SoftRAM

SoftRAM and SoftRAM95 were system software products released by Syncronys Softcorp in the mid-1990s that claimed to increase or even double the available <a href="/facts/Random-access_memory/DuD4bxh6">random-access memory</a> in <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Microsoft Windows</a> without the need for a hardware upgrade, which is possible using <a href="/facts/Memory_compression/4PVkgHWr">memory compression</a>. However, it was later alleged the SoftRAM95 program utilized only a stub compression function that was incomplete.
In July 1996, Syncronys Softcorp agreed to settle charges by the <a href="/facts/Federal_Trade_Commission/Hkz0PwF9">Federal Trade Commission</a> that the company "misrepresented and/or failed to substantiate the performance" of the products, although the agreement stipulated it "did not constitute an admission of a law violation." As part of the settlement, Syncronys Softcorp offered $10 rebates for affected consumers. The majority shareholders of the company in 1996 included its founding CEO, Daniel Taylor (30%), subsequent CEO, Rainer Poertner (14%), and Vice President of Technology <a href="/facts/Wendell_Brown/lTYIK8Xp">Wendell Brown</a> (7%).
In a 1996 interview with <a href="/facts/Mc_(magazine)/sRDzaGgY">Mc</a> magazine, the CEO of Syncronys Softcorp, Rainer Poertner, took responsibility for forcing the software's release despite engineering team objections that the product's development was not yet complete.
In 2006, the product was rated the third "Worst Tech Product of All Time" by <a href="/facts/PC_World_(magazine)/GNhThM8d">PC World</a> behind <a href="/facts/AOL/MAbT38QS">AOL</a> and <a href="/facts/RealPlayer/IjS4t5h8">RealPlayer</a> (1999 version). Around 100,000 copies of SoftRAM and 600,000 copies of SoftRAM95 were sold overall.

SoftRAM open-in-new

SoftRAM