An article from PC Magazine describing that newcomer Microsoft Excel. A New Face for Spreadsheets.
List Price: $495
Requires: AT or 386-based PC, 640 K RAM, hard disk, color/graphics monitor, DOS 3.0 or later, EGA, expanded memory, and mouse recommended.
In Short: A powerful, full-featured, graphics-interface spreadsheet that could seriously threaten 1-2-3. Not copy protected.
Ah, memories.
Pretty interesting…
XL comes in with TWICE as many max rows as 1-2-3. Note, it still has the same number of max columns as of Office 2003.
Interesting that today is Halloween: “Circle 666 on reader service card.”
Those were the days. 640kb should be enough RAM for anyone, I believe someone once said.
And you try telling that to the young people of today – and they won’t believe you.
(c) M. Python
Those were the day. Aw man… now I’m getting all weepy.
I submit the following statement as understatement of the 1980s:
“And Microsoft has the muscle and determination to move markets.”
The thing I always remember about the initial release is that it was not copy protected, Bill Gates at that time wanted Excel onto as many computers as possible to get everyone hooked.
And lo, everyone was hooked. At which point the dealers became less friendly, it was harder to score some Excel from a friend, and the price rocketed. And the product continued to make you feel pretty good most of the time, but occasionally completely turn your brain to mush.
Remind you of any other “business” practice? ;-)
Mike –
It’s that other industry that calls its customers “users”, right?
“Bill Gates at that time wanted Excel onto as many computers as possible to get everyone hooked”….. and then Dumped 2007 on us….now we are stuck :-(