During a flying visit to Barcelona, Aldus Corp president Paul Brainerd spoke of the reduction of computer prices and exposure to different types of user that had strengthened Aldus’ consumer division. In an interview with Computerworld Espana, he described 1991 as a record year for Aldus with the appearance of 13 new or updated products. Given the circumstances, zero profit growth was not a bad result, the recession having struck particularly hard in the second half of 1991, severely affecting the graphics sector, especially in France, England and Sweden. Brainerd said he was pleased with progress in 1992, with sales growth of 9% in the first quarter representing $44.1m and $6.3m of profits. Future sales will determine whether Aldus sets up an autonomous Spanish outlet. Brainerd said he saw Spain as one of the European Community countries with most potential, but was concerned about pirating. Current Aldus projects include an excursion towards Unix, with pen computer-based operating systems and close collaboration with Microsoft and Apple Computer Inc on new versions such as Windows NT. Aldus programs will be adapted for Pen Windows, but the PenPoint system will require a complete redesign. If Aldus plans for Unix did not seem very precise, Brainerd explained, it was because of the diversity of versions available, particularly with graphic interfaces. Aldus was very interested in Taligent and object-oriented programming and saw great future prospects for multimedia. The first version of Persuasion, for example, has adapted the possibilities of QuickTime, and the result is the integration of sound, animation and video into the same program. Aldus is working on two new versions of its flagship Pagemaker desktop publishing program; the Spanish version of 4.2 will appear very soon, but the Spanish 5.0 will not surface before 1993 – according to Brainerd, quality control is so tight that the testing and correcting take longer than development.
