Rhode Island Soft Systems

Last updated

Rhode Island Soft Systems (also known as R.I. Soft Systems and RISS) was an American software development and new media company based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The company was best known for developing screensavers, computer games and programming tools for Microsoft Windows.

Contents

Early history

Rhode Island Soft Systems was founded in 1990 by Eric Robichaud. Originally conceived as a side venture to Robichaud’s full-time work as a computer programmer with CVS Caremark Corporation, Robichaud’s first product was a DOS screensaver called BLANK-IT. Additional products were created, and by 1994 Robichaud left CVS to start his own company. [1] [2]

Among the first Rhode Island Soft Systems products to gain wide attention was a 1994 signature font product that enabled computer users to incorporate their signature word processing documents. [3] The company also created a digital jigsaw puzzle game called Jixxa, and received commissions to create screensavers and interactive CD-ROMs to promote Folgers Coffee, the New York Knicks and Harley Davidson motorcycles. [1] [4]

Product lines

During the late 1990s, the company created a series of whimsical screensavers that poked fun at popular culture figures and trends. Among its most notable titles were Hey, Macaroni!, which used animated dancing noodles to spoof the Macarena craze, and Liverdance, which parodied Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance success with a troupe of anthropomorphic livers performing Irish stepdancing. Liverdance, released in 1998, was also the first screensaver that incorporated built-in multiple advertisements, with Hasbro Interactive, Prodigy, Barnes & Noble, Symantec and WinZip as the first advertisers. [5]

Beyond its consumer products, the company created programming tools including Image Carousel Professional Edition and Ovation Studio Pro. [6] [7]

Company expansion and sale

In 1999, the company acquired Mediaweave, a Providence, Rhode Island-based company that produced multimedia projects and Web sites. By 2000, Rhode Island Soft Systems grew to U.S.$1 million in annual sales. [1] [8]

In 2003, Rhode Island Soft Systems was sold to Freeze.com, a Waite Park, Minnesota-based screensaver development company. The transaction included a five-year development and sponsorship contract that highlighted the Rhode Island Soft Systems products on the Freeze.com web site. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Woonsocket, Rhode Island City in Rhode Island, United States

Woonsocket, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island’s northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts state line and constitutes part of both the Providence metropolitan area and the larger Greater Boston Combined Statistical Area.

CVS Pharmacy is an American retail corporation. Owned by CVS Health, it is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was also known as, and originally named, the Consumer Value Store and was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1963. The chain was owned by its original holding company Melville Corporation since its inception until its current parent company was spun off into its own company in 1996. CVS Pharmacy is currently the largest pharmacy chain in the United States by number of locations and total prescription revenue. Its parent company ranks as the 7th largest U.S. corporation by FY2017 revenues in the Fortune 500. The parent company of CVS Pharmacy's leading competitor (Walgreens) ranked 19th for the same time period.

Route 99, also known as the Woonsocket Industrial Highway, is a numbered state highway running 2.9 miles (4.7 km) in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The route is a nominally north–south limited-access freeway for its entire length. Route 99 serves Manville and the Highland Industrial Park, providing freeway access to the city of Woonsocket from Rhode Island Route 146, which bypasses the city. The southern terminus of Route 99 is at a partial interchange with Route 146 in Lincoln. The freeway has one interchange in Manville, a village in Lincoln, before terminating at an at-grade intersection with Rhode Island Route 122 in Woonsocket.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Rhode Island

This is a list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island. As of May 29, 2015, there are more than 750 listed sites in Rhode Island. All 5 of the counties in Rhode Island have listings on the National Register.

Rhode Island Public Transit Authority Public transport agency in Rhode Island, US

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) provides public transportation, primarily buses, in the state of Rhode Island. The main hub of the RIPTA system is Kennedy Plaza, a large bus terminal in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. In 2020 the authority served an average of 36,776 people a day, in 36 out of 39 Rhode Island communities.

Jigsaw may refer to:

CVS Caremark is the prescription benefit management subsidiary of CVS Health, headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Rhode Islands 1st congressional district U.S. House district for Rhode Island

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It includes all of Bristol and Newport counties, along with parts of Providence County, including most of the city of Providence.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence County, Rhode Island

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence County, Rhode Island.

Island Place Historic District United States historic place

The Island Place Historic District is a historic district at Island Place and South Main Street at Market Square in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The district includes six historic buildings, three of which are part of the Woonsocket Rubber Company Mill, dating from c. 1857 to c. 1919. The other buildings in the district are the Island Machine Company, the Barnai Worsted Company Dyeworks, and a wood-frame structure, that is the last surviving elements of the Wilkins Manufacturing Company. The district is bounded by Market Square, Bernon Street, and a bend in the Blackstone River. The site is now home to the Museum of Work & Culture, a project of the Rhode Island Historical Society.

Woonsocket Rubber Company Mill United States historic place

Woonsocket Rubber Company Mill is an historic mill at 60-82 Main Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The mill consists of a series of 3- and 4-story brick buildings built between 1865 and 1875 by Edward Harris, one of Woonsocket's leading businessmen. These buildings housed the Woonsocket Rubbert Company, one of Rhode Island's first manufacturer of rubber products, principally shoes, boots, and rubberized fabric. In 1910 the complex was purchased by the Falls Yarn Company, which used it for the production of fine woolen yarns.

Woonsocket Company Mill Complex United States historic place

The Woonsocket Company Mill Complex is a historic district encompassing one of the largest mill complexes in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The district includes all of the buildings historically associated with the Woonsocket Company, a major manufacturer of cotton textiles in the 19th century. The complex is located along the eastern bank of the Blackstone River between Court and Bernon Streets. It includes three handsome stone mills, built between 1827 and 1859, and a power plant that was built on the site of the former #3 mill between 1890 and 1920, as well as the remnants of the canal that originally carried water to the buildings for power.

St. Anns Church Complex (Woonsocket, Rhode Island) United States historic place

St. Ann's Church Complex is now a historic cultural center in Woonsocket, Rhode Island on Cumberland Street. It was formerly a Roman Catholic church within the Diocese of Providence.

<i>Hachi: A Dogs Tale</i> 2009 drama film directed by Lasse Hallström

Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a 2009 American drama film that is an adaptation of the 1987 Japanese film Hachikō Monogatari. The original film told the true story of the Akita dog named Hachikō who lived in Japan in the 1920s. This version, which places it in a modern American context, was directed by Lasse Hallström, written by Stephen P. Lindsey and Kaneto Shindo, and produced by Richard Gere, Bill Johnson and Vicki Shigekuni Wong. The film stars Gere, Joan Allen, Sarah Roemer, Jason Alexander and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

<i>Microsoft Entertainment Pack</i> Series of computer game compilations

Microsoft Entertainment Pack is a collection of 16-bit casual computer games for Windows. There were four Entertainment Packs released between 1990 and 1992. These games were somewhat unusual for the time, in that they would not run under MS-DOS. In 1994, a compilation of the previous four Entertainment Packs were released called The Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack. A Game Boy Color version was released in 2000.

Jules Desurmont Worsted Company Mill United States historic place

The Jules Desurmont Worsted Company Mill is a historic mill at 84 Fairmount Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The mill complex consists of three brick buildings, erected 1907-10 by Jules Desurmont, the owner of a textile firm in Tourcoing, a city in northern France, who had been drawn to Woonsocket by the promotional activities of Aram Pothier. The mill produced French worsted wool yarn until 1952, and was used for many years thereafter by smaller textile and industrial concerns.

Woonsocket station

Woonsocket station is a former railroad station located at Depot Square in downtown Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was built by the Providence and Worcester Railroad in 1882 to replace a previous station built in 1847.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Woonsocket, Rhode Island

This is a list of National Register of Historic Places listings in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Riverzedge is a non-profit arts organization centered on providing arts education and programming for underserved youth in the Woonsocket area.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Zachery Block & Kathleen Yanity (December 7, 2000). "Woonsocket, R.I., Software, New Media Firm Grows Into a $1-Million Company". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  2. ↑ "Shareware Hall of Fame". Shareware Industry Awards. Archived from the original on 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  3. ↑ "High-Tech John Hancocks". Business Week. December 26, 1994. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  4. ↑ Larry Blasko (August 6, 2001). "Computer Game Is a Jigsaw Puzzle". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  5. ↑ Michel Marriott (May 14, 1998). "Jiggling Livers, and Advertising, in a Lively Screen Saver". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  6. ↑ "Tool Creates Professional Screensavers". Computer Dealer News. January 28, 2000. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  7. ↑ "RISS Releases Next Version of Ovation". ENT. February 3, 1999. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  8. ↑ "Business Briefs Column". Providence Journal. August 18, 1999. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  9. ↑ "Well-known Screensaver Site Sold". Newswit.com. August 15, 2003. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.