VisiCorp

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VisiCorp was an early personal computer software publisher. Its most famous products are VisiOn and VisiCalc.

It was founded in 1976 by Dan Fylstra and Peter R. Jennings as Personal Software, and first published Jennings' Microchess program for the MOS Technology KIM-1 computer, and later Commodore PET and Apple II versions. It later published a wider variety of games and some applications programs. In 1979 it released VisiCalc, which would be so successful that in 1982 the company was renamed "VisiCorp".

• VisiCalc was the first electronic spreadsheet for personal computers, developed by Software Arts and published by VisiCorp.
• VisiOn was the first GUI for the IBM PC.

Early alumni of this company included Ed Esber who would later run Ashton-Tate, Bill Coleman who would found BEA Systems, Mitch Kapor founder of Lotus Software and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Rich Melmon who would co-found Electronic Arts, Bruce Wallace author of Asteroids in Space, and Brad Templeton who would found early dot-com Clarinet (company).

VisiCorp was sold to Paladin Software after a legal feud between Software Arts and VisiCorp.

[edit] External links

• VisiCorp - VisiCorp information on Ed Esber's official website.
• VisiCorp 1978-1984 (Revised) - A history of VisiCorp from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.