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Xerox Alto

Xerox Alto
The Alto has a keyboard, mouse, and portrait-oriented monitor.
DeveloperXerox PARC
ManufacturerXerox PARC
Release dateMarch 1, 1973 (1973-03-01)
Introductory priceUS$32,000 (equivalent to $134,000 in 2023)[1]
Units shippedAlto I: 120
Alto II: 2,000[2]
Media2.5 MB one-platter disk cartridge[3]
Operating systemAlto Executive (Exec)
CPUTTL-based, with the ALU built around four 74181 MSI chips. It has user programmable microcode, uses big-endian format and a CPU clock of 5.88 MHz.[4][3]
Memory96[5] – 512 KB (128 KB for $4000)[3]
Display606 × 808 pixels[3]
InputKeyboard, 3-button mouse, 5-key chorded keyboard
ConnectivityEthernet
SuccessorXerox Star
RelatedETH Lilith;
Lisa;
Apollo/Domain

The Xerox Alto is a computer system developed at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) in the 1970s. It is considered one of the first workstations or personal computers, and its development pioneered many aspects of modern computing. It features a graphical user interface (GUI), a mouse, Ethernet networking, and the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously. It is one of the first computers to use a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) text editor and has a bit-mapped display. The Alto did not succeed commercially, but it had a significant influence on the development of future computer systems.

The Alto was designed for an operating system based on a GUI, later using the desktop metaphor.[6][7] The first machines were introduced on March 1, 1973,[8] and in limited production starting one decade before Xerox's designs inspired Apple to release the first mass-market GUI computers. The Alto is contained in a relatively small cabinet and uses a custom central processing unit (CPU) built from multiple SSI and MSI integrated circuits. Each machine cost tens of thousands of dollars. Few were built initially, but by the late 1970s, about 1,000 were in use at various Xerox laboratories, and about another 500 in several universities. Total production was about 2,000 systems.

The Alto became well known in Silicon Valley and its GUI was increasingly seen as the future of computing. In 1979, Steve Jobs arranged a visit to Xerox PARC, during which Apple Computer personnel received demonstrations of Xerox technology in exchange for Xerox being able to purchase stock options in Apple.[9] After two visits to see the Alto, Apple engineers used the concepts in developing the Lisa and Macintosh systems.

In 1981, Xerox commercialized a line of office computers, the Star, based on concepts from the Alto. A complete office system including several workstations, storage, and a laser printer cost up to $100,000 (equivalent to $335,000 in 2023). Like the Alto, the Star had little direct impact on the market.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference wadlow198109 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "MP3 Audio of Ron Cude talking about the 1979 Boca Raton Alto Event". The DigiBarn Computer Museum. 2003. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "History of Computers and Computing, Birth of the modern computer, Personal computer, Xerox Alto". Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "Alto I Schematics" (PDF). Bitsavers. p. 54. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  5. ^ Alto Operating System Reference Manual (PDF). Xerox PARC. June 26, 1975. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  6. ^ Koved, Larry; Selker, Ted (1999). "Room with a view (RWAV): A metaphor for interactive computing" ( PDF). IBM TJ Watson Research Center. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.22.1340.
  7. ^ Thacker, Charles P.; McCreight, Ed; Lampson, Butler; Sproull, Robert; Boggs, David (September 1981). "Alto: A personal computer". In Siewiorek, Daniel P.; Bell, C. Gordon; Newell, Allen (eds.). Computer Structures: Principles and Examples (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill. pp. 549–572. ISBN 978-0-07-057302-4.
  8. ^ "The Xerox Alto". Nathan's Toasty Technology page. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Xerox PARC Visit". web.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2018.

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