A [1984] tag would provide some context, as that is when this interesting article was published. (This is mentioned in a callout near the beginning, but it is easy to skip over those.)
Definitely recommended reading, especially if you weren't around in those days.
I like this passage which explains some computing terms we take for granted now:
> The model was, of course, the Lisa workstation with its graphic “windows” to display simultaneously many different programs. “Icons,” or little pictures, were used instead of cryptic computer terms to represent a selection of programs on the screen; by moving a “mouse,” a box the size of a pack of cigarettes, the user manipulated a cursor on the screen. The Macintosh team redesigned the software of the Lisa from scratch to make it operate more efficiently, since the Macintosh was to have far less memory than the 1 million bytes of the Lisa.
The article also reminded me how expensive computers were in those days. Accounting for inflation, the $2500 Macintosh would be about $7500 today, and the $10,000 Lisa with its 1 million bytes of memory would be $30,000.
Back in 1982, I decided the just-introduced IBM PC was not a real computer because it didn't have a front panel with lights and switches. So I bought an Ithaca Intersystems DPS-1, a high end S-100 system with a Z80 processor and a real front panel, for $8000. Later I added a 20 megabyte hard drive for another $6000. So I guess that $14,000 computer would be about $42,000 today!
Definitely recommended reading, especially if you weren't around in those days.
I like this passage which explains some computing terms we take for granted now:
> The model was, of course, the Lisa workstation with its graphic “windows” to display simultaneously many different programs. “Icons,” or little pictures, were used instead of cryptic computer terms to represent a selection of programs on the screen; by moving a “mouse,” a box the size of a pack of cigarettes, the user manipulated a cursor on the screen. The Macintosh team redesigned the software of the Lisa from scratch to make it operate more efficiently, since the Macintosh was to have far less memory than the 1 million bytes of the Lisa.
The article also reminded me how expensive computers were in those days. Accounting for inflation, the $2500 Macintosh would be about $7500 today, and the $10,000 Lisa with its 1 million bytes of memory would be $30,000.
Back in 1982, I decided the just-introduced IBM PC was not a real computer because it didn't have a front panel with lights and switches. So I bought an Ithaca Intersystems DPS-1, a high end S-100 system with a Z80 processor and a real front panel, for $8000. Later I added a 20 megabyte hard drive for another $6000. So I guess that $14,000 computer would be about $42,000 today!