PFS Professional File (1986) 0 Database DOS

PFS Professional File is an easy to use flat-file database for DOS. It is a combination of the earlier PFS:File and PFS:Report products.

• 2.0

The Twin (1986) 0 Spreadsheet DOS

"The Twin", from Mosaic Software, is a spreadsheet that touts compatibility and visual similarity with Lotus 1-2-3. better graphics, a much lower price, and was not copy protected. It was a little slower than Lotus 1-2-3, but this was less of an issue for budget users. The Twin, along with Paperback VP-Planner and Borland Quattro Pro were the subject of a lawsuit claiming that duplicating the "look and feel" violated Lotus's copyrights.

• 2.x

SY-TOS (1986) 0 Utility DOS

SY-TOS is a powerful backup program for DOS, and other operating systems. It was commonly customized for and bundled with OEM backup hardware. SY-TOS Plus was the first retail standalone version.

• 3.x (DOS)

VP-Planner (1986) 0 Spreadsheet DOS

VP Planner is a Lotus 123-type spreadsheet, but featuring 3-D (paged) spreadsheets and other advances over Lotus 123. This was the subject of a lawsuit, also involving The Twin, and Borland Quattro Pro, which Paperback Software eventually won, but which sank the company.

• Plus 2.x

Turbo Prolog (1986) 13 DOS

Borland Turbo Prolog is an implementation of the Prolog language, a "natural" language used for "Artificial Intelligence" software development. Turbo Prolog is a Borland licensed version of PDC Prolog. It competed against Arity Prolog. Borland also produced a companion Turbo Pascal Toolbox product.

• 2.x

Project Manager Workbench (1986) 0 Planning DOS

Project Manager Workbench, later just called Project Workbench, is a powerful, full featured, professional project management program for DOS. At the time, it was also very pricey.

• 3.x

Intel PLM Compiler (1986) 4 DOS

PLM is a high-level programming language with many low-level features, originally developed in 1972 by Gary Kildall. PL/M was the first high-level language for microprocessor-based computers, and was used to implement CP/M. The Intel PLM Compiler is a tool that compiles PL/M to 8088/8086 machine code.

• 3.1

Mark Williams Let's C (1986) 2 DOS

The Mark Williams Let's C compiler was powerful C compiler for MS-DOS. Let's C was a subset of the Mark Williams C Programming System, and the first low cost entry-level professional C compiler for the IBM PC. It was also the first compiler to have a C source-level debugger. executables than any other compiler on the market at the time. It supports both large and small x86 models, and supports the 8087 math co-processor. It competed against compilers from Digital Research, Lattice, Computer Innovations, and Microsoft. language, plus extensions to C implemented under UNIX. Includes an assembler, loader, archiver, advanced symbolic debugger. C shell, utilities and Micro-EMACS, a full-screen editor. Unix and the Atari ST. Let's C is fully compatible, so C programs can easily be ported between the ST and IBM PC. Coherent, the first commercially viable Unix clone.

• 4.x

IBM FTTerm (1986) 0 Communications DOS

The IBM PC/Host File Transfer and Terminal Emulator Program, or "FTTERM", is a resident TSR program for interactively sending and receiving files between DOS programs and a remote host. Used with IBM mainframe products.

• 2.00

Ready Set GO (1986) 0 Publishing MacOS

Ready Set GO, from Manhattan Graphics Corporation, is a desktop publishing program for the Apple Macintosh. It competed against Mac Publisher, Scoop, Quark Xpress, and PageMaker.

• 4.5

Back-It (1986) 0 Utility DOS

Back-It, from Gazelle Systems, is a fast and compact hard disk backup utility. It was sometimes part of OEM system bundles. It was kind of low-end, and changed backup formats between releases but otherwise did what it was supposed to do.

• 3.x

Microsoft Learning DOS (1986) 2 Education DOS

Nothing is more frustrating than getting a new PC and not knowing how to use it. It's equally frustrating when inexperience with the finer points of DOS keeps you from being more productive. Microsoft Learning DOS is the complete DOS learning system - everything you need to start out right and to master DOS.

• 2.0

Multimate Advantage (1986) 0 Word Processor DOS

MultiMate Advantage is the high-end professional version of MultiMate, targeted at corporate users.

• II 1.0

Windows 2.x (1987) 110 Windows

Windows 2 changes from Windows 1.x consist mainly of visual improvements. Windows 2 adds overlapping windows, menu keyboard shortcuts, VGA support, and other user interface changes influenced by IBM standards. Windows 2 is the last version that supports installation to a floppy disk, and to be available as an application run-time. Later editions of Windows 2 added support for 286 high memory, and running applications in a 386 VDM. The versioning is a little confusing. 2.x and 2.x/386 were released side-by-side. When it reached 2.1x, the regular 8088 version was renamed to Windows 2.1x/286. This is all unified in Windows 3.0. | 1.0 | 2.x | 3.x | NT 3.x | 95 | NT 4.0 | 98 | 2000 | ME | All |

• 2.0
• Windows 286
• Windows 386

RightWriter (1987) 0 Utility DOS MacOS

RightWriter is a grammar / structure checking utility. You can feed it a document, and it will produce a marked up copy listing high level critiques such as readability, delivery strength, and jargon. It competed with Grammatik, but RightWriter generally produced superior results.

• 2.x
• 3.x
• 3.2 for DeskMate
• 3.x (Mac)

NeXTStep (1987) 69 Unix

NeXTSTEP, from NeXT Computers headed by Steve Jobs, is a Unix based operating system designed to run on m68K NeXT workstations. It later became the basis for OS X, with APIs and concepts preserved today.

• 0.x
• 1.x
• 2.x

Vfeature Deluxe (1987) 0 DOS

VFeature, by Golden Bow Systems, is a disk driver designed specifically for DOS 3.x (not compatible with later versions) that lets you have partitions up to 1GB, and can do other powerful things such as span hard drives.

• 2.56

Actor (1987) 0 Windows

Actor, released by The Whitewater Group, Inc. and later Genesis Development Systems, is an object oriented programming language and environment similar to Smalltalk. It is a completely Windows-native environment, and was among the early applications written for Windows. Actor 2 ran under Microsoft Windows 2, and Actor 1.0 runs under Windows 1.

• 1.x

GW-BASIC (1987) 21 DOS

GW-BASIC is a version of BASIC that was supplied with MS-DOS and as a replacement for IBM ROM basic. GW-BASIC replaced the earlier BASIC-86 supplied with some non-IBM OEM MS-DOS 1.x and 2.x. MS-DOS 5.0 and later replaced GW-BASIC with QBasic , a stripped down version of QuickBasic.

• 3.x

PowerPoint (1987) 9 Presentations MacOS Windows

Microsoft PowerPoint is a graphical presentation tool that is today part of Microsoft Office. Prior to its acquisition by Microsoft, it was known as "Presenter" from Forethought Inc. These are the standalone versions. For the Office bundled versions, see Microsoft Office.

• 1.0
• 2.0

Borland Turbo Basic (1987) 9 DOS

Turbo BASIC is a version of Basic sold by Borland. It features an IDE similar to later Turbo Pascal/C products. After Borland stopped selling it, it was purchased back by the original author and continued under the name PowerBASIC. Borland also released a set of Turbo Basic Toolboxes

• 1.x

PageMaker (1987) 46 Publishing Windows OS2

Aldus PageMaker, later Adobe PageMaker, is a desktop publishing program for Mac and Windows. First released in 1985, PageMaker was the first desktop publishing program for the Macintosh. It was followed over a year later with the release of 1.0 for the IBM PC. The PC version was a notable application as it was one of the few rare applications which would run under Windows 1.x. PC PageMaker 1.0 bundled a runtime version of Windows. This enabled MS-DOS users who had not decided to buy Windows to run PageMaker. Aldus skipped version 2.0 on the PC to bring version number in sync with the 3.0 Mac product.

• 1.00
• 1.0A
• 3.00
• 3.01

ACT! (1987) 2 PIM DOS

ACT!, or "Activity Control Technology", originally from Conductor Software, and later Contact Software and then Symantec, is an easy to use business relationship management system targeted at traveling sales professionals. It can track things like billable time and expenses.

• 1.10 (DOS)

LapLink (1987) 3 Communications DOS

LapLink, from Traveling Software Inc., enables users to easily and quickly move files between two DOS computers using only a serial null-modem cable or a special parallel port connector. No other hardware is needed. Laplink was extremely popular.during the late 80s and early 90s. It was infinitely easier to set up any two arbitrary PCs (often portables or laptops) with LapLink than other methods, such as DOS based networking. MS-DOS 6 bundled a similar set of file transfer tools called INTERLNK and INTERSVR.

• 2.x
• 3.x

Microsoft Paintbrush (1987) 2 Graphics DOS

Microsoft Paintbrush is Microsoft's OEM version of Zsoft PC/Publisher's Paintbrush for MS-DOS. It was commonly bundled with Microsoft mice in the late 80s and early 90s.

• 2.0
• 4.0