Lauding Lisa

 

I am a commercial-investment real estate broker with an MBA and am literate in Basic and Pascal. I found "Unlocking Management Creativity" (June) on the Lotus 1-2-3 and Context MBA programs interesting, especially the comments by Lotus's Mitch Kapor and Context's G. H. Hoxie

I have to agree with Mr. Kapor's statement that the big difference in software is between the 1-2-3 and MBA programs and the Lisa and VisiOn programs. The Lotus founder seems to have a more realistic view of how the end user views the products.

Mr. Hoxie calls the Lisa and the VisiOn promotions "baloney." I disagree. For the past few months, I have been experimenting with a Lisa at a local dealer, and I think it will run circles around the MBA

Hoxie doesn't seem to like the idea of the mouse. He once said that when the MBA is made available for Lisa, Context will not use the mouse technology. I disagree The mouse technology, along with the integrated software, will be a major key to the success of the Lisa as an executive workstation.

Most of the executives I know don't have the time or the incentive to learn the various commands of several different. programs. And they usually don't use the programs often enough to maintain a minimum level of competency in all of them. With Lisa, all programs work similarly using the mouse, so the user can quickly establish a mininium level of competence in all the programs and maintain that level by using any of the programs. Lisa has truly set the latest benchmark for the microcomputer industry's small business, executive, and professional segments.