- Spinnaker Software
Infobox Defunct Company
company_name = Spinnaker Software
company_
successor = Softkey International
fate = Merged
location =Cambridge, Massachusetts , USA
foundation =1980 's
defunct =1994
industry = Educationalsoftware Spinnaker Software was a
software company known primarily for its line of popularApple 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 andSoftKey to become SoftKey International, now part ofThe 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 asFraction Fever and Facemaker.One of its later products of note was
WinPlus , aHyperCard clone originally known simply as "Plus," that Spinnaker purchased from a 3rd party and which ran on theApple Macintosh ,Microsoft Windows andIBM 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.
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