VisiCalc

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs

GAME DESIGNER:Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston
GAME DEVELOPER:Lotus
GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware
Copyright 1981, Lotus

VisiCalc was the very first computer spreadsheet program ever published, co-created by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston under the name “Software Arts,” their company. In addition to being the first program to feature the row/column tabulation method that became a constant in every major spreadsheet program ever since, VisiCalc is one of the few “watershed” programs – a “must-have” product that introduced the PC to the corporate world, and making people excited about the possibilities of what a PC can do. A lot of elements that VisiCalc introduced still remain in today’s spreadsheet programs, including the use of labels and formulas, minimal-keystroke formula entry, numeric and text formatting, status and formula lines, and the ability to replicate any range with absolute or relative references.

Thanks to the generosity of Lotus, the current copyright holder, you can now experience this pioneer application free of charge by downloading it from Dan Bricklin’s site. For someone like me who uses Microsoft Excel on a daily basis, using VisiCalc is like meeting a young version of an old friend who’s been transported over time into the present. If you want to know what makes something a piece of computer history, look no further than this revolutionary piece of programming.