Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Microprose, MPRS -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sleeperz who wrote (304)	3/6/1998 2:39:00 PM
From: Charles Hughes	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 633

>>>Actually according to a PBS show, the original spreadsheet was developed by 2 University professors. Basic was developed by Bill Gates and Crew who bought the original from some other company. The Apple computer was developed in a garage by Jobs and Wozniak. I don't think anything PC or Software was really cheap in 1975-1985. PCs and Software today are alot cheaper than it was back then. Games today cost less today than in the early 80s. There was no such a thing as a sub $1000 PC in the early 80s. You can't really compare Borland's $19 CL compiler with todays IDE. <<< All of this is so very far wrong that I have to conclude you are pretty young, CR. Obviously, you were not there and don't know anything about it: >>>Actually according to a PBS show, the original spreadsheet was developed by 2 University professors.<<< No, 2 college students. On the cheap, in any case. Yes, lots of us, including myself, had developed spreadsheet-like programs before then, but none of them were truly general purpose like visicalc. Even later, 'professional' development of spreadsheets was surprisingly cheap. SuperCalc was developed on contract for $20,000, for instance. >>>Basic was developed by Bill Gates and Crew who bought the original from some other company.<<< 6502 Basic in its various flavors was ported from Tiny Basic by Gates or Allen. I don't know which one did the heavy lifting, but it was just a port of a small assembler program (done with the $50 6502 assembler tool, BTW.) Basic was originally developed, free, by a university teacher on Unix, using free computer time and tools. Later he and another teacher came out with 'True Basic', so called because they were the original inventors of public domain basic. >>>The Apple computer was developed in a garage by Jobs and Wozniak.<<< The original apple computer was developed by Wozniak while he was at HP, I think. He used their tools (and time?) for free, and tried to sell the company on the project first. When they weren't interested, he got together with Jobs and did the next version, and quit the company. There were many sub-1000 dollar pc's, way before the IBM pc ripped off the 'PC' name from general useage. And since I have used not only the early borland tools but all of the other tools we have discussed, and you haven't, I'll be the judge of what can be compared and what can't. Sorry :-) Chaz Chaz