17. The Power of Simplicity

Founded in April 1980 by three seasoned Hewlett-Packard minicomputer executives, Software Publishing Corporation was an early leader in productivity software for the Apple II, IBM PC, and other microcomputer platforms. After achieving rapid growth with a series of simple, modular, and easy-to-use applications targeting novice users, SPC shifted focus in the late 1980s to power users with its industry-leading business presentation software Harvard Graphics. But by the mid-1990s, SPC's dependence on this single program led to its decline and ultimate acquisition by an upstart new media company that eventually collapsed under the weight of the early 2000s dot-com bust.

• Computer Chronicles Revisited 85 — WordStar 4.0, WordPerfect 4.2, Microsoft Word for MS-DOS 4.0, and OfficeWriter 5.0
• Computer Chronicles Revisited 88 — Double Helix, PFS Professional File, and R:BASE
• Computer Chronicles Revisited 110 — Draw Applause, EnerGraphics, Freelance Plus, and Harvard Graphics
• Computer Chronicles Revisited 128 — Letters On-Line, Grammatik III, Wordbench, and the SelecTronics WordFinder WF-224
• Computer Chronicles #206 — Computers and the Disabled (1985)
• Computer Chronicles #520 — Business Graphics, Part 2 (1988)
• Computer Chronicles #1106 — ETRE 1993 Barcelona (1993)
• 'Fred Gibbons: Now Targeting the Power User' (Paul Freiberger, LOTUS, 1986)
• 'Harvard Graphics Leadership Plan' (Software Publishing Corporation, 1988)
• 'The Engineer's Tale: The Founding of Software Publishing Corporation' (IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 2008)
• 'Oral History of John Page' (Computer History Museum, 2017)
• They Create Worlds #162 — Spinnaker Software (2022)
• Podcast Music: 'Scenic Detour' by Melody Ayres-Griffiths
• Podcast Cover Art Background: 'Large Triangles' by SVGBackgrounds.com