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| The modern computer
The modern PC-compatible's popularity is based on two main factors: IBM and Visicalc. When IBM decided to enter the market for personal computers they added a degree of respectability. After all, wasn't it said that you couldn't get sacked for buying IBM?
Nonetheless, personal computers would have remained an expensive toy had not Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston come up with Visicalc. Visicalc was not the first row and column program, nor was it the first accounting program. In fact, it was not an accounting program at all. As Bob explains on Dan's website, "... VisiCalc was not an accounting program at all, it just made it possible for people to do accounting. Programs that were overly tuned for such function (Javelin, Lotus Improv, etc.) completely failed...What made VisiCalc novel was the ability to not only interact but have it learn by example. Again, VisiCalc doesn't summarize or do anything, it is just a tool to allow others to work out their ideas and reduce the tedium of repeating the same calculations." But it was a tool that financial officers found invaluable and were therefore able to justify spending money on. The personal computer as a business necessity was born and the spreadsheet was the application that made it happen. Various software companies over the years have offered spreadsheets and, today, the most popular is Excel, mostly sold as part of Microsoft Office. Our hints will help you get more out of whatever spreadsheet you have on your computer. |
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