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Dennis Austin PowerPoint records
X6642.2013
X6642.2013
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Table of contents
Title:
Dennis Austin PowerPoint records
Identifier/Call Number: X6642.2013
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
4.67 Linear feet
3 record cartons and 1 oversize box
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1985-1994
Date (inclusive): 1984-2007
creator:
Austin, Dennis
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.
The collection is open for research.
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.
[Identification of Item], [Date], Dennis Austin PowerPoint records, Lot X6642.2013, Box [#], Folder [#], Computer History
Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Dennis Austin, 2012.
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
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 .
Scope and Content of the Collection
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.
Commercial software, ephemera, and media items were separated from the main collection. The software includes Typing Intrigue,
Forethought PowerPoint (1987), Forethought FileMaker Plus (1986), and various versions of Microsoft PowerPoint. The Ephemera
and media include a PowerPoint mouse pad, buttons, badges, and Desktop Publishing on VHS. To view catalog records for the
separated items please search CHM's online catalog at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search .
Austin, Dennis oral history, 2015-03-31, Lot X7445.2015, Catalog number 102740062
Beginnings of PowerPoint: A Personal Technical Story, 2009, Lot X6511.2012, Catalog number 102745695
Kramlich, Dick (C. Richard) oral history, 2015-03-31, Lot X7447.2015, Catalog number 102740064
PowerPoint demonstrations and panel discussion : Dennis Austin and Thomas A. Rudkin, 2015-03-30, Lot X7444.2015, Catalog number
102740061
Rudkin, Tom (Thomas A.) oral history, 2015-03-31, Lot X7446.2015, Catalog number 102740063
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Austin, Dennis
Computer programming
Computer software
Computer software design
Computer software industry
Computer software--Development
Microsoft PowerPoint (Computer file)
Source code (Computer Science)