12 Greatest Software Ever Written (from InformationWeek)

Here's a rundown on InformationWeek's choice of the "12 Greatest Software" and some commentaries from me in parentheses.

12. The Morris worm (actually this is an experiment gone horribly wrong)
11. Google search rank (this, in my opinion, is the precursor of Google's current success)
10. Apollo guidance system (for it to hit a moving target 24,000 miles away is a real wonder of science and mathematics)
9. Excel spreadsheet (although VisiCalc/MultiCalc predates this, Excel made a lot of accountants retain their hair)
8. Macintosh OS (this piece of software made the mouse a must-have computer peripheral but more importantly, it has helped "democritize" computing)
7. Sabre system (duh... sorry, I'm not really familiar with Sabre)
6. Mosaic browser (made the internet useable and accessible to non-geeks around the globe)
5. Java language (although no longer the "flavor of the month" I think Java still have some "kick" behind it)
4. IBM System 360 OS (this is close to my heart because most of my money is processed by the great grand kid of this piece of software)
3. The Gene Sequencing Software at the Institute of Genomic Research (to make sense of the basic building blocks of life will be the greater challenge)
2. IBM System R (the great grand daddy of the modern relational databases)
1. Unix (another no brainer if you ask me, the way other operating systems should model themselves against)

technorati tags:software-list, software-history

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