Software Arts released the first computer spreadsheet, Visicalc for this computer, in 1979. This “killer application” was immensely popular, resulting in many Apple II purchases. The laptop ...

For example, in the late 1970s, the VisiCalc spreadsheet was the killer app for the Apple II, providing reason enough to purchase the hardware. VisiCalc was followed by Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel for ...

So he wrote a program for the new Apple II personal computer: an electronic spreadsheet. His friend Bob Frankston helped him sharpen up the software - and, on 17 October 1979, VisiCalc went on sale.

One of the first PC classes I took around 1980 was dedicated to learning how to use Visicalc, the first spreadsheet that helped launch the PC revolution. At that time, it worked on an Apple II and ...