SmartSketch was an early vector-based graphics application from FutureWave Software that eventually evolved into Flash.
Product history[]
Prior to working on SmartSketch, Jonathan Gay had developed another vector graphics program, IntelliDraw, at Silicon Beach Software.[1][2] Silicon Beach was acquired by Aldus Corporation in 1990.[3] Gay left Silicon Beach with co-founder Charlie Jackson to establish FutureWave in 1993.[4][5][6][7]
Gay convinced Jackson to invest in a graphics application that would become SmartSketch for PenPoint OS to run on graphics tablets designed by GO Corporation. After AT&T Corporation acquired the rights to the EO Personal Communicator tablets only to discontinue it, Gay and Jackson discovered that they no longer had a viable market for SmartSketch and retooled it to be able to output animated content that could be played back from any web browser. This product became FutureSplash Animator.[7][8]
FutureWave and its software were acquired by Macromedia in January 1997. FutureSplash then became known as Macromedia Flash.[9]
References[]
- ↑ Executive Bios, Macromedia. Archived 2004-06-04.
- ↑ Creating Flash: SmartSketch by Chris Kaplan, Paul Milbourne, Michael Boucher, The Essential Guide to Flash CS4 with ActionScript p.5-7. 2009-04-23.
- ↑ Aldus Corporation History, Funding Universe. Accessed 2019-11-22.
- ↑ FutureWave Software, Crunchbase. Accessed 2019-11-14.
- ↑ How A Goal-Oriented Bootstrapper Who Mortgaged His House Ended Up Fathering Flash by Andrew Warner, Mixergy. 2012-08-31.
- ↑ Showcase: The History of Flash, p.2 by Jonathan Gay, Macromedia. Archived 2006-01-14.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Showcase: The History of Flash, p.3 by Jonathan Gay, Macromedia. Archived 2006-01-14.
- ↑ Showcase: The History of Flash, p.4 by Jonathan Gay, Macromedia. Archived 2006-01-14.
- ↑ Macromedia Rides the FutureWave by Kristi Coale, Wired. 1997-01-06.
External links[]
- About SmartSketch at FutureWave Software (archived 1996-11-05)
- SmartSketch at the Macromedia Wiki
Articles[]
- From SmartSketch to Flash by Charity C. Holloway at Active Interactive (2011-09-18)
- Here Today, Gone in a Flash by Tali Scheer at Towards Data Science (2019-04-22)