Remember Visicalc?
What if Software Arts had patented Visicalc, Visiword, and etc? Would office365 and Libreoffice never have existed? Picture is actual VC.com running in the dosbox emulator. Per www.archive.org VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet computer program, originally released for the Apple II. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool. VisiCalc sold over 700,000 copies in six years. Conceived by Dan Bricklin, refined by Bob Frankston, developed by their company Software Arts, and distributed by Personal Software in 1979 (later named VisiCorp) for the Apple II computer, it propelled the Apple from being a hobbyist's toy to a useful tool for business, two years before the introduction of the IBM PC. VisiCalc was, in part, inspired by earlier "row and column" spreadsheet programs in widespread use on systems of several national timesharing com...