1 Jul
1999
1 Jul
'99
11:35 a.m.
I just have to be contrary, here. I was given my first Mouse Systems
Optical Mouse back in '82. That was before either the Lisa or the Mac. I
don't exactly know what the giver thought/wished I would do with it, but
there it was. I was using CP/M at home and office though we did have an
MS-DOS machine.
If attention hadn't been called to the mouse by that time, I doubt someone
would have given me one.
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Duell <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Thursday, July 01, 1999 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: Article about collecting in Antique Trader.#
I wasn't implying a technical influence. Just that the Mac brought the
mouse to the public's attention. And thus PCs had to get some kind of
mouse/GUI. After all, the GUI on the Alto is very different from that on
the Lisa, which is very different from that on the Mac (at least as I
remember them).
In any case, Windows 3.x was an important step. There were _very few_
(that I remember) third party applications for Windows 1.x or 2.x. In
fact those versions of Windows tended to come bundled with whatever
applications needed them (I remember installing Excel on a PC in about
1988 and it came with a run-time Windows 2.x IIRC).
But Windows 3.0 appeared (to the user) as a different PC operating system
(yes, _I_ know it was built on top of MS-DOS, but...). Now you could get
point-n-drool programs for this OS on a PC.
> The picture might look like:
>
> The Mouse ------------------------------;
> | SideKick -'-> Windows 1.x/2.x -;-> MS Win
3.x -;-> MS Win 9x
> > I don't want to imply a direct technical
link here. But it's clear that
the
> > Macintosh was influenced by the Lisa. And
that Windows was influenced
by
the Macintosh.
Objections!
IMHO Windows was _not_ influenced by the mac - at least not
at all before 3.x, and not heavyly before 9x. Let me explain: > |
,-> GEM -'
|
Alto -+-> D
machines -> Apple Lisa -> Original Mac -'----------> MacOS
7.0
-'-> ...
| | Close similarities
+-> PERQ
OK, I can certainly accept that.
All I was really commenting on was the fact that the Lisa attracts a
price out of all proportion with it's significance. The PERQ and
D-machines are important as well, but those don't tend to sell for $5000
or whatever.
No, me'n either, but maybe the impact of the
PC had been different -
these computers did pave the road to use other systems more willingly
not just by order of ones boss.
I would be _very_ supprised if most of today's PC _users_ (as opposed to
programmers, hackers, etc) started out building a ZX80 19 years ago..
P.S.: If you continue, I might be interested in
getting a PERQ :)
You should be. It's an interesting machine. Just be warned that
microcoding is addictive...
-tony