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Comment by EvanMiller | Hacker News Reader

This looks like a nice product. Software companies have been struggling to make a mass-market database program ever since Lotus 1-2-3 (the "3" was a database), but the spreadsheet remains king, despite the fact that for storing structured data, it is almost as bad as a Word document with macros. So I'll be rooting for you.

One complaint: Referring to your Basic plan as being "Free forever" is a bit disingenuous. In my opinion, the FTC ought to prohibit use of this term by tech companies located in the 650 and 415 area codes.

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> Software companies have been struggling to make a mass-market database program ever since Lotus 1-2-3 (the "3" was a database)

Not really; there were several post 1-2-3 mass-market database programs that had considerable success (dBase, Paradox, Access, FileMaker), though of those only Access is still successful.

> In my opinion, the FTC ought to prohibit use of this term by tech companies located in the 650 and 415 area codes.

Is this part of an East Bay / San Jose economic development plan?

> Software companies have been struggling to sell a mass-market database program ever since Lotus 1-2-3 [that is not Access]

There, I fixed it for you. (disclosure: I worked on a similar tool, had a friend, one of the best programmers I know, who built a similar tool, worked on an ERP system that addressed many of the same use cases, and I started Skysheet, YC W09, with gruseom).

btw, what's up with SkySheet?

It appears you make reasonable comments, so you should know that you're dead d--b.

MS office has been non-optional for the workplace computer for decades, so any tool has to compete with "free-as-in-had-to-buy-it-anyways".

Access is great as a personal, single-user database, but how much software has been written to expand it past that limitation in small businesses? Also, Access isn't available for Mac. And Access doesn't run on your iPhone/iPad. I don't entirely disagree with your comment, but I do think there's room and demand in the market for something like AirTable.

I've personally been dabbling with similar idea for years. Guess I should have invested my time and money in getting it to market.

> Access is great as a personal, single-user database, but how much software has been written to expand it past that limitation in small businesses?

There were (and in all probability still are) many multi-user Access projects in use by small businesses.

> I don't entirely disagree with your comment, but I do think there's room and demand in the market for something like AirTable.

So you don't entirely disagree with a bunch of people who have failed to find this imaginary demand, but you think the demand is there? There is demand for business applications for verticals, and for general ERP functions like timesheets and payroll. The demand for an Access-like or "better spreadsheet" product is all of the "Oh yeah, it sounds cool" variety that never results in sales.

>Referring to your Basic plan as being "Free forever" is a bit disingenuous

How so? I haven't had a company ever tell me this then start charging. Oftentimes they go out of business, but that is a different problem. :)

I'm not sure if the "forever" keyword was ever involved, but two examples that spring to mind are Google Apps and Dyn, both of which have discontinued their free tier.

Not sure about Dyn, but if you had created a Google Apps prior to them removing the free tier - you still have it for free... new customers don't get to use it free but existing free customers are still free.

By the area codes provided by EvanMiller (415 = San Francisco, 650 = Palo Alto) I don't think he meant "free first, then they started charging". I think he meant "got acquired" / "pivoted" "went out of business".

Let's see. There was Apple's iTools, .mac, MobileMe, and now iCloud service (sort of one big evolving service, with some bits chopped off or replaced at various points in time), which has gone from free to paid to freemium.

There's Google Apps for your Domain, which killed off its free service in favor of the $5/user per month service.

Ning shut down their free service and switched to a paid only model.

DynDNS also shut down their free service, only offering paid.

How many more examples do you need?

I recall those being free. I don't remember any of them being marketed as "Free forever". If you have even one example that you can document as being falsely advertised as "Free forever"...

I can't speak to the rest, but I still have free Google Apps for my personal domain. They're no longer offering it for new customers, but those who signed up when it was free still have it.

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