Title: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on July 05, 2024, 12:02:45 AM
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on July 05, 2024, 12:02:45 AM
I'm working on the tribute display for Curt Gridley developer of Lotus Improv located at Grooverlabs.org . Check out Grooverlabs.org located in Wichita, Kansas is a really cool concept and Curt and his wife Tracy made it happen. No charge for her on this one as we are trading cool NeXT stuff and it is an honor to do this for them. Stay Tuned ... Lotus is one of my all time favorite NeXT applications. Happy 4th of July I hope you all are enjoying the videos 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OirNZack9qg
What a great idea !
Groover Labs is a collaborative working environment where entrepreneurs and tech workers can get support and share ideas.
Our 42,000 square foot facility features a variety of work and meeting spaces available on flexible terms. These spaces include large and small offices, dedicated and open desk seating, seven conference rooms, a large event venue and two classrooms, and a maker and prototyping space, all with high speed gigabit internet access.
Groover Labs is large enough to house all of the key elements necessary for successful product prototyping — providing members access to advanced equipment as well as a place to collaborate and learn new skills.
The large maker and prototyping space features digital fabrication tools such as large format laser cutters, multiple styles of 3D printers and plastic forming tools, an electronics lab with PCB assembly tools, along with well stocked wood and metal shops.
Located in an Opportunity Zone in Wichita's historic Old Town, Groover Labs is the best place to find the high quality workspace and helpful resources to build growing companies that drive economic impact in the Wichita region.
What a great idea !
Groover Labs is a collaborative working environment where entrepreneurs and tech workers can get support and share ideas.
Our 42,000 square foot facility features a variety of work and meeting spaces available on flexible terms. These spaces include large and small offices, dedicated and open desk seating, seven conference rooms, a large event venue and two classrooms, and a maker and prototyping space, all with high speed gigabit internet access.
Groover Labs is large enough to house all of the key elements necessary for successful product prototyping — providing members access to advanced equipment as well as a place to collaborate and learn new skills.
The large maker and prototyping space features digital fabrication tools such as large format laser cutters, multiple styles of 3D printers and plastic forming tools, an electronics lab with PCB assembly tools, along with well stocked wood and metal shops.
Located in an Opportunity Zone in Wichita's historic Old Town, Groover Labs is the best place to find the high quality workspace and helpful resources to build growing companies that drive economic impact in the Wichita region.
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on July 05, 2024, 12:58:47 AM
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on July 05, 2024, 12:58:47 AM
Tracy thinks it may have never been released as she remembers Lotus pulled the plug on it and Curt moved on from Lotus shortly after to become a very successful entrepreneur.
If this is a Never released Windows Version of the Improv , I think I am officially in the reality distortion field , I'm not sure heck I would have bought it , if only they had this for OS X, I think Improv still holds its own even today one of my all time favorite apps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Y03RVlEZs
If this is a Never released Windows Version of the Improv , I think I am officially in the reality distortion field , I'm not sure heck I would have bought it , if only they had this for OS X, I think Improv still holds its own even today one of my all time favorite apps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Y03RVlEZs
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: pTeK on July 05, 2024, 03:49:44 AM
Post by: pTeK on July 05, 2024, 03:49:44 AM
Quote from: Rob Blessin Black Hole on July 05, 2024, 12:58:47 AMIf this is a Never released Windows Version of the Improv , I think I am officially in the reality distortion field , I'm not sure heck I would have bought it , if only they had this for OS X, I think Improv still holds its own even today one of my all time favorite apps.I didn't download this for Windows as I had trouble getting Windows 95 running properly on Virtual Box, You have to use a cpu patch so that Win95 runs correctly.
Lotus Improv 2.0 for Windows released in 1993 is a 4.71MB download and requires a 386 and 4MB RAM.
I was trying to run Mind Maze (Encarta 95) on Windows 95.
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on July 05, 2024, 04:48:14 AM
Post by: Rob Blessin Black Hole on July 05, 2024, 04:48:14 AM
I was trying to run Mind Maze (Encarta 95) on Windows 95.
[/quote] I found this wiki on Improv https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Improv
I did not remember Lotus being acquired by Big Blue , looks like Improv on Windows was discontinued in 96
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: user341 on July 05, 2024, 01:39:22 PM
Post by: user341 on July 05, 2024, 01:39:22 PM
I'm a little confused. I'm pretty sure Lotus Improv for Windows was released. I think I actually bought it and have it in a box somewhere.
I think there was supposed to be an intel binary of the NeXT version, which was demoed but never released. And, perhaps there was even supposed to be a version that ran on NeXT's OPENSTEP on Windows version too.
But just a plain windows version, went to version 2.x, and just a quick google search I found this:
https://winworldpc.com/product/lotus-improv/2x
I think there was supposed to be an intel binary of the NeXT version, which was demoed but never released. And, perhaps there was even supposed to be a version that ran on NeXT's OPENSTEP on Windows version too.
But just a plain windows version, went to version 2.x, and just a quick google search I found this:
https://winworldpc.com/product/lotus-improv/2x
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: spitfire on July 05, 2024, 03:54:18 PM
Post by: spitfire on July 05, 2024, 03:54:18 PM
There was an Intel version of Lotus Improv for NeXT V1 at least. Steve Jobs demoed it, and I pointed this out in another post of mine some time ago. [1] I've never heard of any V2 for NeXT whatsoever.
Lotus Improv for Windows started at V2.0.
If you want to use Lotus Improv today, you can subscribe (They went SaaS :-( ) to Quantrix Modeler. Which as far as I can tell is $3-5K/year. It used to be one time purchase in the $1500 range.
Rob might want to stick to Improv or Quantrix on NeXT. I assume he does all his accounting there when he can.
[1] https://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/index.php?topic=4678.msg27301#msg27301
Lotus Improv for Windows started at V2.0.
If you want to use Lotus Improv today, you can subscribe (They went SaaS :-( ) to Quantrix Modeler. Which as far as I can tell is $3-5K/year. It used to be one time purchase in the $1500 range.
Rob might want to stick to Improv or Quantrix on NeXT. I assume he does all his accounting there when he can.
[1] https://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/index.php?topic=4678.msg27301#msg27301
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: user341 on July 05, 2024, 04:31:36 PM
Post by: user341 on July 05, 2024, 04:31:36 PM
I actually bought Quantrix a few years ago. It does the basics, but the UI is garbage overall compared to what it used to be on NeXT. Furthermore, nothing has been as great as Improv 1.0 on NeXT at charting. I love the default results on all the charts in Improv 1.0 on NeXT, it always made the most tastefully 'right' charts. Lastly, although not necessary, the toilet paper dispenser UI of 1.0 is the greatest! :D
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: pTeK on July 05, 2024, 05:13:08 PM
Post by: pTeK on July 05, 2024, 05:13:08 PM
Quote from: zombie on July 05, 2024, 01:39:22 PMI'm a little confused. I'm pretty sure Lotus Improv for Windows was released. I think I actually bought it and have it in a box somewhere.
But just a plain windows version, went to version 2.x, and just a quick google search I found this:
https://winworldpc.com/product/lotus-improv/2x (https://winworldpc.com/product/lotus-improv/2x)
Glad you posted that link, I didn't know if we were allowed to post it. I actually downloaded the manual from there so I could try the tuorials on NeXT.
I miss that file size :'(
The only feature I use in modern Excel are the colour gradients in the cells which are good for Gantt charts and the naming of individual cells for constants. i.e GRAVITY instead of $B$2,
Quote from: zombie on July 05, 2024, 04:31:36 PMI actually bought Quantrix a few years ago. It does the basics, but the UI is garbage overall compared to what it used to be on NeXT. Furthermore, nothing has been as great as Improv 1.0 on NeXT at charting. I love the default results on all the charts in Improv 1.0 on NeXT, it always made the most tastefully 'right' charts. Lastly, although not necessary, the toilet paper dispenser UI of 1.0 is the greatest! :D
I thought that Quantrix was released by the Improv guys.
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: user341 on July 05, 2024, 06:44:50 PM
Post by: user341 on July 05, 2024, 06:44:50 PM
Quote from: pTeK on July 05, 2024, 05:13:08 PMI thought that Quantrix was released by the Improv guys.
Wasn't Quantrix released by the same company that did WriteUp originally? Not sure what the provenance of Quantrix was. It was really great on NeXTstep. I liked it better than Improv in all ways but 2. I missed the toilet paper dispenser of original Improv. And the default settings on charting in Improv, were/are, still the best charting presentation I've seen. In most other ways, Quantrix on NeXT was way better.
Unfortunately, when they moved Quantrix from NeXT to Windows/macOS they went to some bastard Java development kit, and it just became janky. Again, the skeleton is there, and does its thing. "Fugly" is too high a compliment.
Here's a current shot of the app at version 5.3.2 which apparently was last updated on March 14, 2022.
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: spitfire on July 05, 2024, 09:50:50 PM
Post by: spitfire on July 05, 2024, 09:50:50 PM
Quantrix was released by Lighthouse design. Which is why there's free license keys available along with all the other Lighthouse design apps.
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: user217 on July 05, 2024, 09:54:21 PM
Post by: user217 on July 05, 2024, 09:54:21 PM
Yes, Lighthouse. The last version for NeXT was 2.4, and the free keys are on this wonderful page (https://fsck.technology/software/NeXT/next.68k.org%20Archive/next-ftp.peak.org/next/apps/LighthouseDesign/index.html), provided by a Lighthouse employee on the way out. They also had a traditional 2D spreadsheet, ParaSheet (which sounds like a joke about an incontinent parakeet, but I digress.)
In the genre of late 80s and early 90s videos promoting software, nothing is so mesmerizing as the spreadsheet. When Excel for Windows first came out, they gave it a 25-minute video (part 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x2sGIM_IWU), part 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WtESla40YA), part 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRldI35_U98)) that has absolutely no self-control about claiming it's the greatest thing ever made. The other 80s commercials from MS (Windows 1.0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgJS2tQPGKQ), MS-DOS 5 Upgrade (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YveAomaHMPA), Windows 386 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noEHHB6rnMI)) may be cheesier, but the Excel video has a truly marvelous level of pretentiousness.
For what it's worth, Excel did eventually gain Improv/Quantrix-like views as an overlay on top of the spreadsheet, called PivotTables, in Excel 97, but it's basically still a hack, and you can't run formulas on them, aside from basic functions like sum and average.
In the genre of late 80s and early 90s videos promoting software, nothing is so mesmerizing as the spreadsheet. When Excel for Windows first came out, they gave it a 25-minute video (part 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x2sGIM_IWU), part 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WtESla40YA), part 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRldI35_U98)) that has absolutely no self-control about claiming it's the greatest thing ever made. The other 80s commercials from MS (Windows 1.0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgJS2tQPGKQ), MS-DOS 5 Upgrade (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YveAomaHMPA), Windows 386 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noEHHB6rnMI)) may be cheesier, but the Excel video has a truly marvelous level of pretentiousness.
For what it's worth, Excel did eventually gain Improv/Quantrix-like views as an overlay on top of the spreadsheet, called PivotTables, in Excel 97, but it's basically still a hack, and you can't run formulas on them, aside from basic functions like sum and average.
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: user341 on July 06, 2024, 07:57:01 AM
Post by: user341 on July 06, 2024, 07:57:01 AM
Yea pivot tables are a joke. I love the Improv/Quantrix n-dimensional modeling mechanism. It's one of the easiest ways for me to think in more than 4 dimensions, and nothing else is out there that's quite like it. Sad. Wish it got the additional development it deserved.
Title: Re: NeXT Lotus Improv Dynamic Spreadsheet Application for NeXT 68K rare video
Post by: pTeK on July 06, 2024, 06:00:22 PM
Post by: pTeK on July 06, 2024, 06:00:22 PM
Quote from: Rhetorica on July 05, 2024, 09:54:21 PMFor what it's worth, Excel did eventually gain Improv/Quantrix-like views as an overlay on top of the spreadsheet, called PivotTables, in Excel 97, but it's basically still a hack, and you can't run formulas on them, aside from basic functions like sum and average.You really know your spread sheets 8)
I haven't properly used them, Just had to use them for labs when studying Mechanical Engineering and for making Gantt charts.
Haven't really used it to make money.
Like I said, I'm happy with Excel (During Windows XP days) but the main annoyance would be not having partially coloured cells to show if something has been finished.