Graphics Environment Manager

What's New

Byte Magazine

December 1984

Digital Research's Graphics Environment Manager (GEM) is a single-tasking graphics user interface for MS-DOS computers. The operating environment has features similar to those found on Apple's Macintosh, such as pull-down menus, icons, and variable-size windows, and includes color graphics.

GEM operates as an extension to the MS-DOS operating system. Makers of MS-DOS computers must adapt the graphics portion of their operating system for each machine. The manufacturers pay a one-time fee for unlimited rights to distribute GEM with their MS-DOS computers.

Digital Research also announced three presentation graphics packages that will operate under GEM. GEM Wordchart can be used for text presentations using a number of type styles and formats. Pictures can be drawn with GEM Draw software, which adds the GEM user interface to the DR Draw program. GEM Presentation Master bundles GEM Draw, GEM Wordchart, and DR Graph with the Polaroid Palette image recorder.

According to the company, these programs should be available for MS-DOS in early 1985; a version that will run under DR's Concurrent PC-DOS is also planned. For further details, contact Digital Research Inc., 60 Garden Court, POB DRI, Monterey, CA 93942, (408) 649-3896.