Final Xerox Star demo

From: Kai Kaltenbach <kaikal_at_MICROSOFT.com>
Date: Mon Jun 1 17:28:11 1998

Is there someone to contact by phone to see if there will be videotapes
available?

thanks

Kai

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Yowza [mailto:yowza_at_yowza.com]
Sent: Monday, June 01, 1998 3:17 PM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Final Xerox Star demo


>Xerox PARC is giving one final demonstration of the original Xerox Star
>workstation built in 1981. This may be the last time it gets
>demoed, as the hardware has begun failing due to its age. Don't miss
>this opportunity to witness one of the most important steps ever taken in
the
>history of computing and user interface design.
>
> Final Demo of the Xerox Star Workstation
> 5:30 to 7:00pm
> Wednesday June 17th
> Auditorium Xerox PARC
>
>
> Unquestionably, one of the major design innovations of this century
>has been the Graphical User Interface, with its desktop, icons, pop-up
>and pull-down menus and ubiquitous windows. The explosion of computer
usage
>in the last decade has in large part been made possible through this
simpler
>and more direct method of user interaction.
>
> Though millions of people around the world are now using GUIs, few
>outside of the Human/Computer Interaction field or the Silicon Valley
>are aware of the history of the its design prior to the introduction
>of the Macintosh in 1984.
>
> The first GUI ever developed was the work of Dr. Douglas Englebart,
>a researcher at SRI (the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, CA) in
the
>mid-1960s. His visionary and pioneering design and prototypes succeeded in
>producing the world's first screen-based windows, cursor-selectable pop-up
>menus, as well as the mouse with which to interact with them.
>
> Though these innovations were truly revolutionary, it was not until
>a decade later when researchers at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
(PARC)
>began systematically studying this system in a commericial development
effort.
>The Xerox Alto personal computer workstation was developed in the late 70's
>and included a mouse pointing system. This system influenced later systems
>such as Bravo, which was developed at Xerox PARC by Bruce Lampson and
included
>an integrated editor formatter. Later systems included Markup, Draw, and
Star.
>
> Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has been a cradle of Silicon
>Valley innovation for 25 years. Its research spans domains from atoms
>to anthropology, from its solid-state physics lab, which develops new
>laser diodes for use in printers and copiers, to the group that studies
>work practices and their possible impact on current and future products.
>
> Located in the Stanford University Industrial Park in the heart of
>Silicon Valley, PARC was charged upon its founding in 1970 to the
>"architect of the information age". Since then it has delivered into
>use such significant pieces of the current information infrastructure
>as laser printers, graphical user interfaces, object-oriented
>programming languages, and Ethernet local area networks. PARC has
>contributed to user interfaces, electronic components, embedded
>software and architectures for each new line of Xerox copiers,
>printers, and systems reprographics products.
>
>
>
> Directions to Xerox PARC
>
>>From Highway 101, take the Oregon Expressway exit west 2 miles to
>El Camino Real. Oregon Expressway becomes Page Mill Road at El Camino.
Follow
>Page Mill Road 1.7 miles to Coyote Hill Road (no light) and turn left.
Coyote
>Hill Road is just past the intersection with
>Foothill Expressway. Go one-half mile and PARC will be on your left.
>Follow the signs to the auditorium.
>
>>From Interstate 280, take the Page Mill Road exit. Go east one mile
>to Coyote Hill Road (no light) and turn right. Go one-half mile and
>PARC will be on your left. Follow the signs to the auditorium.
Received on Mon Jun 01 1998 - 17:28:11 BST