Xara is a UK-based software company founded in 1981. It has developed for a variety of computer platforms, in chronological order: The Acorn Atom, BBC Micro, Z88, Atari ST, Acorn Archimedes, Microsoft Windows and Linux. It was originally called Computer Concepts, Ltd.; the company name was changed in 1995 to Xara, Ltd. and later to The Xara Group, Ltd.

On 30 January 2007, MAGIX AG announced its acquisition of the group.^[1]

Products

BBC Micro

• Wordwise - a ROM based word processor
• Disc Doctor - utility software
• Graphics ROM - graphics utilities
• SpellMaster - a ROM-based spell checker. Believed to be the world's first check-as-you-type spell checker
• Inter-Word, Inter-Sheet, Inter-Chart, Inter-Base - a suite of ROM based productivity applications

Atari ST

• Fast BASIC - a ROM-based, BBC Basic-like semi-compiled Basic language
• Fast ASM - 68000 assembler

Archimedes

• ArtWorks - vector graphics drawing software. The predecessor to Xara X. Launched in 1991 it was the world's first drawing program to offer real-time vector anti-aliasing along with many other innovations.
• Impression - award winning DTP package (and variants Impression Style, Impression Publisher).
• Equasor - equation building tool
• AudioWorks - audio editor
• WordWorks - English dictionary and Thesaurus
• TurboDrivers - a range of printer drivers
• MacFS - utility to read and write Apple Mac discs
• Compression - general purpose zip-like compression utility

The company also developed a range of hardware for the Acorn Archimedes including:

• ColourCard - graphics card - the first to produce 24bpp video for the Acorn
• ScanLight - a range of hand-held and flatbed scanners and software
• LaserDirect - a range of laser printers. The company developed the world's first 600dpi that retailed under £1000 (it purchased printer engines from Canon Inc, and using its own drivers and laser modulation techniques (hardware and software) was able to increase the resolution to 600dpi.

Windows

With the advent of a 32-bit OS (Windows 95 and Windows NT), development switched from the Acorn to Windows platform. The first product was a re-write of the ArtWorks product. This involved a team of 20+ developers, who worked for more than two years to produce a competitor to then market-leading drawing software CorelDRAW. The result was Xara Studio, which was initially licensed to Corel who released it as CorelXARA in 1995. Corel marketed it as a web-oriented companion to CorelDRAW, but it was clearly designed as a stand-alone alternative to the older software. In 2000, Xara released the software themselves as Xara X, which was superseded by Xara X¹ in 2004, Xara Xtreme in 2005. In 2006 a Pro version of Xara Xtreme was released, aptly named Xara Xtreme Pro.

Subsequent products developed include Xara Webster (a cut down version of Xara Studio), Xara Webstyle, Xara 3D and Xara MenuMaker.

Free software

In 2005 Xara announced it would release an Open Source/Free Software port of the Xara Xtreme software for Linux and Mac OS X under the GNU General Public License. The port is still in its first stages and, while usable, currently lacks major features such as the colour editor and the animations.

Xara Networks

In 1995, a subsidiary company called Xara Networks, Ltd. was formed, specializing in the provision of high-bandwidth Internet connectivity to companies and ISPs. Xara Networks was subsequently sold to the ITG group in London, most commonly known for the Global Internet brand, and was subsequently renamed GX Networks. ^[2]

Location

Since 1984, the company has been headquartered in Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, an 18th century Palladian style villa, designed by the celebrated architect James Wyatt, built in 1768 and reputed to be his first building in the UK.

References

External links

• Xara Home Page
• Complete documentation of the XAR file format
• The official Xara 25th anniversary history page
• Xara Xone: Xara Xtreme resource site

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