FutureWave Software
American software company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FutureWave Software, Inc.[1] was a software development company based in San Diego, California. The company was co-founded by Charlie Jackson and Jonathan Gay on January 22, 1993.[1][2] The VP of Marketing was Michelle Alsip-Welsh, who also came from Silicon Beach Software, then Aldus Corporation.[3][4][5][6]
 The FutureWave Software logo, used from 1993 until being acquired by Macromedia | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 22, 1993 |
| Founder | Charlie Jackson Jonathan Gay |
| Defunct | December 1996 |
| Fate | Acquired by Macromedia |
| Successor | |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California, U.S. |
Area served | United States |
| Website | http://www.futurewave.com (archived 1996-11-05 from the original) |
The company's first product was SmartSketch, a drawing program for the PenPoint OS and EO tablet computer. When pen computing did not take off, SmartSketch was ported to the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh platforms.[7]
As the Internet became more popular, FutureWave realized the potential for a vector-based web animation tool that might challenge Macromedia Shockwave technology.[3] In 1995, FutureWave modified SmartSketch by adding frame-by-frame animation features and re-released it as FutureSplash Animator on Macintosh and Windows.[3][8] By that time, the company had added a second programmer Robert Tatsumi, artist Adam Grofcsik, and PR specialist Ralph Mittman.[3]
In December 1996, FutureWave was acquired by Macromedia, who renamed the animation editor Macromedia Flash.[8]
