[COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing

[COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing

[Noel Chiappa]

    > From: Larry McVoy

    > And the mouse unless my boomer memory fails me.

I think it might have; I'm pretty sure the first mice were done by
Engelbart's group at ARC (but I'm too lazy to check). ISTR that they were
used in the MOAD.

PARC's contribution to mice was the first decent mouse. I saw an ARC mouse at
MIT (before we got our Altos), and it was both large, and not smooth to use;
it was a medium-sized box (still one hand, though) with two large wheels
(with axes 90 degrees apart), so moving it sideways, you had to drag the
up/down sheel sideways (and vice versa).

PARC'S design (the inventor is known; I've forgetten his name) with the large
ball bearing, rotation of which was detected by two sensore, was _much_
better, and remained the standard until the invention of the optical mouse
(which was superior because the ball mouse picked up dirt, and had to be
cleaned out regularly).


PARC's other big contribution was the whole network-centric computing model,
with servers and workstations (the Alto). Hints of both of those existed
before, but PARC's unified implementation of both (and in a way that made
them cheap enough to deploy them widely) was a huge jump forward.

Although 'personal computers' had a long (if now poorly remembered) history
at that point (including the LINC, and ARC's station), the Alto showed what
could be done when you added a bit-mapped display to which the CPU had direct
access, and deployed a group of them in a network/server environment; having
so much computing power available, on an individual basis, that you could
'light your cigar with computes' radcally changed everything.

	Noel

[COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing

[Dan Cross]

On Mon, Oct 2, 2023 at 9:08 AM Noel Chiappa <jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
>     > From: Larry McVoy
>
>     > And the mouse unless my boomer memory fails me.
>
> I think it might have; I'm pretty sure the first mice were done by
> Engelbart's group at ARC (but I'm too lazy to check). ISTR that they were
> used in the MOAD.

They were and they were, but they were clunky, wooden things. He did
refer to it as a "mouse" in the MOAD, but he also referred to the
cursor as a "bug", which did not catch on.

> PARC's contribution to mice was the first decent mouse. I saw an ARC mouse at
> MIT (before we got our Altos), and it was both large, and not smooth to use;
> it was a medium-sized box (still one hand, though) with two large wheels
> (with axes 90 degrees apart), so moving it sideways, you had to drag the
> up/down sheel sideways (and vice versa).
>
> PARC'S design (the inventor is known; I've forgetten his name) with the large
> ball bearing, rotation of which was detected by two sensore, was _much_
> better, and remained the standard until the invention of the optical mouse
> (which was superior because the ball mouse picked up dirt, and had to be
> cleaned out regularly).

Invented by Ronald Rider, developed by Bill English?

> PARC's other big contribution was the whole network-centric computing model,
> with servers and workstations (the Alto). Hints of both of those existed
> before, but PARC's unified implementation of both (and in a way that made
> them cheap enough to deploy them widely) was a huge jump forward.
>
> Although 'personal computers' had a long (if now poorly remembered) history
> at that point (including the LINC, and ARC's station), the Alto showed what
> could be done when you added a bit-mapped display to which the CPU had direct
> access, and deployed a group of them in a network/server environment; having
> so much computing power available, on an individual basis, that you could
> 'light your cigar with computes' radcally changed everything.

This is long, but very interesting: https://spectrum.ieee.org/xerox-parc

Markov's book, "What the Dormouse Said" (which I heard recommended by
Tom Lyon) goes into great detail about the interplay between
Engelbart's group at SRI and PARC. It's a very interesting read;
highly recommended. Engelbart comes off as a somewhat tragic figure.

        - Dan C.

[COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing

[Larry Stewart]

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[COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing

[Noel Chiappa]

    > From: Dan Cross

    > This is long, but very interesting: https://spectrum.ieee.org/xerox-parc

That is _very_ good, and I too recommend it.

Irritatingly, for such an otherwise-excellent piece, it contains two glaring,
minor errors: "information-processing techniques office" should be
'Information Processing Techniques Office' (its formal name; it's not a
description); "the 1,103 dynamic memory chips used in the MAXC design" -
that's the Intel 1103 chip.


    > Markov's book, "What the Dormouse Said" ... goes into great detail
    > about the interplay between Engelbart's group at SRI and PARC. It's a
    > very interesting read; highly recommended.

It is a good book; it goes a long way into explaining why the now-dominant form
of computer user experience appeared on the West coast, ad not the East.

One big gripe about it; it doesn't give enough space to Licklider, who more
than anyone had the idea that computers were a tool for _all_ information
(for everyone, from all walks of life), not just number crunching (for
scientists and engineers). Everyone and everything in Dormouse is a
descendant of his. Still, we have Mitchell Waldrop's "Dream Machine", which
does an excellent job of telling his story.

(Personal note: I am sad and ashamed to admit that for several years I had
the office literally right next door next to his - and I had no idea who he
was! This is kind of like a young physicist having the office right next door
next to Einstein, and not knowing who _he_ was! I can only say that the
senior people in my group didn't make much of Lick; which didn't help.)

Still, get "Dream Machine".

	Noel

[COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing

[Clem Cole]

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On Sun, Oct 1, 2023 at 1:24 AM steve jenkin <sjenkin@canb.auug.org.au>
wrote:

>
> PARC invented so many things, it’s hard to list…
> Ethernet, Laser printers, GUI & Windowing System, Object Oriented (? good
> ?), what became ’the PC'
>
> What we call laser printers (xerography-based printers driven by a
computer) pre-dates PARC.   The XGP took a Xerox long-distance fax (LDX)
machine and connected it to the computer using the 200 bpi Hershey fonts.
 This is a picture from the late 1960s of the LDX:
[image: XeroxLong Distance Xerography LDX.jpg]

The CMU one was first online (shortly) followed by MIT and then Stanford
about 6 mons later.
Here are two of my favorite pics: loading TP into the XGP:

[image: Load TP into XGP.jpg]
and the output =- small diplomas:
[image: CMU Diplomas on toilet paper with sig.jpg]

Fun story about the PARC/Adobe's late Charles Geschke.  His Ph.D. thesis
was the first to be printed on it.  CMU's Library initially rejected it and
would not grant him his diploma, because they wanted the hand-typed masters
for their archives.    It took many months and lots of pleas from folks in
the CS Department to get him an exception - trying to explain they the
library had the master already.
ᐧ

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[COFF] Re: "Hot Spot" High Performing Centres in Computing

[Larry McVoy]

On Sun, Oct 01, 2023 at 04:24:33PM +1100, steve jenkin wrote:
> Taylor founded Xerox PARC, taking many of Engelbart???s team when the ARC closed.
> PARC invented so many things, it???s hard to list???
> Ethernet, Laser printers, GUI & Windowing System, Object Oriented (? good ?), what became ???the PC'

And the mouse unless my boomer memory fails me.