On Tuesday, with no fanfare, IBM closed the last chapter in the life of one of the most iconic early computer programs, Lotus 1-2-3, when it withdrew support for the final build of the software.
IBM Lotus 123 Millennium Edition, IBM Lotus SmartSuite 9.x, and Organizer have now officially all passed their end of life support date and, according to IBM's website, "No service extensions will be offered" ( http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=ca&infotype=an&appname=iSource&supplier=897&letternum=ENUS913-091 ) – not that anyone is seriously using the spreadsheet any more.
It's a sadly muted end for what was, at one time, the world's premier spreadsheet. Lotus 1-2-3 was one of the first applications that made IBM's original PC a serious business tool, but it fell by the wayside due to poor coding decisions, failure to adapt, and the crushing tactics of Microsoft.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 04 2014, @08:30PM
> Does your IT Dept really support any software that can be downloaded?
They should. There is no packaging (including disks/CDs/DVDs) to needlessly pay extra money for.
The online 'warez' scene is STILL alive and kicking--though 'pushed' deeper underground behind paywalls, scamware, and 'hidden' online sites--IN SPITE of all the efforts of the SPA/BSA to stamp it out.
And if the SPA/BSA somehow is successful, they can't stop organized offline 'sneakernets' and 'copy parties' unless they somehow infiltrate them with their agents/employees....