Re: Fond memories of 1-2-3
Lotus WordPro Millennium edition runs just fine on my Windows 10 box - gets run occasionally to access old docs. A tribute to the original developers and to Microsoft's backwards compatibility.
14 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Oct 2010
I read the anti-trust report at the time. Memory is vague but IIRC not only were system builders required to ship Windows with IE as the default browser, they were also not allowed to bundle any other browser. Some people claimed that including a browser with the OS was anti-competitive but given that OS/2 Warp had already done this, a hard argument to sustain.
From the book "I've been thinking" (1996) by New Zealand politician Richard Prebble:
"The Post Office told me they were having terrible problems tracking telephone lines ... They found an excellent program in Sweden which the Swedes were prepared to sell them for $2m .... So the managers decided to budget $1m for translating into English and another $1m for contingencies.
... But, as the general manager explained, it had turned out to be more expensive than the contingency budget allowed and they needed another $7m
"How much", I asked, "have you spent on it so far?"
"Thirty-seven million dollars" was the reply.
"Why don't we cancel the programme?" I asked
"How can we cancel a programme that has cost $37m?" they asked
"Do you believe the programme will ever work?" I asked
"No, not properly"
"Then write me a letter recommending its cancellation and I will sign it"
The relief was visible. I signed the letter, but I knew I needed new managers."
Perhaps the system should be changed so that when a private (non police) entity asks for ownership details, you are also sent a copy of the response. And if it shows that the enquiry came from 'Ethical Parking Limited' and a week later you get a penalty demand from 'Bovver Boy Parking', you know that EPS have passed on your details to BBP (probably the same person, but legally separate entities so presumably in contravention of DVLC rules) and on receipt of a complaint, DVLC should stop both entities from accessing their data.
WordPro, last updated c.2000, is still my word processor of choice. I do use Word 2010 on occasions and it is just such hard work as compared with WordPro's right-click property boxes. Even simple things in Word are poorly implemented when compared with WordPro - for example insert an index entry in Word and you're asked for the index text each time; WordPro gives you a combo drop-down list of what you've already added so you can be consistent.