<s>
Lifeboat	O
Associates	O
was	O
a	O
New	O
York	O
City	O
company	O
that	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
software	B-Application
distributors	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
and	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lifeboat	O
acted	O
as	O
an	O
independent	O
software	B-Application
broker	O
marketing	O
software	B-Application
to	O
major	O
hardware	O
vendors	O
such	O
as	O
Xerox	O
,	O
HP	O
and	O
Altos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Magazine	O
in	O
1982	O
wrote	O
that	O
Lifeboat	O
"	O
has	O
published	O
and	O
marketed	O
more	O
CP/M	B-Application
application	O
programs	O
on	O
more	O
8-bit	O
machines	O
than	O
anyone	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
1983	O
InfoWorld	O
said	O
that	O
Lifeboat	O
was	O
the	O
largest	O
publisher	O
of	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
software	B-Application
in	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lifeboat	O
Associates	O
successfully	O
combined	O
many	O
roles	O
,	O
including	O
publisher	O
and	O
distributor	O
,	O
and	O
actively	O
solicited	O
authors	O
for	O
software	B-Application
products	O
that	O
met	O
its	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
distributed	O
T/Maker	B-Application
(	O
written	O
by	O
Peter	O
Roizen	O
)	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
programs	I-Application
designed	O
for	O
the	O
personal	O
computer	O
user	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
a	O
step	O
beyond	O
the	O
similar	O
VisiCalc	B-Application
program	O
by	O
offering	O
text-processing	O
capability	O
,	O
and	O
The	O
Boss	O
Financial	O
Accounting	O
System	O
(	O
written	O
by	O
John	O
Burns	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
$2495	O
package	O
for	O
CP/M	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
accounting	O
programs	O
for	O
micro-computers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
Lifeboat	O
Associates	O
started	O
collecting	O
and	O
distributing	O
user-written	O
"	O
free	O
"	O
software	B-Application
,	O
initially	O
for	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
was	O
XMODEM	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
reliable	O
communication	O
via	O
modem	B-Application
and	O
phone	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
1986	O
,	O
Voyager	O
Software	B-Application
Corp	O
acquired	O
Lifeboat	O
Associates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
1986	O
,	O
Programmer	O
's	O
Paradise	O
was	O
started	O
by	O
Voyager	O
Software	B-Application
as	O
a	O
catalog	O
marketer	O
of	O
technical	O
software	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1988	O
,	O
Voyager	O
acquired	O
Corsoft	O
Inc.	O
,	O
a	O
corporate	O
reseller	O
founded	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
and	O
combined	O
it	O
with	O
the	O
operations	O
of	O
the	O
Programmer	O
's	O
Paradise	O
catalog	O
and	O
Lifeboat	O
Associates	O
,	O
both	O
of	O
which	O
marketed	O
technical	O
software	B-Application
for	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
1995	O
,	O
Voyager	O
Software	B-Application
Corp	O
.	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
"	O
Programmers	O
Paradise	O
,	O
Inc.	O
"	O
and	O
consolidated	O
its	O
U.S.	O
catalog	O
and	O
software	B-Application
publishing	O
operations	O
in	O
a	O
new	O
subsidiary	O
,	O
Programmers	O
Paradise	O
Catalogs	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
and	O
its	O
wholesale	O
distribution	O
operations	O
in	O
a	O
new	O
subsidiary	O
,	O
Lifeboat	O
Distribution	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
