When you get more than three FileMaker developers in the same room, it’s inevitable that at some point in the conversation they will start reminiscing about “the good ol’ days” of FileMaker and trying to one-up each other with how long they’ve been using FileMaker (since 2.1 in my case).
As we anticipate the release of FileMaker 18, I've gotten a little nostalgic about the FileMaker application and naturally, about some of the major milestones of The Support Group.
Everyone in the business knows that the software originally started out of a house in Concord, MA as Nashoba Systems and was distributed by Leading Edge. Several years later, Apple’s Claris division bought the application, poured more engineers and code into the program and eventually it became FileMaker, owned by FileMaker, Inc. And now we have a robust workplace innovation platform.
But did you know these interesting tidbits about The Support Group? Rich Coulombre started TSG back in September 1985. Less than a year later he was speaking at the Macworld Conference and touting the capabilities of FileMaker Pro. With a few FileMaker books and hundreds of projects under his belt, he’s had a lot of experience to share. TSG has worked with many interesting clients and on many interesting projects, including building a database to track details of a very high-profile lawsuit between the government and a major software manufacturer.
One of the most well-known things Rich and the TSG staff have done was to be the first to program a talking fish with FileMaker. Hopefully, you were one of the lucky DevCon participants who saw the fish speak whatever was typed into the database. The presentation at DevCon in 2001 was one of the most talked-about sessions that year.
Over the years both TSG and FileMaker have grown in both the complexity of the programs/solutions and in the number of satisfied customers. Here's a brief timeline of a few major milestones.
Made with Visme Infographic Maker
If you're interested in developing a custom app for your business, contact us to schedule a free consultation. We'd be happy to discuss your business needs and how we can help.
