 Box art of version 1.23 showing main screen | |
| Developer(s) | Media Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1984 |
| Platform | IBM PCs and compatibles |
| Type | Raster graphics editor |
| License | Proprietary software |
Dr. Halo is a raster graphics editor developed by Media Cybernetics and released for computers running MS-DOS. It was among the first graphics editors available for MS-DOS with its initial release in 1984. [1] Media Cybernetics boasted about three million users of Dr. Halo between 1984 and 1993. [2]
Contemporary computer journalists compared the initial release of Dr. Halo's interface to that of MacPaint while calling it more feature-packed than either MacPaint or the competing MS-DOS graphic editor PC Paintbrush. Like MacPaint, Dr. Halo allows users to select different drawing tools by way of a toolbox on the left side of the screen. Underneath that toolbox at the bottom left corner are the primary options for the selected tool. A palette showing the available patterns and colors are shown at the bottom of the screen when Dr. Halo is first started. Unlike MacPaint, Dr. Halo eschews drop-down menus for a given tool's secondary options, in favor of an overlapping menu prompted by a right click over said tool. For example, right-clicking the type icon on the left-side toolbox allow users to select the type's face, size and direction. Also, unlike PC Paintbrush, when the initial release of Dr. Halo is first started it displays the last saved drawing along with its associated color and pattern palettes. [3] The first release of Dr. Halo came packaged with Multiboard Grab, [4] a utility for making slide shows from Dr. Halo drawing files, as well as another utility for converting drawing files from other programs—such as Lotus-generated charts—for use with Dr. Halo or the slide show utility. [3]
In addition to extending support to then-new peripherals and devices such as graphics cards, printers, and pointing devices, Dr. Halo II introduced a "virtual page" function which allowed users to take ASCII-encoded text files and import them into Dr. Halo, with options to lay out the text and set the text's type. Dr. Halo II also added undoing, graphics scaling, and a "smart eraser" tool that allows users to selectively replace a certain color used in a drawing. [5] Alongside Dr. Halo II, Media Cybernetics developed the Dr. Halo Desktop Publishing Editor, or Dr. Halo DPE. The company touted Dr. Halo DPE as a desktop publishing package. In reality, it, like Dr. Halo II, was a raster editor that shared the former's ability to import text files while holding more sophisticated editing tools, as observed by InfoWorld , and making use of extended memory. [6]
Dr. Halo III added the ability to correct for differences in the aspect ratio between the screen and the printer as well as improved dither algorithms. This release of Dr. Halo also added more features to the palette editor. [7] Dr. Halo IV spread the program over six modules: the graphics editor itself, a file viewer, a presentation program, a terminate-and-stay-resident screenshot utility, a font editor and an image file conversion utility. [8] Media Cybernetics sold the lattermost as the Halo Desktop Imager; it could convert graphics files created from scanner imaging software and other raster editors of the day into common file formats such as TIFF, GIF, Windows BMP and Dr. Halo's own HALO CUT format. They also introduced the Halo Image File Format Library—a software library enabling applications to read and write bitmap files in file formats such as the aforementioned—and Halo FX, a rebranded version of Media Cybernetics' Publisher's Partner, a true desktop publishing program. [9]
Media Cybernetics discontinued Dr. Halo after version 4.0 but used its source code to develop the Halo Imaging Library, a Windows software library comprising 100 imaging functions for C development. [10]
Curt Suplee of The Washington Post praised version 3.0, writing "Even if you've never drawn so much as a glass of water, [Dr. Halo III] can put you in the picture. If you're an experienced user, more power to you." [11] InfoWorld writer Ken Milburn called the same version a "[g]ood midrange package" with its user interface "the best we encountered" in the magazine's survey of DOS-based graphics editors released at the time. [12] Galen Gruman and Andre Kvitka of the same publication were more tempered with their praise, writing that Dr. Halo III had "powerful" graphics creation and editing abilities but was "difficult to learn because of its unintuitive interface. It only uses icons, which makes some features, such as quitting, nearly impossible to find." [13] Brooks Hunt of Home Office Computing gave it four out of four stars. [14]
Byte wrote that by version 4.0, "the program is showing its age; it isn't as well integrated as many comparable programs. Singly, the utilities are quite powerful, but the package lacks a unified menu structure". [8]
| Version | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | July 1984 [1] | Initial release |
| 2.0 | August 1985 [5] | Marketed as Dr. Halo II |
| 3.0 | late 1987 [7] | Marketed as Dr. Halo III |
| 4.0 | November 1991 [9] | Marketed as Dr. Halo IV, last release |
Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program, created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin at a software company named Forethought, Inc. It was released on April 20, 1987, initially for Macintosh computers only. Microsoft acquired PowerPoint for about $14 million three months after it appeared. This was Microsoft's first significant acquisition, and Microsoft set up a new business unit for PowerPoint in Silicon Valley where Forethought had been located.
GEM is an operating environment which was created by Digital Research (DRI) since 1984 for use with the DOS operating system on Intel 8088 and Motorola 68000 microprocessors.
Windows Notepad is a simple text editor for Windows; it creates and edits plain text documents. First released in 1983 to commercialize the computer mouse in MS-DOS, Notepad has been part of every version of Windows ever since.
The Am5x86 processor is an x86-compatible CPU announced in November of 1995 by AMD for use in 486-class computer systems. It began shipping in December of 1995, with a base price of $93 per unit in bulk quantities. Before being released, it was in development under the codename "X5".
Adobe PageMaker is a discontinued desktop publishing computer program introduced in 1985 by the Aldus Corporation on the Apple Macintosh. The combination of the Macintosh's graphical user interface, PageMaker publishing software, and the Apple LaserWriter laser printer marked the beginning of the desktop publishing revolution. Ported to PCs running Windows 1.0 in 1987, PageMaker helped to popularize both the Macintosh platform and the Windows environment.
Deluxe Paint, often referred to as DPaint, is a bitmap graphics editor series created by Dan Silva for Electronic Arts. The original Deluxe Paint was written for the Commodore Amiga 1000 and released in November 1985. It was eventually ported to other platforms, including an MS-DOS version which became the standard for pixel graphics in video games in the 1990s, the only competitor being Autodesk Animator Pro.
Borland Sidekick was a personal information manager (PIM) launched by American software company Borland in 1984 under Philippe Kahn's leadership. It was an early and popular terminate and stay resident program (TSR) for MS-DOS which enabled computer users to activate the program using a hot key combination while working in other programs. Although a text-mode program, Sidekick's window-based interface echoed that of the Apple Macintosh and anticipated the eventual look of Microsoft Windows 2.0. It included a personal calendar, text editor, calculator, ASCII chart, address book, and phone dialer. According to the prospectus for Borland's initial public offering of stock to the public, Sidekick sold more than 1 million copies in its first three years.
Spinnaker Software was a software company founded in 1982 known primarily for its line of non-curriculum based educational software, which was a major seller during the 1980s. It was founded by chairman Bill Bowman and president C. David Seuss.
Aldus PhotoStyler was a graphics software program developed by the Taiwanese company Ulead. Released in June 1991 as the first 24 bit image editor for Windows, it was bought the same year by the Aldus Prepress group. Its main competition was Adobe Photoshop. Version 2.0 introduced a new user interface and improved color calibration. PhotoStyler SE - lacking some features of the version 2.0 - was bundled with scanners like HP ScanJet. The product disappeared from the Adobe product line after Adobe acquired Aldus in 1994.
The Olivetti M24 is a computer that was sold by Olivetti in 1983 using the Intel 8086 CPU.
Windows 2.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on May 27, 1988, as a successor to Windows 2.0.
Windows 3.1 is a major release of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on April 6, 1992, as a successor to Windows 3.0.
Windows 2.0 is a major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical operating systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on December 9, 1987, as a successor to Windows 1.0.
Altos Computer Systems was founded in 1977 by David G. Jackson and Roger William Vass Sr. It focused on small multi-user computers, starting with multi-user derivatives of CP/M, and later including Unix and Xenix-based machines. In its 1982 initial public offering on NASDAQ, the company raised $59M. Thereafter the company's stock was traded under the symbol ALTO.
This outline is an overview of software and a topical guide in list form.
Emissary was a popular early commercial internet suite from Attachmate for Windows. It featured a web browser, FTP support, e-mail program, a newsreader program, and an HTML editor.
InSoft Inc. was an American developer of network-based communications software and multimedia software founded in 1992 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The company’s applications included Communique, which is used for desktop collaboration and videoconferencing.
Boeing Calc was a spreadsheet package written by Boeing Computer Services, an independent subsidiary of aviation manufacturer Boeing. It had originally been developed as an in-house accounting tool, but was launched as a commercial product in April 1985 for IBM 4300 mainframes running IBM MVS and IBM PC microcomputers running DOS. The original launch price was $399 per copy for the PC version and $8,899 for a combined PC/mainframe bundle.
PerfectDisk is a defragmentation software product for Windows developed by Raxco.
The Olivetti M20 is a Zilog Z8000 based computer designed and released by Olivetti in 1982. Although it offered good performance, it suffered from a lack of software due to its use of the Z8000 processor and custom operating system, PCOS. The company introduced the IBM PC compatible Olivetti M24 in 1983 and the M20 line was phased out.