Re: computer history

From	Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid>
Newsgroups	comp.misc
Subject	Re: computer history
Date	2015-07-16 22:00 +0000
Organization	Piglet's Pickles & Preserves
Message-ID	<d0qnrjFr3lpU6@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References	(1 earlier) <alpine.LNX.2.02.1507131628260.13783@darkstar.example.org> <op.x1rbskeamsr2db@dell3100.workgroup> <87y4iia18o.fsf@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> <d0mijlFq3l0U1@mid.individual.net> <mo95eo$6mq$1@dont-email.me>

Show all headers | View raw

On 2015-07-16, Bill Cunningham <nospam@nspam.invalid> wrote:
>
> "Huge" <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote in message 
> news:d0mijlFq3l0U1@mid.individual.net...
>> On 2015-07-14, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>>
>>> "Kerr Mudd-John" <admin@127.0.0.1> writes:
>>>
>>>> On Mon, 13 Jul 2015 21:32:35 +0100, Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> In the Unix world, the OS continued as always, but at some point (and I
>>>>> don't know the year), X came along to ride on top of it.  That 
>>>>> continues
>>>>> today with Linux.
>>>
>>> Increasingly, today it's the Linux OS with X on top with a "desktop"
>>> on top of X.  I was quite taken with Unix, X and a simple window
>>> manager when I first encountered it circa '89 and continue in that
>>> mode today.  Windowing tech is a great improvement over bare console.
>>>
>>> The "desktop" AFAICT, is born of MS-Windoes envy.
>>
>> Hardly, since the desktop UI predates Windows.
>>
>> I was sitting in front of a Xerox Star workstation when DOS3.3 was "state
>> of the art". How we laughed.
>
>     My first OS was MS-DOS. But I am not sure if it was that old 3.3. I 
> remember FAT16 was terrible. Everything was crashing. I think it had one 
> FAT. Now when FAT32 came along things improved. But that's another story...
>
>     I remember mscdex.exe. And I was quite happy about MS-DOS. I didn't know 
> what I was missing. But I do like the CLI. It must be the Xerox then? I was 
> always told next step.

NextStep was definitely *NOT* the first GUI. As for what was, first you
have to decide what a GUI *is*.

The Xerox Star was an early one, but it was preceded by the Xerox Alto;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Alto

Which was itself based on ideas from the NLS;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLS_%28computer_system%29

Which is where many of the things we regard as commonplace came from;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLS_%28computer_system%29#Firsts

There's very little properly new in computing.

What is definitely not the case, as some people seem to believe, is that
Microsoft had anything to do with any of this.

-- 
Today is Boomtime, the 51st day of Confusion in the YOLD 3181
                  I don't have an attitude problem.
    If you have a problem with my attitude, that's your problem.

Back to comp.misc | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar

Thread

computer history "Bill Cunningham" <nospam@nspam.invalid> - 2015-07-13 14:38 -0400
  Re: computer history Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2015-07-13 18:52 +0000
    Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-13 20:56 +0000
  Re: computer history Andy Burns <usenet.feb2014@adslpipe.co.uk> - 2015-07-13 19:54 +0100
  Re: computer history Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2015-07-13 16:32 -0400
    Re: computer history "Kerr Mudd-John" <admin@127.0.0.1> - 2015-07-14 10:39 +0100
      Re: computer history Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2015-07-14 18:16 -0300
        Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-15 08:06 +0000
          Re: computer history Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2015-07-15 11:34 +0200
            Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-15 10:29 +0000
              Re: computer history Dan Espen <despen@verizon.net> - 2015-07-15 10:52 -0400
                Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-15 14:54 +0000
              Re: computer history Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2015-07-15 12:53 +0200
          Re: computer history "Bill Cunningham" <nospam@nspam.invalid> - 2015-07-16 16:52 -0400
            Re: computer history Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2015-07-16 22:50 +0100
              Re: computer history "Bill Cunningham" <nospam@nspam.invalid> - 2015-07-17 12:42 -0400
                Re: computer history Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2015-07-17 13:58 -0400
                Re: computer history Nyssa <Nyssa@flawlesslogic.com> - 2015-07-17 14:17 -0400
                Re: computer history Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2015-07-17 15:43 -0400
                Re: computer history Nyssa <Nyssa@flawlesslogic.com> - 2015-07-18 11:05 -0400
                Re: computer history mm0fmf <none@mailinator.com> - 2015-07-20 20:17 +0100
                Re: computer history Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2015-07-18 09:46 -0400
                Re: computer history Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2015-07-18 14:48 +0100
                Re: computer history scott@alfter.diespammersdie.us (Scott Alfter) - 2015-07-17 18:30 +0000
                Re: computer history Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2015-07-17 15:49 -0400
                Re: computer history Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2015-07-22 15:09 +0000
                Re: computer history True Satan <true_satan@fastmail.co.uk> - 2015-07-17 22:24 +0000
                Re: computer history Johnny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2015-07-18 00:45 +0000
                Re: computer history Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2015-07-17 23:59 -0400
                Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-18 09:46 +0000
                Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-18 09:42 +0000
                Re: computer history "Bill Cunningham" <nospam@nspam.invalid> - 2015-07-20 13:48 -0400
                Re: computer history mm0fmf <none@mailinator.com> - 2015-07-20 20:43 +0100
                Re: computer history RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2015-07-21 10:31 +0300
                Re: computer history "Bill Cunningham" <nospam@nspam.invalid> - 2015-07-25 13:47 -0400
                Re: computer history Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2015-07-25 22:04 +0100
                Re: computer history Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2015-07-22 15:08 +0000
                Re: computer history Johnny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2015-07-22 18:43 +0000
              Re: computer history Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2015-07-18 02:25 +0200
                Re: computer history Johnny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2015-07-18 01:01 +0000
                Re: computer history Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2015-07-18 10:43 +0200
            Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-16 22:00 +0000
              Re: computer history "Bill Cunningham" <nospam@nspam.invalid> - 2015-07-17 12:44 -0400
                Re: computer history Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2015-07-17 17:58 +0000
    Re: computer history "Bill Cunningham" <nospam@nspam.invalid> - 2015-07-14 12:36 -0400

csiph-web