Item Details

Description

The Dennis Austin PowerPoint records contain materials documenting the design and development of the slide show presentation software, PowerPoint. The bulk of the collection is from 1986 to 1994 during the time that Dennis Austin was working as a software developer on what became PowerPoint, first at Forethought, Inc. and then at Microsoft after Forethought was purchased by Microsoft in 1987. 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). PowerPoint has been included with Microsoft Office from Office’s first release in 1990. Dennis Austin had an important role in PowerPoint’s design and growth and his records form a unique perspective on one of the most widely-used pieces of software in the world. 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 Biographical/Historical Note 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 .

Level of description

Folder

Date

1984-2007, 1985-1994

Publisher

Computer History Museum (Publisher)

Extent

4.67 linear feet in 3 record cartons and 1 oversize box

Subject

Computer Programming, Computer Software, Computer Software Industry

Collection title

Dennis Austin PowerPoint records

Credit

Gift of Dennis Austin

Catalogue number

102733943

Lot number

X6642.2013