Spinnaker Software

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Spinnaker Software
Fate	Merged
Successor	Softkey International
Founded	1980's
Defunct	1994
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Industry	Educational software

Spinnaker Software was a software company known primarily for its line of popular Apple II-based educational software, which was a major seller during the 1980s. It was not very successful following the wholesale transition to PC-based machines in schools in the early 1990s, and attempted to enter the low-cost business market by purchasing PowerUp! Software 1993. In 1994 it merged with WordStar International and SoftKey to become SoftKey International, now part of The Learning Company.

For many the name Spinnaker remains synonymous with its first "hit" product, In Search of the Most Amazing Thing, a graphics adventure that took the player on an adventure while trying to track down the title object. The game was fairly unique for the era, combining a number of different modes of play in a non-confrontational problem solving environment. Spinnaker also created such games as Fraction Fever and Facemaker.

One of its later products of note was WinPlus, a HyperCard clone originally known simply as "Plus," that Spinnaker purchased from a 3rd party and which ran on the Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows and IBM OS/2. At the time HyperCard was a huge hit on the Mac, and many were clamoring for a PC-based version. However it appears it never sold well, and they later sold the rights to Oracle, who added database support and re-branded it OracleCard, or as it is known today, Oracle Media Objects.

The Spinnaker Software products designed and programmed in 1983 for Apple II, Atari 800, and Commodore 64 systems by Interactive Picture Systems, Inc. were Trains, Aerobics, and Grandma's House.