InterCon Systems Corporation
InterCon Systems Corporation (a
.In June 1995, InterCon was acquired by PSINet and continued to sell and maintain its suite of TCP/IP software.[1]
In February 1996, PSINet merged InterCon with Software Ventures (another Macintosh communication software company).[2]
In February 1997, InterCon's engineering group and its products were sold to Ascend Communications.[3]
Products
In 1988, InterCon was pursuing two product lines, TCP/Connect (based originally on NCSA Telnet), and an email product. Unfortunately, the licensing for the email product fell through in negotiations, so it was never sold, and InterCon would have to wait a few more years (until TCP/Connect II) before it could provide email to customers.
TCP/Connect
TCP/Connect was InterCon's flagship product. Launched at
Over the next few years, InterCon added more
TCP/Connect II
TCP/Connect II was to remain InterCon's flagship product from 1990 until 1995. Although TCP/Connect was primarily a terminal emulation and file transfer program, TCP/Connect II branched out into a full-fledged internet suite. At introduction, it featured email and network news reader support along with additional terminal emulations in addition to the already-popular IBM 3270, and DEC VT-240 emulations.
Over the next 5 years, the product evolved quickly and kept or set the pace for many advanced features, including embedded graphics and multimedia content in email; advanced email automation, filtering, and highlighting; a high-speed web browser; a gopher client; and many minor features and protocols.
After the introduction of InterCon's web browser in TCP/Connect II,
tcpCONNECT4
tcpCONNECT4 (renamed from TCP/Connect II and with additional features) was a "do-everything suite of TCP/IP applications for Internet or intranet use"[4] that was released in 1996 and had few changes before the company's sale to Ascend Communications.
NFS/Share
NFS/Share was InterCon's second most popular product and provided high-performance access to file servers using the
NFS/Share used many techniques to increase performance and provide a smooth experience for users, as such providing some of the best performance in the marketplace.
Shark Series
In 1995, InterCon decided to more directly approach the consumer market with a series of "Shark" branded products; NetShark, WebShark, and MailShark. The products were directly derived from the source code for TCP/Connect II (or 4 at the time) and was missing the Terminal Emulation technology.
NetShark
NetShark[5] (and the derivative MailShark) was an internet suite product based on TCP/Connect but including only email and web clients. The slimmed-down version was aimed at consumers, but never really became a popular offering.
MailShark
MailShark was created but never sold. It contained only the email portions of TCP/Connect.
WebShark
WebShark contained only the web browser portion of TCP/Connect. WebShark was licensed by AOL for use with their Macintosh clients to provide access to the web.[6][7] A rebranded WebShark similarly shipped as Apple's eWorld Web Browser.[8]
InterPPP/InterSLIP
InterSLIP[9] and InterPPP[10] were software packages that enabled Macintosh users to communicate over TCP/IP using dial-up lines without having to use an embedded TCP/IP stack. These products worked with Apple's MacTCP.
InterPrint
InterPrint was a printing product designed to allow Macintoshes to print to PostScript printers connected over TCP/IP networks. Mostly used in corporate and prepress environments, the product integrated directly into Apple's printer architecture.
InterServer Publisher
InterServer Publisher
Planet X
Planet X was an
WatchTower
WatchTower was the first SNMP Network Monitoring System developed for the Macintosh computer[13] Developed by GBP Software (now ClueTrust) and published and sold by InterCon starting in 1990, WatchTower was the first product of its kind on the Macintosh. Although it was never a high volume product (not surprising at a retail price of $2,495), it did represent the first monitor (and agent) for the Macintosh.
IPv6 Participation
When the initial research for IPv6 was being done, InterCon participated by creating an implementation of the SIPP protocol running on the Macintosh as part of an experimental version of TCP/Connect II. Although SIPP wasn't adopted, this early effort confirmed the interest of Internet software vendors in creating IPv6-capable software.[14]
Internet Services in Japan (IIKK)
In 1992, InterCon saw the need to expand commercial internet services in Japan in order to bolster its position in the TCP/IP market there. To do this, the company created a Japanese subsidiary, IIKK and partnered with AT&T JENS (a subsidiary of AT&T) to create the first commercial internet service providers in the country.[15][16]
IIKK's initial POP was in Joi Ito's bathroom.[16] IIKK's first offices were in an old karaoke bar in Myogadani.[17]
PSINet purchased IIKK and it became the core of PSINet Japan.[16]
References
- ^ "PSINet to acquire InterCon Systems and Software Ventures". PRNewswire. 6 June 1995. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ^ "InterCon Systems and Software Ventures to Merge Operations". Business Wire. Feb 13, 1996.
- ^ Mallett, Daryl F. "Ascend Communications". Answers.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ^ Cougias, Dorian J. "tcpConnect4 a capable suite of TCP/IP apps". MacWeek. September 30, 1996.
- ^ "netshark-evolt_browsers directory listing". archive.org. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "America Online opts for InterCon Systems WebShark to surf Internet.". Business Wire. May 3, 1995 .
- ^ "AOL 2.6 Mac Client Available". TidBITS. Aug 7, 1995 .
- ^ Morgan, Eric Lease (1995). "Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks - A Macintosh-Based World Wide Web Starter Kit Featuring MacHTTP and Other Tools" .
- ^ "Macintosh PPP Overview (Part 1)". TidBITS Publishing Inc. Dec 4, 1995.
- ^ "Macintosh PPP Overview (Part 2)". TidBITS Publishing Inc. Dec 11, 1995.
- ISBN 0201489988.
- ^ Ratcliffe, Mitch. "Planet X 1.2 speeds Mac-X Window link". MacWeek. April 27, 1992.
- ^ Wylie, Margie. WatchTower raps on Apple's door: InterCon SNMP monitor a Mac first. MacWeek. October 23, 1990.
- ^ Hinden, Robert (1994). "SIPP Implementations"
- ^ Pollack, Andrew. "Now It's Japan's Turn To Play Catch-Up". New York Times. November 21, 1993
- ^ a b c Ito,Joi. Picture of PSINet Japan POP 1994
- ^ Clark, Tanya. "Daring to Be Different -- Tokyo's GOL: An Idiosyncratic Success Story". [email protected]. November, 1999.