>>> For the PC, the "killer app" was a spreadsheet program whose name I
>>> don't recall (not 123, though, I don't think; Multicalc?).
>Visicalc, IIRC, which helped make the PC ubiquitous in business.
Pretty darn close. Visicalc first appeared on the Apple II. IBM salesmen
reported that these funny little computers were beginning to appear in the
accounting department. IBM rushed their "apple-killer" PC to market,
risking the use of commodity parts (Intel processors, Seagate disc drives,
MS OS) for speed of entry to the market. It didn't sell all that well until
Lotus 123 arrived. 123 was vastly superior to Visicalc and people bought
IBM PCs, since that's what 123 ran on. Over time, Lotus offered it on
several MS-DOS computers, and the "PC-Clone" era had arrived. Meanwhile,
all the Unix vendors kept saying "this is the year of Unix" while fighting
over themselves over standards...
When IBM introduced the AT (286-based) they offered both PC-DOS and Xenix.
At last, THIS was the year Unix would win...
Ken Elliott
=====================
-----Original Message-----
From: slug@nks.net [mailto:slug@nks.net] On Behalf Of Eben King
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 8:51 AM
To: slug@nks.net
Subject: Re: [SLUG] <OT> RIP Microsoft?
On Wed, 16 Feb 2005, Paul M Foster wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 16, 2005 at 04:28:21AM -0500, Norbert Omar Cartagena wrote:
>
> > > Paul M Foster wrote:
> >
> > >On Tue, Feb 15, 2005 at 03:18:06PM -0500, Norbert Omar Cartagena wrote:
> > >
> > ><snip>
> >
> > >Also Unix companies had a superior attitude, and didn't see the
> > >need to put Unix in computer desktops. The AT&T PC was about the
> > >only one to put Unix on a desktop box. Where was the software to run on
it?
> > >
> > >
> > Sorry. During my statements I kept a complete separation between the
> > server software and the desktop software. AT&T's desktop Unix and
> > Xenix (I believe) were the only desktop *nix's at the time, and
> > treated the desktop as a "second class citizen."
>
> IIRC, Xenix was the SCO product. Microsoft's name was on it at one
> time as well, and I don't know if they licensed it from SCO, or sold
> it to SCO.
I think it was originally by MS, but ICBW.
> > >Apple wasn't really a wunderkind. They had a superior technological
> > >platform (68xx vs x86). And they had a killer app that captured one
> > >specific market.
> > >
> > Uhmm... one?
>
> PageMaker, as I recall. It started Apple on the road to dominance in
> the graphics arena, where they still dominate. The Apple-dominated
> education market came later, and has fallen off considerably.
Even before that, MacWrite and MacPaint. There were no equivalent apps for
*DOS at the time. While they look amazingly stripped-down and restricted
now, at the time they were innovative.
> For the PC, the "killer app" was a spreadsheet program whose name I
> don't recall (not 123, though, I don't think; Multicalc?).
Visicalc, IIRC, which helped make the PC ubiquitous in business.
> Because of its market share, Microsoft is virtually a utility. But the
> government repeatedly fumbled its opportunity to do something
> significant about them.
Well, they don't own the computers... maybe a semi-monopoly.
> > I don't think it's a matter of anyone ultimately winning. The
> > players will likely all change before all's said and done.
>
> Agreed. Back in the Model-T days, who could have predicted anti-lock
> brakes, automatic transmissions and power steering?
The only thing that doesn't change is change.
-- -eben ebQenW1@EtaRmpTabYayU.rIr.OcoPm home.tampabay.rr.com/hactar AQUARIUS: There's travel in your future when your tongue freezes to the back of a speeding bus. Fill the void in your pathetic life by playing Whack-a-Mole 17 hours a day. -- Weird Al, _Your Horoscope for Today_----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
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