Is there someone to contact by phone to see if there will be videotapes
available?
thanks
Kai
-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Yowza [mailto:yowza@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.