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It's a matter of how you read that sentence, really - the apparently-intended meaning is that most of the software (word processing and spreadsheets) are intend
by stan_rogers 12y ago
It's a matter of how you read that sentence, really - the apparently-intended meaning is that most of the software (word processing and spreadsheets) are intended to "accomplish tasks", something that the laptop of the day was ill-suited for (mostly because of the price), rather than to assist decision-making and so forth. The question then becomes "what good is an expensive 'executive computer' that only does what my secretary and Murray in Accounting need to do?"
- ghaff 12y agoSorta disagree. The quoted paragraph seems to imply that there is something unique about laptops that make them unsuitable: "Software is the real weak spot for laptops. If the machines were merely too expensive, especially in view of their limited display, they would still sell if they served an unbeatable function. But for that to be the case, special software would be needed. The word processing and spreadsheet packages commonly available for them are intended to accomplish tasks to which laptop computers are simply not well suited." That said, that particular period of time was one when a lot of higher-level executives didn't use PCs--or even some sort of minicomputer-based office automation system--while the rank-and-file certainly did. In the late 80s, even at technology company, it wasn't uncommon for execs to have admins print out emails that they would write answers to by hand--which were them typed in and sent out by the admins.