<s>
Launched	O
in	O
1981	O
by	O
London-based	O
Rainbow	O
Software	O
(	O
now	O
Showcase	B-Application
Presentations	I-Application
Ltd	O
)	O
and	O
running	O
on	O
Apple	O
II	O
computers	O
with	O
just	O
16k	O
of	O
RAM	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
commercial	O
computer-based	O
presentation	O
system	O
displaying	O
directly	O
onto	O
RGB	O
monitors	O
or	O
projectors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
did	O
n't	O
make	O
much	O
impact	O
until	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
;	O
Rainbow	O
lacked	O
the	O
resources	O
to	O
redevelop	O
the	O
system	O
from	O
scratch	O
on	O
to	O
this	O
new	O
format	O
with	O
poor	O
graphic	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Rainbow	O
name	O
was	O
eventually	O
dropped	O
in	O
favour	O
of	O
Showcase	B-Application
Presentations	I-Application
Ltd	O
,	O
which	O
became	O
a	O
service	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1990	O
Windows	B-Application
3	I-Application
appeared	O
and	O
combined	O
with	O
a	O
Compaq	B-Device
Portable	I-Device
386	I-Device
and	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
program	O
called	O
PowerPoint	B-Application
,	O
the	O
route	O
to	O
the	O
future	O
seemed	O
clear	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Showcase	B-Application
Presentations	I-Application
rapidly	O
became	O
a	O
high-profile	O
support	O
company	O
,	O
creating	O
presentations	O
for	O
major	O
blue	O
chip	O
companies	O
and	O
working	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
