Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

How computing's first 'killer app' changed everything
BBC ^ | 5/22/2019 | Tim Harford

Posted on 05/22/2019 8:21:56 AM PDT by Borges

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-63 next last
To: newfreep

“I transitioned to Excel and Word....and still have v2007 on my laptop “

I have Office v2003 on all of my (Windows 7) PCs — Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc. DH put Office 365 on his Windows 10 laptops and it’s a hot mess.

I also have WordPerfect, but don’t use it as much, as it’s not any better than Word now. The DOS version was great. Once it went to Windows it lost a lot of it’s good features.


41 posted on 05/22/2019 11:23:19 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: billorites

Supercalc was a good one too. Lotus for DOS was always my favorite. DbaseIII was the other killer ap. It had a very handy SQL programming language that made desktop PC computers sing.


42 posted on 05/22/2019 12:09:57 PM PDT by FXRP (Just me and the pygmy pony)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Swordmaker
The program used backslash commands, in part because the programmer had a lifelong injury to one of his fingers. :^) It was the software that built the market for hardware, period.

43 posted on 05/22/2019 12:11:12 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Retrofitted
From my DP101 instructor, circa 1978: “If you have to do it more than once, write a program.”

Back in the 1970s, I was doing taxes for my family and relatives. I wrote my own tax program for my Apple II in 1978, and continually modified it as needed. Should have marketed it, but missed the boat on that. I later bought a program, I think it was called Accu-Tax which pretty much did what my program did and stopped updating my program. Back then the Feds allowed lots of deductions that complicated programming; now taxes are simple enough to do manually.

As for spreadsheets, I pretty much used all of them including VisiCalc, and preferred products that worked on my CP/M processor on my Apple-II.

44 posted on 05/22/2019 12:12:11 PM PDT by roadcat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: FXRP
DbaseIII was the other killer ap. It had a very handy SQL programming language that made desktop PC computers sing.

I agree, and loved dBaseIII. Besides using it early on with my Apple computers, in the late 1980s I programmed a system for a Wang mini-computer shop with dBase code that I compiled into machine code. It allowed their data entry staff to enter and track employee hours and pay for hundreds of employees. dBase made it a snap to write.

45 posted on 05/22/2019 12:18:24 PM PDT by roadcat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Borges
Back in the late 70s, at Texas Instruments, there was a scientist we nicknamed "Barefoot Joe" (because of his penchant for wearing sandals sans socks). The guy became an self-annointed "evangelist" for VisiCalc -- because he comprehended the awesome power of a program that made the contents of one cell a function of numerous other cells -- many of which were, themselves, complex functions of other cells.

Of course, those functions need not be accounting functions, they could be the most complex of scientific and/or engineering functions!! And, changing the value of a single cell could be calculated into the output of any number of "dependent cells...

For those of us scientists/engineers who comprehended what Joe was saying, we followed his lead and moved into a totally new realm of computational power!

I must admit, VisiCalc forever expanded my concept of the accessible, practical power of computational mathematics -- right in the hands of the end user. (No stacks of punch cards needed...)

46 posted on 05/22/2019 12:22:01 PM PDT by TXnMA (Truman: "The Buck Stops Here." | 0b0z0: "The Chain Gang Begins Here!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bonemaker
Lotus 1 2 3 and Quattro Pro were just about the coolest.

Agreed. I always wondered why Quattro didn't sue MS Excel for stealing all its goodies, separate tabs, etc.

47 posted on 05/22/2019 12:26:31 PM PDT by DeFault User
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: TXnMA

Or teletype paper tape. We had little tools for punching holes in the medium by hand when the need arose. These were called ‘chicken pluckers.”


48 posted on 05/22/2019 12:32:56 PM PDT by sparklite2 (Don't mind me. I'm just a contrarian.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: Bonemaker
Quattro Pro was, indeed, a great program. IMO, it was only Microsoft's predatory (and monopolistic) marketing practices that killed it -- and left Excel as de facto "king"...
49 posted on 05/22/2019 12:35:48 PM PDT by TXnMA (Truman: "The Buck Stops Here." | 0b0z0: "The Chain Gang Begins Here!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Swordmaker
Apologies! Intended to ping you to #46 and #49 ...

TXnMA
  

50 posted on 05/22/2019 12:41:16 PM PDT by TXnMA (Truman: "The Buck Stops Here." | 0b0z0: "The Chain Gang Begins Here!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Quality_Not_Quantity

Lol. An old techie person. :)


51 posted on 05/22/2019 1:08:05 PM PDT by dhs12345
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: jaydubya2
There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.

Well, I still don't (but I do sit in front of one all day long, so it's not like I'm a Luddite or something...)

52 posted on 05/22/2019 1:12:40 PM PDT by Quality_Not_Quantity (A law means nothing if it isnÂ’t followed.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Borges

i still remember the awe i felt when i first saw Excel on a Macintosh ... i was totally blown away and instantly recognized the revolution GUI programs were going to spawn ...


53 posted on 05/22/2019 1:21:19 PM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Borges

I bought VisiCalc early on to use on our Apple 2. Then Lotus 1-2-3 was introduced and I thought “This is going nowhere. They won’t be able to knock off Visicalc.”

I switched to Lotus 1-2-3.

Then Microsoft Excel was introduced and I thought “This is going nowhere. They won’t be able to knock off Lotus 1-2-3.”

If you need investment advice, send me a FReepMail. ;>)


54 posted on 05/22/2019 1:38:48 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FreedomPoster

You haven’t used an antiquated pile of horse crap unless you’ve used IBM “PROFS,” their PRofessional OFfice System on a green and black terminal. There was about zero adoption at my company even though IT kept pushing it onto the company. We brought our own PCs into the company and used them with our own early Ethernet network built with our own cable and some early email system. Our CIO absolutely hated us, but our little experiment showed her we were right.


55 posted on 05/22/2019 1:48:52 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: Responsibility2nd

Yep. First spreadsheet software I learned. I loved it. Then, had to transition to Excel, which was even BETTER. Dang, some of the memories. I worked for Union Bay Sportswear in Kent, Washington,in the accounting department. Most of us had to learn it on the fly, along with some database programs. I got pretty good at it, and spent a lot of time helping the older gals set up their spreadsheets.


56 posted on 05/22/2019 2:36:29 PM PDT by Mama Shawna
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: mabarker1
lucky you dint get fired for making them all look bad...

Visicalc to Lotus to SAS, now i'm forced to use Excel

57 posted on 05/22/2019 3:58:28 PM PDT by Chode ( WeÂ’re America, Bitch!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: taxcontrol

IOW: Work smart, not hard.


58 posted on 05/22/2019 4:58:05 PM PDT by YogicCowboy ("I am not entirely on anyone's side, because no one is entirely on mine." - J. R. R. Tolkien)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Chode
I quit before they did so I could go spread Joyous ExCell Spreadsheet Gifts to all the Midvale School for the Gifted Graduates.


59 posted on 05/22/2019 5:23:57 PM PDT by mabarker1 (Congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 57 | View Replies]

To: Stanwood_Dave

Right On!!! Go for it, We need some more Real Lawyers.


60 posted on 05/22/2019 5:25:48 PM PDT by mabarker1 (Congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-63 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson