Microsoft originally marketed a spreadsheet
program called Multiplan in
1982, which was very popular on CP/M systems, but on MS-DOS
systems it lost popularity to Lotus 1-2-3.
This promoted development of a new spreadsheet called Excel
which started with the intention to, in the words of Doug
Klunder, 'do everything 1-2-3 does and do it better' .
The first version of Excel was released for the Mac in 1985 and
the first Windows version (numbered 2.0 to line-up with the Mac
and bundled with a run-time Windows environment) was released in
November 1987. Lotus was slow to bring 1-2-3 to Windows and by
1988 Excel had started to outsell 1-2-3 and helped Microsoft
achieve the position of leading PC software developer. This
accomplishment, dethroning the king of the software world,
solidified Microsoft as a valid competitor and showed its future
of developing graphical software. Microsoft pushed its advantage
with regular new releases, every two years or so. The current
version is Excel 11, also called Microsoft Office Excel 2003.
Microsoft
Excel 1.5
