Why I started with Notes (Ben style)

Mon 7 Apr 2008, 11:23 PM

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by Ben Langhinrichs
I wrote this six years ago in my Penumbra profile, and they let me join anyway, so I guess I'll repeat it here:

Many, many years ago, two fellows got to talking
Of hating their jobs and wanting to quit, and how they could be walking.
They talked of starting a company to sell their software tools
If it got big and made some bucks, then who would look like fools?

The name of the game was OS/2, and it was very hot stuff
Selling tools to make OS/2 better, that couldn't be terribly tough
What smart guys we are, they said, as they smugly patted their backs
We need a name to show our game, and to show we're not just hacks.

"The plural of genius is genii", Ben suggested, "and that's what we two are."
Gregg thought it was stupid and pointless and dumb and wouldn't take them very far.
So before their software conglomerate could even get off the ground
They disagreed and parted with speed, leaving Ben with the name he'd found.

Well, OS/2 was cool perhaps, but the marketing really sucked
So when it came to buy an OS, companies all just ducked.
They didn't buy the platform, so the tools just gathered dust.
And Genii Software was looking like a colossal, humongous bust.

But not much later, at a subsequent job, Ben heard wonderful things
About a product called Notes, and all the votes said this killer app just sings.
Now, here was product with vision he thought, and lots of room to grow
How about I revive my near extinct business, and give it another go.

One of the coolest things about Notes was the fabulous API
It might not appeal to another, but Ben was an API guy.
Rather than live with the product as is, Ben started to look for the gaps
Imagine if I just added on this, just picture the incredible apps...

Extending the formula language was fun, and brought in a bit of cash
But Ben couldn't quit the day job yet, he hadn't enough in his stash
Then came R4 with LotusScript, which developers thought was really hip
And an LSX toolkit also did ship, which made Ben's heart take a hop and a skip.

Extending a real language, now we're talking
At last from his company, he was walking
A worldwide business developed in time
And now, I've reached the end of my rhyme.

Copyright © 2008 Genii Software Ltd.