Computers ought to help people find their own best path through lots of textual information.
The computer environment is radically different today. In the 1980s, it was like the Wild West, with a lot of open territory. Now, the cowboys have moved out and the farmers have moved in.
There's an admirable belief about the virtues of meritocracy - that the best ideas prove the best results. It's a wrong and misguided belief by well-intentioned people.
I'd been a great angel investor, but professional venture capital was clearly not the right thing for me.
Both VisiCalc and MultiPlan were available when the IBM PC shipped in October 1981. 1-2-3 didn't hit the market until January 1983.
Hackers are seen as shadowy figures with superhuman powers that threaten civilization.