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Microsoft did 3 very smart things that elevated Excel from 0% to 100% market share: 1) Early versions were (or felt) Windows-native. Due to the Mac roots, Exce
by listenallyall 7y ago
Microsoft did 3 very smart things that elevated Excel from 0% to 100% market share:
1) Early versions were (or felt) Windows-native. Due to the Mac roots, Excel felt integrated with Windows 3 and GUI right when people and companies were switching from MS-DOS to Windows. Lotus 123 never really got that feel right, its early Windows versions just seemed inferior to the old DOS versions, it just felt out of place on Windows.
2) 1-2-3 compatible keystrokes. Made it easy for people to switch.
3) Bundling with Office. In the 80s you bought WordPerfect, and 1-2-3, and maybe FoxPro or something for simple databases. Office gave you everything in one inexpensive box. In fact, Word vs WordPerfect was even a bigger contrast than Excel vs 1-2-3, since Word had a WYSIWYG interface that simply blew WordPerfect out of the water.