Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/02/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Jim, It was an outgrowth of the Alto. I understand that commercially it was a failure. Herbert Kanner kanner at acm.org 650-326-8204 Question authority and the authorities will question you. On Feb 3, 2013, at 3:08 PM, Jim Nichols wrote: > Hi Herb, > > Thanks for the continuing history lessons. My secretary received one of > the first Xerox Star systems purchased and installed by the USAF at our > center. They were all interconnected by Ethernet cables, and provided a > great improvement in moving information around the center. I think it was > an outgrowth of the Alto. > > Jim Nichols > Tullahoma, TN USA > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Herbert Kanner" <kanner at acm.org> > To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org> > Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2013 4:52 PM > Subject: [Leica] Another from the Museum: the Xerox Alto Computer > > >> This bit of computer history is so rich that, even with many details >> glossed over, it may be too long for some readers. >> >> The story begins with the Xerox Corporation. The company was started in >> 1909 with the name The Haloid Photographic Co. They made photographic >> paper. The name in time got shortened to Haloid Xerox. Eventually, they >> developed commercially what they renamed xerography, became a successful >> copier company, dropped their photographic endeavors and the name >> "Haloid". >> >> Their research laboratory was in New York State. Copiers were their total >> stock in trade, but as computers became more prevalent, they had a vague >> idea, without explicit plans, that they should pay some attention to >> computers. They bought a computer company, Scientific Data Systems (SDS) >> pf Santa Monica, CA, changed its name to Xerox Data Systems (XDS) and >> proceeded to run it into the ground. >> >> Around 1970, again with the vague idea that they should investigate >> various technical and scientific fields including computer science, they >> found the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). The Palo Alto location, I was >> told in an early attempt at a job interview, was chosen to be as far as >> possible from corporate headquarters and far from XDS. The proximity of >> Stanford University was also a serious factor. >> >> The Alto was an attempt to prototype a computer for business use. While >> prohibitively expensive, the idea was that costs were dropping rapidly, >> and that in five to ten years, it was predicted, such a computer would be >> affordable to business. About two thousand of them were built, scattered >> around PARC and networked by ethernet cable. Ethernet was invented at >> PARC; so was the laser printer. Did Xerox make a fortune out of any of >> this? One commentator coined the sentence: "Xerox had the ability to >> snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!" >> >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/herbk1/L1002809.jpg.html >> >> What you are seeing is not the computer itself. The computer is a large >> box under the table, in a position where it could not possibly be shot. >> You will immediately notice the unusual shape of the screen. So what do >> you do in business? You shuffle sheets of paper. What is the shape of a >> sheet of paper? Nuff said. At the upper left of the picture, you will see >> an early ethernet cable. On the right is a mouse. This the first public >> appearance of one since it was invented by Doug Engelbart in 1963 and >> publicly demonstrated in 1969. >> >> On the left is a second invention of Doug's: a five key keyboard on which >> one can play chords. The idea was that with the left hand on it and the >> right hand on the mouse, you can do many operations without having to let >> go of the mouse until you are seriously entering text. I have fun when >> giving tours at the Computer History Museum by asking any geeks on the >> tour how many different chords can be played with five fingers. I usually >> draw a blank. Some how the concept of chords is a mental block. If I had >> asked them: "What is the largest number you can write with five binary >> digits," I'm sure they would have snapped out: 31. >> >> In 1979, related to the fact that Xerox had invented serious money in >> Apple, Steve Jobs got to see a demonstration of the Alto. The people at >> PARC did not want to show him what they considered to be the crown >> jewels, and on that day he didn't see anything he had not seen before. He >> was pissed off, made it known to Xerox headquarters, and a second visit >> was arranged at which the lab people were ordered to show him everything. >> >> At this point, we get into the realm of legend. There are two versions: >> the first, supported by some knowledgeable computer experts, is that >> Apple had been working for some time on the sort of graphical user >> interface that we know today on Windows and Macintosh, had encountered >> serious problems, and seeing that the problems had been solved at Xerox, >> proceeded to work harder and do the same at Apple. The second was that >> seeing this interface demonstrated at Xerox, Steve Jobs was stunned, and >> on returning to Apple caused the group working on the Lisa computer to go >> back to square one and redo hardware and software to provide that kind of >> interface. The Lisa, an unsuccessful product because of high price and >> poor performance, was followed in two years by the Macintosh. >> >> Having read the Steve Jobs biography, I'm inclined to go with the second >> version, the one in the biography. In the first place, the biographer >> seems to have been very meticulous and talked to a great many people. In >> the second place, it makes Steve Jobs seems a bit less brilliant. >> >> >> Herbert Kanner >> kanner at acm.org >> 650-326-8204 >> >> Question authority and the authorities will question you. >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information