Xerox Alto user interface

E2458

The Xerox Alto user interface was a pioneering graphical user interface featuring windows, icons, and a desktop metaphor that profoundly shaped the design of modern personal computing environments.

All labels observed (15)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf WIMP interface
graphical user interface
basedOn research at Xerox PARC
colorModel monochrome
countryOfOrigin United States
demonstratedTo Apple engineers in late 1970s
designedFor personal workstation use
designGoal make computing more accessible to non-specialists
developedBy Xerox PARC
developedFor Xerox Alto
displayType portrait bitmapped display
documentedIn Xerox PARC technical reports
feature WYSIWYG text editing
bitmapped graphics display
contextual menus
iconic file representations
icons
menus
mouse pointer
mouse-driven interaction
multiple document windows
overlapping windows
resizable windows
scroll bars
scrollable documents
window title bars
hardwarePlatform Xerox Alto workstation
historicalSignificance foundation of modern GUI design
inception 1973
influenced Apple Lisa user interface
Apple Macintosh user interface
Microsoft Windows user interface
linked to: Windows

Star user interface
modern desktop environments
inputDevice keyboard
three-button mouse
notableFor early use of mouse-driven GUI
early use of overlapping windows
pioneering desktop metaphor
predecessor command-line interfaces
researchContext human–computer interaction
office automation
resolution 606×808 pixels
usedInApplication Bravo text editor
Draw graphics program
Gypsy text editor
Laurel email client
usesMetaphor desktop metaphor

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (21)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

NLS influenced Xerox Alto user interface
Xerox Alto user interface developedBy Xerox PARC
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Xerox Alto user interface developedFor Xerox Alto
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Xerox Alto user interface hardwarePlatform Xerox Alto workstation
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Python influencedBy Smalltalk
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Star user interface introducedOnPlatform Xerox Star workstation
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Star user interface predecessorOf Microsoft Windows 1.0 user interface
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Gypsy text editor operatingSystem Xerox Alto system software
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Gypsy text editor platform Xerox Alto
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Gypsy text editor hardwareEnvironment Xerox Alto personal workstation
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Gypsy text editor category Xerox Alto software
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Laurel email client operatingSystem Xerox Alto operating system
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Laurel email client platform Xerox Alto
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Laurel email client hardwareRequirements Xerox Alto personal workstation
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Laurel email client category Xerox Alto software
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Apple Lisa influencedBy Xerox Alto
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Alan Kay knownFor Xerox Alto
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Apple Macintosh team influencedBy Xerox PARC Alto interface concepts
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Lisa OS basedOn Xerox PARC GUI concepts
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
GEM (Graphics Environment Manager) basedOn Xerox PARC-style WIMP interface
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface
Lisa Office System influencedBy Xerox PARC Alto software environment
linked to: Xerox Alto user interface