Alto personal computer
E89071
The Alto personal computer was an early pioneering workstation developed at Xerox PARC in the 1970s, notable for introducing the graphical user interface, mouse, and desktop metaphor that heavily influenced later personal computers.
Aliases (2)
Statements (62)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
computer workstation
→
personal computer → research prototype → |
| architecture |
microcoded
→
|
| category |
Ethernet-based system
→
graphical workstation → historic computer → |
| commercialAvailability |
limited internal and institutional deployment
→
|
| connectedTo |
laser printer
→
|
| countryOfOrigin |
United States
→
|
| CPU |
custom microcoded CPU
→
|
| developer |
Xerox PARC
→
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center → |
| displayOrientation |
portrait
→
|
| displayResolution |
606×808 pixels
→
|
| displayType |
bitmapped display
→
|
| era |
1970s
→
|
| inception |
1973
→
|
| influenced |
Apple Lisa
→
Apple Macintosh → Xerox Star → modern graphical user interfaces → |
| influencedBy |
oN-Line System
→
|
| inputDevice |
5-key chord keyset
→
keyboard → mouse → |
| introduced |
1973
→
|
| locationOfExhibits |
Computer History Museum
→
Living Computers: Museum + Labs → |
| manufacturer |
Xerox
→
|
| networkInterface |
Ethernet
→
|
| notableFor |
desktop metaphor
→
early graphical user interface → influencing Apple Lisa → influencing Apple Macintosh → influencing Microsoft Windows interfaces → influencing later personal computers → use of a mouse as primary pointing device → |
| operatingSystem |
Alto Executive
→
Pilot → Smalltalk environment → |
| primaryStorageCapacity |
128 kilobytes
→
256 kilobytes → 512 kilobytes → |
| primaryStorageType |
dynamic RAM
→
|
| secondaryStorageCapacity |
2.5 megabytes
→
|
| secondaryStorageType |
removable hard disk cartridge
→
|
| softwareIncluded |
Bravo word processor
→
Draw graphics program → Gypsy word processor → Laurel email client → Smalltalk programming environment → |
| supportedNetworkingProtocol |
Ethernet experimental protocol
→
|
| unitsProduced |
approximately 2000
→
|
| usedAt |
Xerox PARC
→
selected research laboratories → universities → |
| usedFor |
computer networking research
→
graphical user interface research → office automation research → software development → |
| wordSize |
16-bit
→
|