{{Short description|Developer of compression software, 1988–2004}} {{redirect-distinguish|Aladdin Systems|Aladdin Enterprises|Aladdin Knowledge Systems}} {{Primary sources|date=April 2012}} {{Infobox company | name = Allume Systems, Inc. | former_name = Aladdin Systems, Inc. (1988–2004) | logo = Allume Systems Logo.jpg | type = Subsidiary | industry = Software | founded = 1988 | founder = David Schargel, Jonathan Kahn | incorporated = January 1989 | fate = Acquired by Smith Micro Software | predecessor = Aladdin Systems | parent = Smith Micro Software (2005–) | headquarters = Watsonville, California, U.S. | products = StuffIt, InstallerMaker, ShrinkWrap, Spring Cleaning, Aquazone }}

'''Allume Systems, Inc.''' was a software developer based in Watsonville, California, best known for the StuffIt family of file compression utilities for Macintosh. The company was originally founded in 1988 as '''Aladdin Systems''' by David Schargel and Jonathan Kahn in New York City, and incorporated in January 1989.

==History== Aladdin Systems was established as a Macintosh-focused software company, building its reputation around data compression and disk management utilities. Its flagship product, StuffIt, became a widely-used standard for file compression on the Mac platform. The company also developed ''StuffIt InstallerMaker'', a software delivery suite, the ''ShrinkWrap'' disk image utility (acquired from shareware developer Chad Magendanz in 1996),<ref name=mactech-1996nov13>{{cite news |url=http://www.mactech.com/content/md1-aladdin-acquires-shrinkwrap-0 |title=Aladdin acquires ShrinkWrap |magazine=MacTech |date=November 13, 1996}}</ref><ref name=tidbits-1996nov11>{{cite news |url=http://tidbits.com/article/824 |title=ShrinkWrap 2.1 |website=TidBITS |date=November 11, 1996 |first=Geoff |last=Duncan}}</ref> and ''Spring Cleaning'', a system optimisation utility.

From 1995 the company began releasing StuffIt components for Windows, with the full ''StuffIt for Windows'' following in 2000. Ports for Linux and Solaris arrived in 2001,<ref name=lwn-2001jul09>{{cite news |url=https://lwn.net/2001/0712/pr/pr2681.php3 |title=Aladdin Ships Stuffit for Linux and Solaris |website=LWN.net |date=July 9, 2001}}</ref> though both Unix versions were later discontinued after the Smith Micro acquisition.

In April 2004, Aladdin Systems was acquired by PC software publisher International Microcomputer Software Inc. (IMSI).<ref name=svbj-2004jan21>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2004/01/19/daily29.html |title=IMSI to acquire Aladdin Systems |newspaper=Silicon Valley Business Journal |date=January 21, 2004}}</ref><ref name=macworld-2004apr20>{{cite news |url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1031354/aladdin.html |title=IMSI completes Aladdin Systems acquisition |magazine=Macworld |date=April 20, 2004 |first=Peter |last=Cohen}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, in July 2004, the company was required to change its name as part of a trademark settlement with Aladdin Knowledge Systems, adopting the name Allume Systems.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allume.com/company/pressroom/releases/allume/072604allume.html |date=2004-07-26 |publisher=Allume Systems (Retrieved from the Internet Archive.) |title=ALADDIN SYSTEMS CHANGES NAME TO ALLUME SYSTEMS |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051202012101/http://www.allume.com/company/pressroom/releases/allume/072604allume.html |archivedate=2005-12-02}}</ref><ref name=macworld-2004jul30>{{cite news |url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1035024/allume.html |title=Aladdin renames itself Allume |magazine=Macworld |date=July 30, 2004 |first=Peter |last=Cohen}}</ref><ref name=tidbits-2004aug16>{{cite news |url=http://tidbits.com/article/7773 |title=Aladdin Purchased, Becomes Allume, Sponsors TidBITS |website=TidBITS |date=August 16, 2004 |first=Adam C. |last=Engst |authorlink=Adam C. Engst}}</ref>

In 2005, Allume Systems was acquired by Smith Micro Software from IMSI.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2005/07/04/daily4.html |title=Smith Micro acquires Allume Systems |newspaper=L.A. Biz |date=July 5, 2005}}</ref><ref name=macworld-2005jul05>{{cite news |url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1045614/smithmicro.html |title=Smith Micro acquires StuffIt maker Allume |magazine=Macworld |date=July 5, 2005 |first=Peter |last=Cohen}}</ref><ref name=tidbits-2005jul11>{{cite news |url=http://tidbits.com/article/8165 |title=Smith Micro Acquires Allume |website=TidBITS |date=July 11, 2005 |first=Geoff |last=Duncan}}</ref> Under Smith Micro, the company expanded its catalogue to include graphics, imaging, internet security and utility software.

==Products== The core product line developed under the Aladdin Systems name included:<ref name=10ksb-2001>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1098875/0001005477-02-001250.txt |title=2001 SEC Form 10-KSB Annual Report |date=2001 |publisher=SEC}}</ref>

*'''StuffIt''' — file compression and archiving utilities, the company's flagship product *'''StuffIt InstallerMaker''' — a software delivery and installation suite *'''ShrinkWrap''' — a disk image utility acquired from shareware developer Chad Magendanz in 1996 *'''Spring Cleaning''' — a system optimisation and maintenance utility *'''Aquazone''' — a marine aquarium simulation program<ref>{{Cite web |last=Salminen |first=Carl |date=2005-03-26 |title=A game by any other name |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2005/03/games-20050325/ |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://my.smithmicro.com/ Smith Micro Software]

Category:Watsonville, California Category:Companies based in Santa Cruz County, California Category:Software companies established in 1988 Category:2005 mergers and acquisitions Category:Defunct software companies of the United States {{US-software-company-stub}}