Computer History Museum

Esber, Edward M., Jr. oral history

In this interview, Edward M. Esber, Jr. (commonly known as Ed) discusses his career with two key software companies: VisiCorp, the publisher of the spreadsheet VisiCalc and other Visi products; and Ashton-Tate, which was primarily known as the producer of the dBase database products. He discusses his early career at IBM, his MBA at the Harvard Business School and a key job that he held at Texas Instruments. In explaining his work at VisiCorp, he talks about his relationship with Dan Fylstra, the company's relationship with ComputerLand and the importance of both the Apple II computer and the Microsoft DOS operating system. For his career at Ashton-Tate, Esber talks about his management and marketing activities and the company's merger with Borland Software. The interview explores the connections within the early PC software industry and the general career path of the first leaders of that industry.

Item Details

Date
2004-11-19 (Made)
Type
Document
Catalogue number
102657944
Other identifying number
OHP 101 (OTHER IDENTIFYING NUMBER)
Organization
Computer History Museum
People
David Grier (Interviewer)
Burt Grad (Editor)
Christopher Garcia (Videographer)
Jr. Esber (Interviewee)
Category
Transcript
Extent
26 p.
Place of publication
North America/USA/CA/Mountain View
Language
English
Acquisition number
X3005.2005
Subject
Personal Software (company), Texas Instruments, Inc. (TI), VISICALC, VisiCorp, Ashton-Tate, Borland, Software Business History
Archive collection
CHM Oral History Collection
Archive hierarchy
CHM Oral History Collection