads, writes and formats Mac disks in a PC or compatible 3.5-inch drive, and loads Mac data directly into DOS or Windows applications. The Dextra software Modeler for Windows spline-based 3D modeling software, supports a variety of surface and curve types in a MURBS-based system. R2 for PC compatibles is a RAM-doubling utility, allowing any system to have twice as much RAM as is physically present.
    > (Preview)"

  - Seamless Software (which according to the merger agreement sold "the world's leading line of PC-based naval architecture software") was based in Vancouver BC; the SoftRAM 1.0 1 documentation lists both the Culver City and Vancouver offices. According to Computer Reseller News (April 24, 1995), "AutoShip developed a high-end 3-D modeling software of ship designers, which Seamless plans to refashion into Windows modeling software for the retail market."
  - Wendell Brown is VP of Technology at Syncronys. His two previous companies were Hydra and Amtel. According to MacWeek (December 18, 1990), Hydra was a Mac emulator board for the PC which required a user-supplied Mac 128K ROM, presumably from a scrapped Mac. According to EE Times (October 8, 1990), Amtel Video had a prototype called CrystalScan for use in hi-res displays.

- "SoftRAM95: The Emperor's New RAM Compressor", Win95 Magazine, February 1996, by Mark Hettler of the National Software Testing Laboratories (NSTL):

  > "Syncronys says they are working on a program that really will provide benefits under Windows 95. Of course that's what they said the first time, and while you might want to be charitable and say they just rushed to get the product out and didn't test it adequately, it sure seems to me that they released a product that they knew perfectly well didn't have a chance of working. Still, you might want to give them a second chance. If you do, then I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you, too."

- Syncronys's plans for the future: A Computer Retail Week article by Roger C. Lanctot (I'm trying to find the URL) from Comdex noted:

  > "Up next for Syncronys are SoftRAM for Macintosh, set for a spring 1996 launch; SoftRAM for Windows NT and SoftRAM for OS/2 in May; and NETSpeed for Windows Networks, in June. Syncronys also is expecting to release MacAccess Version 2 in February 1996. This product allows IBM-compatible PC users to read, write and format Macintosh disks under DOS, Windows and Windows 95. The product also will support removable media such as SyQuest, Bernoulli and CD-ROM.
  > "Syncronys works with distributors Ingram Micro, Tech Data and Navarre, and has been pursuing record and bookstores along with mainstream software retailers. At Comdex, the company announced agreements with Target Stores, Borders Books & Music and Tower Records/Video."

- What an Xmas gift! SoftRAM for the holidays!: The PC Mall offers SoftRAM for $29.95 when you buy Windows 95. "Simply load SoftRAM95 (it installs in about one minute) and its unique RAM Analyst feature will review the memory requirements of all your Windows applications and optimize their performance based on your patterns of usage. You can run it on any 386 or higher machine and with Windows 3.0 or higher (including new Windows 95).... SoftRAM95 is both an efficient AND thrifty way to increase your PC's RAM. Isn't It Time You Started Experiencing The SoftRAM95 Difference?"

- Syncronys announced on December 5 that Kevin O'Neill resigned his position as CFO with the company. "Syncronys' financial affairs will continue to be managed by Ms. Barbara Velline (C.P.A.), Vice President, Finance, who joined the company in September of this year."

- Brian Livingston's "Window Manager" column from InfoWorld (November 27, 1995): "SoftRAM claims are refuted by software industry exports". "In my opinion, SoftRAM does less per dollar than any Windows utility I've ever seen."

- San Jose Mercury News (November 18, 1995) article, "Where's the extra RAM? Despite claims by manufacturer, popular SoftRAM95 failing tests" by Dan Gillmor:

  > "SoftRAM95 is still being sold in stores, but has been re-labeled in some cases as a 'Windows 3.0 & 3.1 version only' -- as appeared on boxes in a display at Computer City in Milpitas. However, there was a binful of SoftRAM boxes nearby that did not bear the new label; a reporter bought a copy from that bin, and a sales clerk did not warn of any possible problem with the software. Egghead Software has pulled SoftRAM95 from its shelves...."

- Two Computer Reseller News articles on SoftRAM95, reprinted with permission of the author, Jodi Mardesich: "Double or Nothing? Questions Arise Over Syncronys Utility," Computer Reseller News, November 6, 1995, and "Egghead Pulls SoftRAM95," Computer Reseller News, November 13, 1995.

- Jodi Mardesich has an excellent article on SoftRAM95 in Computer Reseller News (December 4, 1995): "'Designed for Win 95' logo questioned -- Microsoft protests SoftRAM95 packaging." The article is available online, but doesn't seem to have a unique URL; you can locate the article using TechWeb Archives Search with the keywords "mardesich softram".

- Letters from Dr. Mark Russinovich to Rainer Poertner of Syncronys Softcorp: October 23, 1995 letter ("blatant misreprentation"); October 31, 1995 retraction ("the necessary steps are being taken to correct the current situation ... I thereby formally retract the letter"); November 9, 1995 retraction of the October 31 retraction ("Syncronys is not acting in good faith by not revealing the identical problems with the Windows 3.1 version, which they continue to promote and sell"); December 11, 1995 letter.

- Houston Chronicle (October 29, 1995): "Tricky RAM doublers no Windows treat" by Dwight Silverman. Also see Dwight Silverman's Houston Chronicle article on SoftRAM from September 24, 1995: SoftRAM95 doubler too good to be true." An even earlier article by Silverman, "Test run of RAM doubler is inconclusive" (Houston Chronicle, September 3, 1995), appears to have been the first article to raise serious questions about SoftRAM.

- Houston Chronicle (December 5, 1995) article on SoftRAM95 by Dwight Silverman: "Controversy over software grows. Claims for SoftRAM95 disputed."

- Syncronys Softcorp quarterly report, November 1, 1995: "Since announcing on October 20, 1995, that a problem exists with the Windows95(TM) version of SoftRAM95, Syncronys has not experienced any significant increase in the rate of product returns."

- Syncronys press release, November 13: Syncronys files for NASDAQ listing. Hmm, and the box already claims "NASDAQ: SYCR". Well, it also claimed "Designed for Windows 95," apparently without proper Microsoft authorization, so what else is new?

- Mike Langberg article on SoftRAM, San Jose Mercury News, November 3, 1995.

  NOTE: I have done some paid consulting for Connectix, whose RAM Doubler product competes directly with SoftRAM.

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