In 1980, software company Sorcim introduced SuperCalc, a spreadsheet program with major improvements over VisiCalc. It was able to run on any system that supported the popular CP/M operating system. The Osborne-1 included a free copy of the financial software along with it’s bundle of programs, a big boost to…
In 1979, UseNet, a multidisciplinary computer network of news and discussion groups is formed on two campuses in North Carolina. Providing a unique forum to gather information and exchange ideas, Usenet grows from it’s origin as an underground activity among graduate students into a vast international phenomenon. It’s popularity influences…
VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program available for personal computers. Conceived by Dan Bricklin, refined by Bob Frankston and distributed by Personal Software Inc. in 1979 (later VisiCorp) for the Apple II computer, it propelled the Apple from being a hobbyist’s toy to being a much-desired, useful financial tool for…
A bulletin board system or BBS is a computer system running software that allows users to dial into the system over a phone line and, using a terminal program, perform functions such as downloading software and data, uploading data, playing games, reading news, and exchanging messages with other users.The BBS…
Telnet was and is the way of connecting to computers on the Internet. Before the World Wide Web made graphical access to the Internet possible, computers on the Internet understood only typed commands very much like DOS. Telnet is designed to allow a user to log in to a foreign…
In 1971 Ray Tomlinson, a computer engineer at BBN, composes two programs to exchange electronic messages with users of ARPANet. He introduced the @ symbol, which becomes the standard way of separating the user and the user’s server. Although not designed for communication among users, ARPANet messages were commonly e-mail….