[Am-info] Re: MS Depositions

[Geoffrey]

John Poltorak wrote:

> On Thu, Jan 31, 2002 at 07:53:43PM -0500, Geoffrey wrote:

>>So, where do Apple and Xerox fit into this picture puzzle??
>  
> Xerox invented the WIMP GUI at the Palo Alto Research Centre. Everything 
> else is derivative. It's difficult to say when it first came out as I'm 
> not sure if it was part of a commercial product.
> 
> WIMP - Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pointing devices.


I've not verified the accuracy of the following, but I find it 
interesting that it appears that, as usual, Microsoft was the last to 
come to this picture.  As usual, taking everyone else's good ideas and 
claiming them for their own.  It appears that Xerox had a 'gui' based 
workstation as early as 1981.  Jobs had Lisa out in 1983.

From:

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_winter/Topics/dialog-wimp/

"The development of WIMP interfaces continued at Xerox PARC. The PARC

research team, which included notables such as Alan Kay and Adele 
Goldberg, designed most of the elements that we associate with WIMP 
interfaces: a bit-mapped display with movable/resizable windows, buttons 
and pop-up menus, the desktop metaphor, and an object-oriented software 
architecture and development library. The Smalltalk language/development 
environment (1970-) was the research testbed for OOP and WIMP 
interfaces. The Xerox Star workstation (1981) was the first production 
computer to use the desktop metaphor, productivity applications and a 
three-button mouse.

Steve Jobs and a team from Apple paid an infamous visit to Xerox PARC. 
The result was the Lisa (1983) computer and the Macintosh (1984), the 
first mass-produced WIMP-based machines. A small company, Microsoft, got 
the contract to develop the first suite of productivity applications to 
be bundled with the Macintosh. By 1985, Microsoft proposed Windows, 
which they intended to run on a wide variety of platforms. The reader 
can fill in the blanks. With the rapid rise of Microsoft Windows, WIMP 
interfaces have become the dominant interface paradigm."


-- 
Until later: Geoffrey		esoteric@3times25.net

"...the system (Microsoft passport) carries significant risks to users that
are not made adequately clear in the technical documentation available."
- David P. Kormann and Aviel D. Rubin, AT&T Labs - Research
- http://www.avirubin.com/passport.html