Editing Xerox Alto (section)

{{Short description|Computer made by Xerox}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox computing device
| name = Xerox Alto
| image = Xerox Alto mit Rechner.JPG
| caption = The Alto has a keyboard, mouse, and [[page orientation|portrait-oriented]] monitor.
| developer = [[Xerox PARC]]
| manufacturer = Xerox PARC
| type = 
| release date = {{Start date and age|1973|03|01}}
| connectivity = [[Ethernet]]
| lifespan = 
| price = {{US$|32,000|1979|round=-3}}<ref name="wadlow198109" />
| units shipped = Alto I: 120<br>Alto II: 2,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digibarn.com/collections/audio/digibarn-radio/ron-cude-xerox/ron-cude-xerox-fumbling-future-and-elixir.mp3|title=MP3 Audio of Ron Cude talking about the 1979 Boca Raton Alto Event|website=The DigiBarn Computer Museum|date=2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918031608/http://www.digibarn.com/collections/audio/digibarn-radio/ron-cude-xerox/ron-cude-xerox-fumbling-future-and-elixir.mp3|archive-date=September 18, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
| media = 2.5 [[megabyte|MB]] one-platter [[disk pack#Disk cartridge|disk cartridge]]<ref name=alto/>
| os = Alto Executive (Exec)
| input = [[Computer keyboard|Keyboard]], 3-button [[Mouse (computing)|mouse]], 5-key [[chorded keyboard]]
| power = 
| cpu = [[transistor–transistor logic|TTL]]-based, with the [[arithmetic logic unit|ALU]] built around four [[74181]] [[medium-scale integration|MSI]] chips. It has user programmable [[microcode]], uses [[big-endian]] format and a [[CPU clock]] of {{nowrap|5.88 MHz}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alto I Schematics|url=http://bitsavers.org/pdf/xerox/alto/schematics/AltoI_Schematics.pdf|website=Bitsavers|access-date=July 21, 2016|page=54|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224014316/http://bitsavers.org/pdf/xerox/alto/schematics/AltoI_Schematics.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=alto>{{cite web
|title=History of Computers and Computing, Birth of the modern computer, Personal computer, Xerox Alto
|access-date=April 19, 2016
|url=http://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Personal/Alto.html
|archive-date=December 5, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205082025/https://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Personal/Alto.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
| storage = 
| memory = 96<ref name="manual">{{cite book|title=Alto Operating System Reference Manual|date=June 26, 1975|publisher=Xerox PARC|page=2|url=http://bitsavers.org/pdf/xerox/alto/memos_1975/Alto_Operating_System_Reference_Manual_Jun75.pdf|access-date=July 21, 2016|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717004756/http://bitsavers.org/pdf/xerox/alto/memos_1975/Alto_Operating_System_Reference_Manual_Jun75.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> – 512 [[kilobyte|KB]] (128&nbsp;KB for $4000)<ref name=alto/>
| display = 606 × 808 pixels<ref name=alto/>
| audio = 
| service = <!-- online service/s offered -->
| dimensions = 
| weight = 
| successor = [[Xerox Star]]
| related = [[Lilith (computer)|ETH Lilith]]; {{br}}[[Apple Lisa|Lisa]]; {{br}}[[Apollo/Domain]]
}}

The '''Xerox Alto''' is a computer system developed at [[PARC (company)|Xerox PARC]] (Palo Alto Research Center) in the 1970s. It is considered one of the first [[workstation]]s or [[personal computer]]s, and its development pioneered many aspects of modern computing. It features a [[graphical user interface]] (GUI), a [[computer mouse|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]].<ref name="Koved Selker 1999">{{cite web |last1=Koved |first1=Larry |first2=Ted |last2=Selker |author2-link=Ted Selker |title=Room with a view (RWAV): A metaphor for interactive computing. |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/doc/10.1.1.22.1340 |citeseerx=10.1.1.22.1340 |publisher=IBM TJ Watson Research Center |date=1999 |format=[[File:Icon pdf file.png]] PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Thacker |first1=Charles P. |author-link1=Charles P. Thacker |first2=Ed |last2=McCreight |author-link2=Edward M. McCreight |first3=Butler |last3=Lampson |author-link3=Butler Lampson |first4=Robert |last4=Sproull |author-link4=Bob Sproull |first5=David |last5=Boggs |author-link5=Dave Boggs |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/computerstructures00siew/page/549/mode/1up <!-- http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/blampson/25-Alto/25-Alto.pdf --> |chapter=Alto: A personal computer |title=Computer Structures: Principles and Examples |edition=2nd |date=September 1981 |pages=549-572 |editor-first1=Daniel P. |editor-last1=Siewiorek |editor-link1=Daniel P. Siewiorek |editor-first2=C. Gordon |editor-last2=Bell |editor-link2=Gordon Bell |editor-first3=Allen |editor-last3=Newell |editor-link3=Allen Newell |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]] |isbn=978-0-07-057302-4}}</ref> The first machines were introduced on March 1, 1973,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://toastytech.com/guis/alto.html |title=The Xerox Alto |website=Nathan's Toasty Technology page |access-date=April 28, 2021 |archive-date=July 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704032636/http://toastytech.com/guis/alto.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[Integrated circuit#SSI, MSI and LSI|SSI and MSI]] [[integrated circuit]]s. 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 Inc.|Apple Computer]] personnel received demonstrations of Xerox technology in exchange for Xerox being able to purchase stock [[Option (finance)|options]] in Apple.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/dept/SUL/sites/mac/parc.html|title=The Xerox PARC Visit|website=web.stanford.edu|access-date=September 2, 2018|archive-date=September 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924110717/https://web.stanford.edu/dept/SUL/sites/mac/parc.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After two visits to see the Alto, Apple engineers used the concepts in developing the [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]] and [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] systems.

In 1981, Xerox commercialized a line of office computers, the [[Xerox Star|Star]], based on concepts from the Alto. A complete office system including several workstations, storage, and a [[laser printing|laser printer]] cost up to {{US$|100,000|1981|long=no|round=-3}}. Like the Alto, the Star had little direct impact on the market.