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I had so much fun writing this so it was super nice to run into it while browsing HN. I think there's a lot we can all learn from the history of Excel (arguabl
by stephsmithio 7y ago
I had so much fun writing this so it was super nice to run into it while browsing HN.
I think there's a lot we can all learn from the history of Excel (arguably the most bulletproof software of the past few decades), particularly in the age of crazy valuations and unicorns.
Curious to know what more recent software people think will hold up to the test of time, like Excel has?
- unixhero 7y agoGood question! I'd nominate: Postgres
- IloveHN84 7y agoPostgres isn't recent at all. I would say HashiCorp Terraform and Vault
- unixhero 7y agoFair enough. I didn't catch the recent requirement. Well Postgres keeps on evolving with recent features, every major version brings something new and great. No disagreementa with nominating Terraform :).
- toyg 7y agoExcel is very much a consumer product. In that category, I think the big one is Firefox: it’s the oldest browser out there. Explorer is being phased out, Chrome is newer, and everything else is a microscopic niche. The web needs a Firefox to balance out the giant of the day, and Mozilla will likely cover that role for the foreseeable future.