History
of Computing, 1980s, ver. 2
Pesky PCs – Toys or Appliances?
Pesky PCs – Toys or Appliances?
vBy 1985, PCs and their
tools (WordStar, 1-2-3 (VisiCalc) and dBase) were starting to make users think in
new ways.
èFirst, although they only addressed special needs, these applications also were dramatically easier to learn and
use than mainframe applications. And, the tools
could be used to build custom
applications –
²Why wait
for MIS to build a forecasting system, when your
local hacker can build the same system in three days?
local hacker can build the same system in three days?
²Why
wait, when the 3-day system will be easier to use, more flexible and run on cheaper hardware?
²And, why
wait when the MIS system will take two years, cost tens of thousands of dollars, and then be
too expensive to run anyway?
vIn 1985 PCs were not
applicable to business computing: they could not be used to build
run-the-business applications.
èFirst (and most important), PC applications couldn’t share
data.
èSecond, they were not capable of handling large amounts of
data.