[HN Gopher] VisiCalc - The Early Days (2003)
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       VisiCalc - The Early Days (2003)
        
       Author : hggh
       Score  : 41 points
       Date   : 2024-08-06 14:25 UTC (3 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (benlo.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (benlo.com)
        
       | inktype wrote:
       | See also: https://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/lotus123.html
       | 
       | And: https://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/linux123.html /
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31455968
        
       | WillAdams wrote:
       | One of my more vivid memories from childhood was the guy who
       | pulled up to the computer store in a Trans Am, walked up to the
       | counter and said, "I want a Visicalc."
       | 
       | After the salesperson explained that it was a computer program
       | which ran on an Apple ][, the guy said something to the effect
       | of, "Set me up with what I need.", and the salesperson proceeded
       | to put together pretty much one of everything in the store all of
       | which was then loaded into the Trans Am, and after writing a
       | check, the hopeful accountant drove off.
       | 
       | A while back, when I read the book _Diver's Down: Adventure
       | Beneath Hawaiian Seas_ to my kids I had to explain what slide
       | rules and adding machines and ledger sheets were --- it's really
       | remarkable how we have finally reached Babbage's exclamation:
       | 
       | >"I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam."
        
         | jkaptur wrote:
         | That setup cost in the neighborhood of five thousand dollars
         | (adjusted for inflation). Spreadsheets are amazing.
        
           | Jtsummers wrote:
           | The Apple II was originally priced at $1298 in 1977 dollars,
           | that's more than $6700 today. A "one of everything" setup
           | would be 5-figures in today's dollars. Even the later Apple
           | IIe cost over $4k adjusted to today's dollars.
        
       | fuzztester wrote:
       | Related:
       | 
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_1-2-3
       | 
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quattro_Pro
       | 
       | ( When version 1.0 was in development, it was codenamed "Buddha"
       | since it was meant to "assume the Lotus position". )
        
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       (page generated 2024-08-09 23:00 UTC)