Borland Sidekick
| Company type | Public (historical) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Philippe Kahn |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Borland Sidekick |
Borland Sidekick was a personal information manager (PIM) introduced by the American software firm Borland in 1984 under the guidance of Philippe Kahn. It stood out as one of the pioneering and widely used terminate-and-stay-resident program (TSR) applications for MS-DOS, enabling users to launch it through a hotkey combination (default: Ctrl-Alt) while operating other software. Although its interface was text-based, Sidekick’s windowed design foreshadowed elements later seen in Microsoft Windows 2.0 and bore resemblance to the Apple Macintosh user experience. The suite included tools such as a calendar, text editor employing WordStar-style commands, calculator, ASCII chart, address book, and phone dialer. Borland’s IPO prospectus highlighted sales exceeding one million units within the first three years.
Origin
According to Philippe Kahn, Sidekick was originally created as an internal tool at Borland before its commercial value became apparent.
1.0
Sidekick version 1.0 offered utilities including a Calculator, Notepad, Appointment Calendar, Auto Dialer, ASCII Table, among others.
1.0 Plus
The 1.0 Plus edition broadened functionality by adding multiple calculators (Business, Scientific, Programmer, Formula), a Notepad editor supporting up to nine files, an Appointment Book and Scheduler, terminal communication capabilities, and an ASCII Table. It also introduced a nine-file Outliner, file and directory management tools, a Clipboard, and compatibility with Expanded Memory and RAM disk. The default hotkey activation remained Control+Alt.
1.5
Version 1.5 improved integration with graphical applications such as Lotus Symphony and Microsoft Word.
2.0
Sidekick 2.0 marked the final release for the MS-DOS platform.
Traveling Sidekick
The Traveling Sidekick package combined software with a physical 3-ring binder notebook and a solar-powered pocket calculator designed for productivity on the move.
Windows
After departing Borland in 1994 to establish Starfish Software, Philippe Kahn acquired full rights to Sidekick. Starfish co-founder Sonia Lee Kahn created Sidekick 95, which launched successfully alongside Windows 95. In 1998, Philippe and Sonia Lee Kahn sold Starfish to Motorola for $325 million. Subsequently, the product changed hands to Nokia, who discontinued it following Sidekick 99. Presently, T-Mobile USA, Inc. holds ownership of the Sidekick trademark portfolio.
Later Windows editions incorporated features such as a phone dialer and synchronization with devices running Palm, Windows CE, and EPOC. Despite these additions, these versions were less favored compared to their MS-DOS predecessors because Windows itself offered built-in functionalities like task switching and small utility programs. Among Sidekick’s notable features were monthly and yearly calendars alongside a world time map illustrating daylight and darkness across up to eight user-configurable cities.
1.0
Borland developed and released Sidekick 1.0 for Windows prior to Kahn’s exit from the company. Targeted at Windows 3.1, this version included Calendar, To Do List, Contacts management, communication utilities, and a calculator. Much of its architecture and file handling were derived from YourWay PIM software, which Borland acquired from Prisma Software in 1993. Although sharing the name, Sidekick for Windows 1.0 was fundamentally different from the MS-DOS version; it combined calendaring components from YourWay with a newly designed interface created by Borland.
2.0
Prior to the shift to Starfish, Borland developed Sidekick 2.0, which introduced several significant improvements.
Notable upgrades comprised:
- Scheduler support for overlapping appointments,
- Address Book capability to manage multiple contact files,
- Print layouts designed to align with commercial day planner pages,
- A View-in-View functionality,
- Backup and Restore options,
- Password security features.
Sidekick Deluxe expanded the offering by including more than 40 content files for online information retrieval, Dashboard 3.0 tailored for Windows, and the "Organized for Success" instructional video distributed via CD.
Sidekick 95
Sidekick 95 was tailored for the Windows 95 environment. The Deluxe edition was unveiled on October 17, 1995, followed by a version supporting up to 10 users released in February 1996.
Its suite of tools consisted of Write (a word processor equipped with spell checking), EarthTime (a clock application), Expense (for financial record-keeping), Reminder (a scheduling utility), Phone Dialer, Contact Manager, and a Calendar featuring a daily Almanac.
The Deluxe edition incorporated Dashboard 95, America Online software, two interactive organizational training videos, over 40 Sidekick Companion content files, and electronic manuals available in Adobe Acrobat format.
Starfish Internet Sidekick
This iteration enhanced calendar functionalities with an Activity view, daylight saving time adjustments, web link integration for contacts, and synchronization capabilities extending from Sidekick 95.
Communication features were augmented by caller ID support, phone dialing integration, and mail software compatibility. The spell checker introduced an auto-correct mechanism. The calculator tool gained unit conversion abilities.
Additional new utilities included an Internet Scheduler and an Expense reporter that offered date-based reporting, tax calculations, and drag-and-drop receipt organization.
Sidekick 97
Calendar tools were upgraded to allow users to generate web pages from calendar entries via a WordPerfect plug-in.
Address management added drag-and-drop functionality and web page generation from contact card files through the WordPerfect add-on.
PDA synchronization extended support to Palm Pilot devices through a separate add-on module.
The World Clock feature incorporated European Daylight Saving Time adjustments.
Compatibility with Sidekick Web Publisher was introduced through an add-on component.
Sidekick 98
Support for vCalendar and Outlook calendars was integrated into both calendar and address modules.
PDA synchronization broadened to include Franklin REX devices; syncing now covered To Do lists, Calls, Special Days, Appointments, and Contacts comprehensively.
World Clock enhancements featured a world map display along with analog and digital time formats.
Functions that had required add-ons in Sidekick 97 were included as standard features in this release.
Users reported ongoing compatibility with Windows operating systems up to Windows 7.
Sidekick 99 (9.x)
Several functionalities present in Sidekick 98 were removed: dialer, backup & restore tools, calculator with conversion options, expense reporter, spell checker, web page generator, and Internet scheduler. Support for address and calendar functionalities was scaled back; Outlook compatibility was limited to import-only operations.
Synchronization capabilities were extended to multi-point syncing with Franklin REX PRO and PALM III PDAs.
OS/2
Borland’s Sidekick 2.0 for Presentation Manager was derived from the Windows version 2.0 platform.
Macintosh
In 1985, Borland launched a Macintosh variant initially named MacDesk, developed by CE Software.
Reception
By September 1985, Sidekick had reached sales of 400,000 copies. InfoWorld awarded it "Excellent" ratings across all categories in November 1984, emphasizing its effectiveness as a background utility that enhanced user productivity. The publication highlighted it as an affordable and practical alternative for programmers compared to a Texas Instruments hexadecimal calculator, describing Sidekick as "a time-saving, frustration-reducing bargain" that represented progress toward replacing traditional paper-and-pencil methods. In October 1984, Jerry Pournelle commended Sidekick in Byte, forecasting it would become essential for IBM PC users and achieve millions in sales. That same issue questioned why advanced integrated software suites still necessitated utilities like Sidekick, implying a deficiency in business software solutions. Pournelle named Sidekick among his top IBM PC products of the year in 1985 and noted in 1987 that such tools were absent on CP/M systems—an observation that influenced his platform switch. In 1989, BYTE honored SideKick Plus with a "Distinction," underscoring its outstanding value for business professionals.