Rainbow Software's Showcase Presentation System was the world's first screen-based presentation system. [1]
Launched in 1981 by London-based Rainbow Software (now Showcase Presentations Ltd) and running on Apple II computers with just 16k of RAM it was the first commercial computer-based presentation system displaying directly onto RGB monitors or projectors. [2]
Rainbow's first client was Grey Advertising in London closely followed by Ogilvy & Mather and many others. Customers claimed that it paid for itself in a single presentation. [3] Pricing was given as £5,000 for the system in 1984, whereas presentation slides reportedly cost around £15 to £30 per slide. [2]
Showcase used programmable duotone colouring to maintain ‘hi res’ mode; and a range of proportionally spaced, properly designed fonts (in 1983, two years later, Steve Jobs was still trying to persuade his embryonic Mac development team that such fonts were important). [3] [4]
The IBM PC didn't make much impact until the mid-1980s; Rainbow lacked the resources to redevelop the system from scratch on to this new format with poor graphic capabilities.
The Rainbow name was eventually dropped in favour of Showcase Presentations Ltd, which became a service company. [5]
By 1987, a product from General Parametrics called VideoShow allowed better quality presentations from a PC, [6] and Showcase adopted this and started to develop into a broader consultancy business. In 1990, Windows 3 appeared and combined with a Compaq Portable 386 and the first version of a new program called PowerPoint, the route to the future seemed clear.
Since then there have been many changes in hardware and software – and particularly in display devices, speed and resolution – but the same general combination of hardware and software has prevailed.
Showcase Presentations rapidly became a high-profile support company, creating presentations for major blue chip companies and working around the world.
Apple II is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The first Apple II model, that gave the series its name, was designed by Steve Wozniak, and was first sold on June 10, 1977. Its success led to it being followed by the Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, and Apple IIc Plus, with the 1983 IIe being the most popular. The name is trademarked with square brackets as Apple ][, then, beginning with the IIe, as Apple //.
The Apple II is a personal computer released by Apple Inc. in June 1977. It was one of the first successful mass-produced microcomputer products and is widely regarded as one of the most important personal computers of all time due to its role in popularizing home computing and influencing later software development.
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In computing, a presentation program is a software package used to display information in the form of a slide show. It has three major functions:
Convergent Technologies, Inc., was an American computer company formed by a small group of people who left Intel Corporation and Xerox PARC in 1979. Among the founders were CEO Allen Michels, VP Engineering Bob Garrow, head of marketing Kal Hubler, and operating system architect Ben Wegbreit. Convergent was primarily an OEM vendor with their computers resold by other manufacturers such as ADP, AT&T, Burroughs, Four-Phase Systems, Gould, Mohawk, Monroe Data Systems, NCR, and Prime. The company was purchased by Unisys in 1988.
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