Visicalc: Father Of The Spreadsheet
Steven Levy reminded me that in 1979, Visical, the first spreadsheet program for personal computers and the app that turned the Apple II into a serious business machine. Here’s a DOS copy you can run today. [Wiki, briklin]
Gizmodo ‘79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analogue age gave way to the digital, and most of our favourite toys were just being born.
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Oh, wow. I may still have a copy of that Visicalc reference card packed away somewhere.
taodude
My second job in the industry (after being a line technician for the Color Computer) was phone support for business software...including VisiCalc (and ProFile).
Opie
I used SuperCalc and I used it for everything. Even stuff that didn't require any math, lol.
@elitesoulman: exactly what i was thinking.
ninjajazza
I think I still have a copy of "Invisicalc," which was the the joke version. It is a 5.25" floppy with the magnetic medium removed.
Dacker
I still remember playiing around with that on my Apple II+.
Noobs-R-Us
There has got to be a vim plugin to do this...
Confuzius
And then someone ruined it with Merge.
Stikman008
If I could only remember how the darned thing worked, I could replace my Excel!
Then again, probably not!
I had a really great anecdote but lost all three paragraphs to a comments glitch. :(
Long story short: Those were interesting days.
Wow, very green and black. I was too young to use computers during the late 70's and early 80's, but can recall my uncle and older sister using those recoil spring back clanky beige keyboards. Blah.
I grew up with the computers that had white text on blue background "Amiga" and "Epson" era I presume. Also, the early Mac's that had that white "turtle" cursor where you had to move using X and Y axis coordinates. Man, now I'm starting to feel old.
LouisJebber
@elitesoulman: Do I take it you are an American ?
@IAmNotSam: Remember, these are 1979 prices, Im guessing this was a top of the line model back then.
Mmmm, visicalc, good times. I remember messing with my first spreadsheet on an Apple IIe, made up a sheet to calculate starship building for a play-by-mail game.
Play-by-mail game, roll that one around in your head for a while, hahaha. I kind of miss it.
bitgod
Damn, I've never been able to get a muck rake for less than $20. This guy must have negotiated a volume discount.
IAmNotSam
@elitesoulman:
Probably because the guy didn't own an apple II
mocax
@elitesoulman:
"This version of the program is very similar to the original VisiCalc that first came out on the Apple II in 1979." - from the DOS copy link in the article :)
tdk08
Does anyone else find the fact that this program was originally made for the Apple II, and that you are offering us a DOS version, ironic?