[bitwize]

One thing I'm surprised hasn't taken off is something like Framework. Framework was a hybrid word processor/spreadsheet/database/graphics/communications program based around the unifying concept of a frame, all scriptable in a Lisp-like programming language from which every frame -- down to individual spreadsheet cells which counted as frames -- was directly addressable. Frames could even serve as sources of input or sinks for output to/from external programs or remote machines.

Framework was pretty much Emacs for the office, and such was its power that unlike contemporary spreadsheets and word processors, which were usually positioned as productivity tools for generating business documents and reports, Framework was explicitly marketed as a decision making tool for executives. It did well in markets such as Europe where Lotus hadn't taken over, but it just about died when the Windows era started.