Alto

Thursday, August 16, 2001 by MadIce | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk

Apple has the name of having the first graphical user interface that comes with a mouse and in the artical "The PC at the cross-roads" nice pictures of the Lisa show that innovative machine. Although the artical does not offer a complete history (it wasn't the intention of that article), it amazes me that people often forget who invented the graphical user interface and mouse. It would be nice if the articles showed a picture of the Xerox Alto from the seventees. Not a real PC, because it was more a research project than a commercial success, but it set the standard. Also its price tag was a bit high ($32,000). However, if you are interested try the following link:

http://members.fortunecity.com/pcmuseum/alto.html

Too bad that there are not many screen shots left to use it for a skin
12 Reply 1 Referrals
craeonics
Reply #1 Thursday, August 16, 2001 9:00 AM
I can remember someone posting a link to old OS screenshots in some thread here some time ago, including the first GUI (if I'm not mistaken).

What surprises (when I found out) me is that the pen was invented much earlier than the mouse. You know, those pens with which you could point out things on the screen and such. Sort of a prehistoric Wacom.

MobiusCo
Reply #2 Thursday, August 16, 2001 9:15 AM
It is strange how people tend to totally forget about Xerox's innovation for the GUI. And yes I remember making one of the point locator pens from parts at Radio Shack for my atari 800 back in the days of cassette tape drives for storing files. Wish I still had that thing laying around for it looked like a Cross pen that went thru an electronic blender.

MadIce
Reply #3 Thursday, August 16, 2001 11:19 AM
Xerox PARC did a lot of inventions and pioneered the GUI. However most modern hardware (including the mouse and the electronic pen) and software concepts (like windows, menus, icons and hypertext) were invented by another ancient company: SRI. They showed a computer with all these innovations (together with an audio and video interface for remote conferencing) in 1968!

http://www.eetimes.com/special/special_issues/millennium/companies/sri.html

craeonics
Reply #4 Thursday, August 16, 2001 8:05 PM
My gawd! But if I'm not mistaken, the principle of HyperText is even older, somewhere around WWII.

Fa65*BFh
Reply #5 Thursday, August 16, 2001 8:37 PM
is said Apple also steal the mouse idea, i read somewhere that was 2 geek guys idea, first went to another comapny but they didnt like it (heh) and then went to Apple where was stoled... just something i read time ago... i was too young back time so cant tell you very well.

Fa65*BFh
Reply #6 Thursday, August 16, 2001 8:39 PM
i read the Link and doesnt seems like im wrong about the above post... anyway, old storys

DavidK
Reply #7 Thursday, August 16, 2001 8:39 PM
wow! I did not know about SRI... I always thought Xerox was the first GUI and mouse.
Anybody remember DRDOS or PCMOS? I kinda miss PC Tools and Norton Commander sometimes...

Jafo
Reply #8 Thursday, August 16, 2001 8:55 PM
Dave....you need to move on....it's the twentieth century, you know...

craeonics
Reply #9 Thursday, August 16, 2001 8:59 PM
You must've scored high on that test in the other thread then Dave.

DavidK
Reply #10 Thursday, August 16, 2001 9:42 PM
haha - 20th? err I think even that is old news now Jafo.
yes crae, uncomfortable as it was... I did :Þ


Jafo
Reply #11 Thursday, August 16, 2001 9:56 PM
News-flash!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave knows it's 2001.....

MadIce
Reply #12 Friday, August 17, 2001 8:02 AM
You are right about hypertext, craeonics. Vannevar Bush writes an amazing article in 1945 and describes in remarkable detail a system similar to the Web, almost exactly 50 years before it happened.

http://www.isg.sfu.ca/~duchier/misc/vbush/

The name "hypertext" seems to be invented by Ted Nelson in the early sixtees.

http://www.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0155.html

However it was SRI (again) that implemented hypertext in software and showed it on a computer in 1968. You can see the demonstration of that computer (along with a mouse and audio/video "groupware") at:

http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/1968Demo.html


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