They designed the tech first the progenitors....no XEROX = no Apple = Theft
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Apple did pay Xerox for their WIMP implementation.Comment
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This week’s milestones in the history of technology include the public unveiling of the air defense system that led to networked and interactive computing, and the Apple Lisa and Apple Macintosh that led to the mainstreaming of the graphical user interface.
January 16, 1956
The development of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) is disclosed to the public. It collected and coordinated data from radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area, directing the response of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to an air attack.
SAGE’s use of telephone lines to communicate from computer to computer and computer to radar laid the groundwork for modems. The control program, the largest real-time computer program written at that time, spawned a new profession, software engineering. From MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory website:
The SAGE system, by the time of its full deployment, consisted of 100s of radars, 24 direction centers, and 3 combat centers spread throughout the U.S. The direction centers were connected to 100s of airfields and surface-to-air missile sites, providing a multilayered engagement capability. Each direction center housed a dual-redundant AN/FSQ-7 computer, evolved from MIT's experimental Whirlwind computer of the 1950s. These computers hosted programs that consisted of over 500,000 lines of code and executed over 25,000 instructions—by far the largest computer programs ever written at that time. The direction centers automatically processed data from multiple remote radars, provided control information to intercepting aircraft and surface-to-air missile sites, and provided command and control and situational awareness displays to over 100 operator stations at each center. It was far and away the most grandiose systems engineering effort—and the largest electronic system-of-systems "ever contemplated."
Although the basic concept for SAGE was simple, the technological challenges were immense. One of the greatest immediate challenges was the need to develop a digital computer that could receive vast quantities of data from multiple radars and perform the real-time processing to produce targeting information for intercepting aircraft and missiles. Fortunately, and serendipitously, the initial concept development for such a computer was taking place on the MIT campus in the Servomechanisms Laboratory, under the direction of Jay Forrester. This effort, with its maturation under SAGE, laid the foundation for a revolution in digital computing, which subsequently had a profound impact on the modern world.
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January 19, 1983
Apple introduces Lisa, a $9,995 PC for business users. Many of its innovations such as the graphical user interface, a mouse, and document-centric computing, were taken from the Alto computer developed at Xerox PARC, introduced as the $16,595 Xerox Star in 1981.
Jobs recalled that he and the Lisa team were very relieved when they saw the Xerox Star: “We knew they hadn’t done it right and that we could–at a fraction of the price.” Walter Isaacson in Steve Jobs: “The Apple raid on Xerox PARC is sometimes described as one of the biggest heists in the chronicles of industry.” Isaacson quotes Jobs on the subject: “Picasso had a saying–‘good artists copy, great artists steal’–and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas… They [Xerox management] were copier-heads who had no clue about what a computer could do… Xerox could have owned the entire computer industry.”
Says Isaacson: “…there is more to it than that… In the annals of innovation, new ideas are only part of the equation. Execution is just as important.” True, but given that Lisa didn’t become a commercial success, “execution” obviously means much more than “getting the product right.”
Byte magazine called the Lisa "the most important development in computers in the last five years, easily outpacing [the IBM PC]." But the intended business customers were reluctant to purchase the Lisa because of its high launch price of $9,995, making it largely unable to compete with the less expensive IBM PCs. Steve Jobs' announcement that Apple will release a superior system in the future which would not be compatible with the Lisa didn’t help.
The release of the Apple Macintosh in January 1984, which was faster and much less expensive, was the most significant factor in the demise of the Lisa.
January 22, 1984
The Apple Macintosh is introduced in the "1984" television commercial aired during Super Bowl XVIII. The commercial was later called by Advertising Age “the greatest commercial ever made.” A few months earlier, Steve Jobs said this before showing a preview of the commercial:
It is now 1984. It appears IBM wants it all. Apple is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money. Dealers initially welcoming IBM with open arms now fear an IBM dominated and controlled future. They are increasingly turning back to Apple as the only force that can ensure their future freedom. IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple. Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer industry? The entire information age? Was George Orwell right about 1984?Last edited by CAPCOM; 14-11-2020, 11:32.Comment
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Yep me too, used to work in a shop that sold them so I was able to play on loads of the them, Oric, Lynx Camputer, Dragon etc.Originally posted by gunrock View PostThere are so many 8 bit machines that I have physically touched (if not used or owned) but so many more, that I never saw in the flesh and just as many I had not heard of, or heard much of.
The problem is... that the presentation and write ups are so good, it's fuelled my desire to own some of them, hence my very recent purchase of a Memotech MTX512!
Well done on the purchase, I also wouldn't mind a big Amiga collection but we've no room sadly.
Although I had one of the Grandstand machines and a C64 the Amiga was the reason I carried on playing games and also really got into graphics, utils, demo's. I just loved the whole Amiga eco-system.Originally posted by Cassius_Smoke View Post
Great info as always thanks Brad.Originally posted by Brad View PostComment
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You should see the book, Charles, its like a mail-order brides catalogue but for middle-aged technology nostalgics!
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It is a great graphic design book and Alex made a fantastic effort on it he also helped out at the V&A exhibition...a credit to him...
Would love a Hasbro Tomy Takara one on Transformers in this style and depth with blueprints and designs...
Last edited by CAPCOM; 18-11-2020, 12:21.Comment
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