Hey everyone, I wanted to share a new article on my blog, Stone Tools. This time I look at Lotus 1-2-3, to understand what it did that crushed VisiCalc so rapidly and thoroughly. At one point I struggled with making a chart out of my dBase II data, and got assistance from an “AI” from 1985. I respect VisiCalc for its simplicity and forward-thinking (for the time) vision, but I learned in this investigation that 1-2-3’s DNA is just as prevalant in today’s modern spreadsheets. Heck, Microsoft Excel documentation still contains references to Lotus 1-2-3 (but not VisiCalc).
I hope the community enjoys the writeup. Cheers!