Visicalc was designed to address and replace the manual spreadsheet management process, where changing a single value required altering the entire spreadsheet because with visicalc, the changes made to. The spreadsheet application is called the first killer app for personal computers. It became personal softwares flagship product, financing the groundbreaking vision office suite and gui. Dan bricklin writes, with the years of experience we had at the time we created visicalc, we were familiar with many rowcolumn financial programs. Today, everybody knows spreadsheet programs, no matter if you choose a desktop application or a web based. Why a simple spreadsheet spread like wildfire opinion the. Apr 22, 2020 visicalc, short for visible calculator, was the first spreadsheet program and the first fully functional computer application to run on personal computers. Over the years, various spreadsheets have come and gone. Bricklin has created innovative, cuttingedge products. Bricklin has since founded software garden, his newest venture, which was officially incorporated in november 1985.
The success of software arts continued until 1984 when it entered into an extended legal battle with visicorp over the rights to visicalc. While visicalc is long gone from the mainstream market, you can still run it on your pc today. It was considered a fourth generation software program. It was released to the public in 1979, running on an apple ii computer. On january 2, 1978, software arts was founded by dan bricklin and bob frankston to create an electronic spreadsheet. Dec 06, 2016 dan bricklin is best known for codeveloping visicalc, the first electronic spreadsheet, while he was a student at the harvard business school. In fact, bob had worked since the 1960s at interactive data corporation, a major timesharing utility that was used for some of them and i was exposed to some at harvard business school in one of.
Briefly, lotus won the legal battles, but lost the market share war to microsoft. Prior to forming software arts, bricklin was a market researcher for prime. Dan bricklin born 1951 codeveloped visicalc with bob frankston in the late 1970s while he was a student at the harvard business school. Bricklin could not patent visicalc, since software programs were not eligible for patent protection at the time. In the spring of 1978, a harvard business school student, dan bricklin, came up with the idea for an interactive visible calculator, the program called visicalc, which will be called later the first killer app of the computer era. In 1979, dan bricklin wrote the most innovative piece of software in history. The professor was creating a financial model on a blackboard that was ruled with vertical and horizontal lines resembling accounting paper to create a table, and he wrote formulas and data into the cells. While most early microprocessor computers had been quickly supported by basic and a few games, visicalc introduced a new level in application software. Information from its creators, dan bricklin and bob frankston. Entrepreneurs dan bricklin and bob frankston incorporate their company software arts to publish a little program called visicalc. Since software patents were rare when he created visicalc, rival spreadsheet programs like lotus 123 and microsoft excel quickly emerged and cornered. Visicalc was the first computer spreadsheet program.
Bricklin never received a patent for visicalc because software programs were not eligible for patents by the supreme court until after 1981. Note taker was designed and programmed by dan bricklin, the same person who 30 years ago came up with visicalc, the pioneering electronic spreadsheet for the apple ii that made working with numbers on a personal computer so easy. Quite interestingly, the inventors of visicalc, dan bricklin and bob frankston, had background in word processing, hacking and financial forecasting. He currently serves as the chief technology officer of alpha software. Demo was first released in 1985 by dan bricklins consulting firm software garden. Visicalcs dan bricklin weighs in on the tablet revolution. Software garden is also known for products i produced in the past, including dan bricklins demo program and demoit demo and demoit. Visicalc is widely credited for fueling the rapid growth of personal computers in business. Aug 24, 2016 visicalc was short for visible calculator. Go to dan bricklin s web site and download a fully working copy. Join the software engineer and computing legend as he explores the tangled web of first jobs, daydreams and homework problems that led to his. For many such users, visicalc was the program that convinced them to purchase a pc. Dan bricklin interesting stories about famous people. Join the software engineer and computing legend as he explores the tangled web of first jobs, daydreams and homework problems that led to his transformational.
History of computers and computing, birth of the modern computer, software history, visicalc of dan bricklin and bob frankston. Visicalc was soon sold to lotus development corporation where it was developed into the lotus 123 spreadsheet for the pc by 1983. Bricklin and bob frankston then coinvented or cocreated the software program visicalc. Daniel singer dan bricklin born on july 16, 1951, often referred to as the father of the spreadsheet, is the american cocreator, with bob frankston, of the visicalc spreadsheet program. This was dan bricklins high point as well because he was given the grace hopper award for significant accomplishment in computers by people under 30. In may 1985, dan bricklin left software arts to be a consultant at lotus for a short time. It has material directly from dan bricklin and bob frankston, the cocreators of visicalc, including scans of original photographs from visicalcs development days, a working copy of the program, and other things from software arts, inc. Jan 03, 2016 visicalc was the worlds first spreadsheet program. Visicalc is the first spreadsheet software program. Just before the release of vision, personal software was renamed visicorp. It was the first digital, real spreadsheet tool which didnt require extensive programming. Dan bricklin is best known for codeveloping visicalc, the first electronic spreadsheet, while he was a student at the harvard business school. Thoughts on the 20th anniversary of the ibm pc which includes pictures of my notes in my notebook from those days and ibm pc announcement 1981 which consists of a transcript of a videotape taken of the.
As cocreator of visicalc, the first computerized spreadsheet, dan bricklin literally created the pc industry. It was then ported to a wide variety of platforms including the apple iii, trs80 series, sony smc70, hp. Conceived by dan bricklin, a harvard student, and programmed by a friend, bob frankston, it became a major success. Bricklin is best known for codeveloping visicalc, the first electronic spreadsheet, while he was a student at the harvard business. Dan bricklin came up with the idea for an electronic spreadsheet while still a graduate student at harvard business school.
Dan bricklin was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania, in 1951. The first spreadsheet program was visicalc, written for the apple ii computer in 1979. Visicalc, codeveloped with his friend bob frankston whom he met at mit, is widely credited for fueling the rapid growth of the personal computer industry. Meet the inventor of the electronic spreadsheet dan bricklin. Visicalc, short for visible calculator, was the first spreadsheet program and the first fully functional computer application to run on personal computers. He also holds an honorary doctor of humane letters from. Dan bricklin, bob frankston, and the first spreadsheet. Before visicalc, there was nothing that remotely resembled an electronic spreadsheet. This is a personal web site that i maintain myself. To a student of software, visicalc is the embodiment of so many novel and important ideas in software, lessons which are still relevant today.
This program is notable as having been written by dan bricklin, the author of visicalc. Dan bricklin, inventor of the electronic spreadsheet low. Visicalc on july 16, 1951, computer scientist dan bricklin was born. Bricklin also cofounded slate corporation, a developer of application software for pen computers, as well as software arts, the developer of visicalc. In this super techies interview, software inventor dan bricklin shares with cnet s dan farber his thoughts on software innovation past and present. Information from its creators, dan bricklin and bob. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool, prompting ibm to introduce the ibm pc two years later. Dan bricklin invented the spreadsheetbut dont hold that. Jul 16, 2014 visicalc on july 16, 1951, computer scientist dan bricklin was born. Dan bricklin is best known for codeveloping visicalc, the pioneering electronic spreadsheet, while he was a student at the harvard business school. On 11 may 1979, dan bricklin and bob frankston released the first pc killer app and true father of the personal computer era, the visicalc spreadsheet running on an apple ii computer. Dan bricklin became widely recognized in the computer business for his contributions. It was written by dan bricklin and bob frankston and came from an insight bricklin had one day while attending harvard business school.
Dan bricklin helped fuel the rapid growth of the personal computer industry. Dan bricklin and bob frankston, creative computing. Jun 20, 2019 prior to founding trellix in 1995, he served as president of software garden, inc. It has historical information ive accumulated including about visicalc, some of my thoughts and writings, material from others that i find of interest, and material specific to me for reporters and researchers. Prior to founding trellix in 1995, he served as president of software garden, inc.
Since software patents were rare when he created visicalc, rival spreadsheet programs like lotus 1. For advancing the utility of personal computers by developing the visicalc electronic spreadsheet. Dan bricklin conceived visicalc while watching a presentation at harvard business school. It was later sold under peter norton computing, and then sage software. Since software patents were rare when he created visicalc, rival spreadsheet programs like lotus 123 and microsoft excel quickly emerged. Thoughts on the 20th anniversary of the ibm pc which includes pictures of my notes in my notebook from those days and ibm pc announcement 1981 which consists of a transcript of a videotape taken of the software arts. It was published through personal software, who due to the success of visicalc, changed their name to visicorp.
Lotus development, which owns the for visicalc, has allowed this download from bricklin s site. In the spring of 1978, a harvard business school student, dan bricklin, came up with the idea for an interactive visible calculator, the program called visicalc, which will be called later the first killer app of the computer era bricklin certainly was not he inventor of the electronic spreadsheet. Quite interestingly, the inventors of visicalc, dan bricklin and bob frankston, had background in word processing, hacking and financial forecasting budgeting. Dan bricklin is best known for codeveloping visicalc, the pioneering. The program was created for the apple ii computer in 1979 by harvard business graduate student dan bricklin and his partner, bob frankston. Visicalc for visible calculator was the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for the apple ii by visicorp. A copy of the ibm pc visicalc is available for you to try on this web site. Electronic semiconductor industry analysis, research. Dan bricklin is currently president of software garden, inc. Dan bricklin invented the spreadsheetbut dont hold that against. Conceived by dan bricklin, a harvard student, and programmed by a friend, bob frankston, it. This was dan bricklin s high point as well because he was given the grace hopper award for significant accomplishment in computers by people under 30. We can look back and recognize that visicalc was the first killer application for personal computers. It was originally created by dan bricklin and bob frankston of software arts and first released in 1979 for the apple ii.
Together with bob frankston he created visicalc, the first spreadsheet computer program 1979 which created a market beyond hobbyists for the emerging personal computers. Visicalc of dan bricklin and bob frankston history of the. Bricklin worried about producing a second product for fear of it ruining their superb track record in selling visicalc. He wears the uniform the software industry issues all its conscripts sneakers, clean but. Before this, companies were investing time and money creating financial projections with. For more information about the announcement of the ibm pc, see these pages on this web site. Daniel singer dan bricklin born 16 july 1951, often referred to as the father of the spreadsheet, is the american cocreator, with bob frankston, of the visicalc spreadsheet program. Why a simple spreadsheet spread like wildfire opinion. The software was released under their company name software arts. Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner. In the view of many users, it was the application that most vividly showed the utility of personal computers for small businessesin some cases turning a 20hourperweek bookkeeping chore into a few minutes of data entry. In a related matter, software arts, the developerof the original visicalc spreadsheet software filed a separate action against lotus claiming that lotus 123 was an infringement of visicalc. It has material directly from dan bricklin and bob frankston, the cocreators of visicalc, including scans of original photographs from visicalc s development days, a working copy of the program, and other things from software arts, inc. It was simple to use and enabled sorting and storage of data in tabular rows and columns.
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