GoKawiilWhile the official dBase.com LLC’s website is still on-line, its newsgroups have been off-line since November 2025.
For those still trapped in its ecosystem, there is finally an escape route: AI powered migrations.
1979-1995: Legacy dBase years
Years ago, dBase was the undisputed king of databases - every business, every person using IBM or IBM-compatible PCs had to get it installed.
But instead of innovating to remain the best database in the face of competition, former Ashton-Tate CEO Ed Esber decided to litigate. Lawsuits designed to protect “look and feel” copyrights had a massive, chilling effect on the dBase community.
Ashton-Tate targeted its own unsuspecting customers with “piracy audits”, and ask them to pay extra fees for licenses. External consultants were given sales quotas for official dBase consultant status - a predatory practice that was unthinkable in an era when software development cycles took years.
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