HST 701 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Darpa, Graphical User Interface, Douglas Engelbart
27 Nov 2016
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Hst 701 - scientific technology and modern society. Steve jobs was visionary of pc computing. Why did doug englebart and xerox palo alto"s graphical user interface not directly revolutionize personal computing. Three main markets from least to most important : Needed no manuals, gave instant feedback, and drove computer architecture. Developed corps of young programmers who valued human-computer interactions. World processing - micropor"s wordmaster" then worldstar". Early massive success did not guarantee market domination. Businessmen saw ibm pc as a serious business tool. Ibm selected intel 8088 chip: 640k memory. > bad choice: intel microprocessor had greater capacity. Compaq: reverse-engineered ibm pc to make 100% compatible machine. Phoenix technologies: reverse-engineered bios chip, sold it to other computer-makers. Test of compatibility: lotus 123 flight simulator. Dec ignored pc: not a serious computer". Dex vax minicomputers became vital as internet server and node computers. Dec invested badly, went bankrupt in early 1980s.
