Infocom’s Failed 1985 Database Software Now Works on Modern PCs

Why Cornerstone mattered

I remember when Infocom made Zork and everyone thought they were the best. You should know they tried to sell a business tool called Cornerstone to help your office. I think this project was a huge mistake that cost the company all its money. You can see how this one bad choice hurt the whole studio very fast.

The 1985 launch and its flaws

I saw that they used the Z-machine so the software would run on every computer. Each of the different versions were way too slow for a normal person to use. You must realize that IBM computers already owned the entire business market back then. I think a large amount of people didn’t care about the cross-platform features at all.

How the failure sank Infocom

I watched as the database ate every dollar meant for the game division. You lost out on cool new tech because the cash went to this big flop. I know the sales went down until Activision finally bought them in 1986. The studio ended up closing for good only three years after that deal happened.

A modern resurrection: Linchpin

I found a new tool called Linchpin that is different than anything else for your PC. You can use this program to run the database on your modern laptop right now. I think it is funny that experts like Andrew Plotkin still talk about this old stuff. This tool gives you a chance to try a piece of history today.

What the revival tells us

I feel like you can learn a big lesson from why this company failed. You should stay with what you know best so you do not lose your way. I see Cornerstone as a warning about what happens when you try and do too much. You can go download it and see those slow speeds for yourself.