History of PowerPoint
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ScribdTranslationsHistory of PowerPoint
Uploaded by
ScribdTranslationsHISTORY OF POWERPOINT
When we refer to the history of PowerPoint, in many ways we are referring to
the history of electronic presentations.
I will try to narrate the evolutionary path that PowerPoint took, from its infancy when it was
known as Presenter, a basic slide creation program, to its state
currently the undisputed champion in the world of presentation software.
Just over 14 years ago, we did not know the impact that Microsoft would have on our lives.
lives as speakers and professors, when this company launched the first
viable presentation software called PowerPoint.
At that time, the options we had to prepare slides were very simple.
We wrote with the help of a typewriter (generally, a ball IBM) the text
what we needed and then we photographed it with the help of a close-up lens and
special filters as I have already explained in another article on this Blog.
That way of producing slides was somewhat cheap, and compared to what
we can do nowadays, quite basic, archaic, and very manual. But it was our only
option since although there were other ways to achieve slides, a small one was required
fortune.
Color slides generated by computers were beyond the reach of most.
the users. It was not uncommon in those times for a simple text slide made by a
A graphic artist will cost hundreds of dollars.
At the beginning of our career, we weren't very sophisticated in the way we presented a
conference, simply because we didn't believe we needed to be. Well, at least that
we believed.
In the mid-1980s, two software producers in a small office in California called
Forethought, Inc. was quietly developing the first presentation software.
graphics for the personal computer. It seems they knew very well what they were
forethought
means 'premeditation', to realize.
The initial efforts of these two software producers were poorly rewarded. A
a series of investment companies declined to invest in the program that was known as
"Presenter" and that was directed to the Mac platform, specifically to the computer.
personal Apple Mac II.
But Bob Gaskins, owner of the company Forethought, Inc. and co-producer of the program, whose
I haven't been able to find the name anywhere, they did not lose hope. After two
After years of negotiations (1985-87), they finally sold the company and its software to the giant.
Microsoft Corporation (Bill Gates) for the small sum of US millions.
It didn't take Microsoft long to take advantage of its new acquisition. In September
In 1987, it launched its PowerPoint 1.0, forever changing the world of
graphic presentations.
Although this PowerPoint 1.0, available in black and white for the Apple Macintosh and for the
DOS operating system for the PC had only the most basic drawing tools, took off.
quickly. Sales in the first year exceeded one million dollars, as the
the program was securing the top position, mainly on Mac computers,
around the English-speaking world.
While this was happening, Microsoft embarked on a crusade to improve the program. Due to
that the company Genigraphics knew more about presentation graphics than anyone else in
at that time, Microsoft forced a strategic alliance with that company. In that way
provide the software giant with the much-needed graphic knowledge or 'know-how'
to accelerate the development of PowerPoint.
The pre-designed templates created by the designers at Genigraphics helped the
presenters to produce professional presentations with little effort. But as the
The idea of 'do it yourself' began to catch on, representing a direct threat to the business.
principal of Genigraphics, as well as anyone else who made a living creating
35 mm professional slides.
In May 1988, Microsoft announced a major update for PowerPoint, the version
2.0.PowerPoint 2.0 had many improvements (much needed) that made the graphics of
more practical presentations for the presenter.
The team of artists and software producers from Genigraphics and Microsoft started again.
another great crusade, creating the Windows version of PowerPoint.
In May 1990, Microsoft announced the release of PowerPoint 2.0 for Windows. Sales
they climbed to more than ten million dollars in the first year, as the presenters
they discovered the joy of being able to save a presentation in its entirety in a single file.
Among the new features of this version, there was the possibility of creating graphs.
statistical, a broader collection of clip-art (pre-designed art), the ability to
import text from the Microsoft Word text processing program, grids or
alignment grids and much better drawing controls.
As Windows-based computers began to take over
command in the world of computing, the launch in April 1992 of PowerPoint 3.0 for
Windows (referred to by Microsoft as 'the infernal project') brought built-in changes
dramatic in the interface that was supposed to make the program more user-friendly.
Object linking and embedding, better known
in computing like OLE§they created a clean environment to copy and paste components from
Word, Excel and other Windows applications directly within PowerPoint.
PowerPoint XP (2002, ver.10.0)
PowerPoint XP does not depart radically from its predecessor PowerPoint 2000, but includes
many new and improved features.
The changes in the review options drastically reduce the amount of navigation that
It is required to create a presentation.
In previous versions, you had to switch views in order to see thumbnails of your
presentation. The amended normal view includes the text of each slide or RGP and also
a thumbnail view of your charts placed under some indicators on the left of the
screen.
The task panes in PowerPoint XP allow one-click access to the
design templates, color combinations, animation options, and tools
of review.
Although the options for colors and presentation templates are mostly
similar to those in PowerPoint 2000, use the task pane to view the options and stay informed about
her favorites require less effort.