[AccessD] I was not going to post this

Tina Norris Fields tinanfields at torchlake.com
Sat Mar 2 08:42:08 CST 2013


Lotus 1-2-3 was definitely the premier performer in the DOS world.  I 
think that Lotus failed to recognize the importance of the graphical 
user interface, and sat on its laurels, so to speak, while Microsoft 
developed Excel.  For a few years, I continued to support Lotus 1-2-3 as 
it moved s-l-o-w-l-y into the GUI world of Windows.  But, Excel 
definitely overtook 1-2-3 in terms of ease of use and widespread 
popularity. I haven't seen anyone actively using either Lotus 1-2-3 or 
Borland's Quattro Pro in years.

Of course, all the nifty Lotus 1-2-3 keystroke shortcuts pretty well 
migrated over into the Microsoft products, too - F6 still switches 
windows, F2 still does the edit trick, F4 still toggles between absolute 
and relative reference, and F9 recalculates everything, and so on and so 
forth.  Thank you, Lotus, for all the primary research and development.  :-)

T

Tina Norris Fields
tinanfields-at-torchlake-dot-com
231-322-2787

On 3/2/2013 8:23 AM, John W Colby wrote:
> >That said, Excel still holds the honour of the killer PC application 
> that got the whole show out of the IT department and into the hands of 
> everyday users. It really did give power to the people and I will 
> always love it for that.
>
> And here I thought Lotus 123 did that.
>
> John W. Colby
>
> Reality is what refuses to go away
> when you do not believe in it
>
>
> On 3/1/2013 8:42 PM, Darryl Collins wrote:
>> Yep, with you 100% on that one John (or 110% as some Excel users I 
>> know would say ;) ).
>>
>> Personally I still think of these tools as I first did back in the 
>> early days of MS Office.  The database is for storing the data and 
>> shrinking down the vast raw data into the bits you require to look at 
>> via views / queries / whatever.
>>
>> Excel is for doing the analysis, Pivots, charting, number mashing and 
>> playing with scenarios.
>>
>> Word is for doing the final presentation (or maybe (god forbid), 
>> Powerpoint).
>>
>> Too many folks try to do it all in one application.
>> I have seen spreadsheet attempted in word tables.
>> Databases in Excel is real common.
>> the list goes on...
>>
>> That said, Excel still holds the honour of the killer PC application 
>> that got the whole show out of the IT department and into the hands 
>> of everyday users.  It really did give power to the people and I will 
>> always love it for that.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________________
>> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com 
>> [accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] on behalf of John W Colby 
>> [jwcolby at gmail.com]
>> Sent: Saturday, 2 March 2013 2:52 AM
>> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
>> Subject: Re: [AccessD] I was not going to post this
>>
>>> us meek Excel hacks will be still be making money and in demand long 
>>> after MS Access is retired from general use and Access devs are 
>>> extinct.
>> LOL, ain't that the truth.  I still prefer databases though. Each has 
>> its place, it's just that
>> Excel so often ends up being turned into a database which it doesn't 
>> Excel at (pun intended)
>>
>>
>> John W. Colby
>>
>> Reality is what refuses to go away
>> when you do not believe in it
>>
>> On 2/28/2013 8:48 PM, Darryl Collins wrote:
>>> hehehehe, It is ok Bill, as an amatuer hack I am used to be insulted 
>>> ;)  And whilst that maybe indeed the case we are mere dabblers in 
>>> the dark arts of VBA - us meek Excel hacks will be still be making 
>>> money and in demand long after MS Access is retired from general use 
>>> and Access devs are extinct.
>>>
>>> So all good really ;) .  Arthur, please stick around on Excel - L, 
>>> you will fit right in and your skills, experience and contributions 
>>> will be appreciated.  Besides, I usually find you highly 
>>> entertaining as well as educational - and not just with VBA stuff 
>>> either.
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>> Darryl.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________________
>>> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com 
>>> [accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] on behalf of William Benson 
>>> (VBACreations.Com) [vbacreations at gmail.com]
>>> Sent: Thursday, 28 February 2013 9:04 PM
>>> To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
>>> Subject: Re: [AccessD] I was not going to post this
>>>
>>> Art, you take one thread (or a couple) and then kick an entire 
>>> Listserv to
>>> the curb? You ought to be ashamed   ;-)
>>>
>>> Plus you just insulted both me and Darryl...
>>>
>>> Meanie.
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
>>> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Arthur 
>>> Fuller
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 4:11 AM
>>> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
>>> Subject: [AccessD] I was not going to post this
>>>
>>> For some reason I ended up joining a list about Excel
>>> EXCEL-L at peach.ease.lsoft.com),  mistaking it for one our our lists. 
>>> Wow was
>>> I wrong/ These people need more than a lifetime of help. 
>>> Unfortunately, as I
>>> age, I don't have that much time.. .
>>>
>>> To be fair, it's a user's group not a developer's group, and it does 
>>> shed
>>> some light on the differenence.
>>>
>>> The scary part is that some of these people fancy themselves as 
>>> "Quants",
>>> short for Quantitative Analysts, which means that they are risking the
>>> hard-earned money that others have made and invested in this or that 
>>> fund.
>>> And I am aware of many of their algorithms, having once worked for a
>>> Bermudian hedge fund, which at least had the sense to use SQL Server 
>>> rather
>>> then Excel.
>>>
>>> This seriously frightens me. These Excel listers, save on or two, 
>>> don't even
>>> know that there is a difference between a Range and an Array.
>>>
>>> The prospect that these people are playing with millions of dollars 
>>> of money
>>> belonging to other people is truly frightening. The up-side is that 
>>> I have
>>> invested zero dollars in the opinions of these fools; the down-side 
>>> is that
>>> many several millions have, and I fear for their prospects.
>>>
>>> I guess what I am saying is this: if you want to realize what a 
>>> valuable
>>> group this one is, just go visit that one for a minute or two. To 
>>> think that
>>> these people are waging millions of other people's dollars on their
>>> "feelings" is ghastly.
>>>
>>> Hold onto your wallet; trust no one, especially if they come bearing a
>>> spreadsheet.Yes, there are tools available to audit spreadsheets, and I
>>> trust them. But in their absence. do not trust anyone. These people are
>>> jokers, fools or scammers. Take your pick.
>>>
>>> I do not fancy myself as an Excel guru. But once I learned the 
>>> model, I had
>>> no problem doing some fancy footwork in Excel. Bur rhis goes to way 
>>> that
>>> there is a difference between a programmer and a user. The 
>>> frightening part
>>> is that users equipped with Excel are making decisions involving 
>>> millions of
>>> other people's dollars.
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Arthur
>>> Cell: 647.710.1314
>>>
>>> Prediction is difficult, especially of the future.
>>>     -- Niels Bohr
>>> -- 
>>> AccessD mailing list
>>> AccessD at databaseadvisors.com
>>> http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
>>> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> AccessD mailing list
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>>> http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
>>> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> -- 
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>> http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd
>> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com
>>
>>
>>



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