Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Austin, Dennis
- Extent:
- 4.67 Linear feet 3 record cartons and 1 oversize box
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], [Date], Dennis Austin PowerPoint records, Lot X6642.2013, Box [#], Folder [#], Computer History Museum.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Dennis Austin PowerPoint records contain materials assembled, and mostly authored, by Dennis Austin as a key designer and developer of the slide show presentation software, PowerPoint. The records span 1984 through 2007 with the bulk of the collection being from 1985 to 1994. The collection follows the design and development of PowerPoint from its beginnings at Forethought, Inc. when its name was "Presenter," to its initial release for the Apple Macintosh in 1987, its purchase by Microsoft later that same year, and through the software's subsequent versions — with the bulk of this collection covering versions 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0. The records in this collection include Dennis Austin's notes and design drawings, PowerPoint source code, program and feature descriptions, correspondence, user's manuals, promotional materials, and business records from Forethought and Microsoft's Graphics Business Unit (GBU). Since the late 1980s, PowerPoint has had a significant cultural impact on how people give presentations.
- Biographical / historical:
-
First released in 1987, PowerPoint is the standard in presentation software. It has been included with Microsoft Office since the software suite's first release in 1990. Dennis Austin designed and developed PowerPoint while working at Forethought, Inc., in Mountain View and Sunnyvale, California. He worked closely with Robert Gaskins, who conceived the program, and Tom Rudkin, who helped develop it. Born May 28, 1947, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Austin studied electrical engineering at University of Virginia, then attended graduate school at Arizona State University, MIT, and UC Santa Barbara. He worked as a software architect for Burroughs Corporation and Gavilan Computers before joining Forethought in 1984. He worked for Microsoft from 1987 to 1996.
Originally called Presenter, PowerPoint was intended to be a simple program for the creation of professional-looking presentations. PowerPoint was first developed for Apple Macintosh because of the computer's simpler programming interface, superior graphical and textual systems, and eager user base, and Forethought was the first company Apple invested in. The first Mac version was released April 20, 1987. Four months later, Microsoft purchased Forethought and the rights to PowerPoint for $14 million in its first significant software acquisition. Microsoft continues to release PowerPoint software, building upon the initial version with color, animation, and the slideshow it is now known for.
For a more detailed history of PowerPoint see: Sweating bullets : notes about inventing PowerPoint, by Robert Gaskins.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Dennis Austin, 2012.
- Processing information:
-
Bo Doub and Kim Hayden, 2015.
Processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources, Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged into 5 series:
Series 1, Forethought, Inc. records, 1984-1987
Series 2, PowerPoint source code records, 1985-1988, bulk 1988
Series 3, PowerPoint versions, 1987-1994
Series 4, Notes and correspondence, 1985-1996
Series 5, Promotional materials, user's manuals, and ephemera, 1984-2007, bulk 1986-1995
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the Computer History Museum,s collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer History Museum.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], [Date], Dennis Austin PowerPoint records, Lot X6642.2013, Box [#], Folder [#], Computer History Museum.
- Location of this collection:
-
1401 Shoreline Blvd.Mountain View, CA 94043, US
- Contact:
- (650) 810-1010