Xerox Alto

The Xerox Alto is a computer system developed at <a href="/facts/PARC_(company)/fh2Su0k9">Xerox PARC</a> (Palo Alto Research Center) in the 1970s. It is considered one of the first <a href="/facts/Workstation/h5tK4hTt">workstations</a> or <a href="/facts/Personal_computer/koaYfNce">personal computers</a>, and its development pioneered many aspects of modern computing. It features a <a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface/wBlQFWDP">graphical user interface</a> (GUI), a <a href="/facts/Computer_mouse/fJpa1tUE">mouse</a>, <a href="/facts/Ethernet/nMfhU8tU">Ethernet</a> networking, and the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously. It is one of the first computers to use a <a href="/facts/WYSIWYG/aGmcHWpX">WYSIWYG</a> (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 <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a> based on a GUI, later using the <a href="/facts/Desktop_metaphor/kWQQNlxu">desktop metaphor</a>. The first machines were introduced on March 1, 1973, 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 <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">central processing unit</a> (CPU) built from multiple <a href="/facts/Integrated_circuit/fjn6vg7C">SSI and MSI</a> <a href="/facts/Integrated_circuit/fjn6vg7C">integrated circuits</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Silicon_Valley/gdot9J7e">Silicon Valley</a> and its GUI was increasingly seen as the future of computing. In 1979, <a href="/facts/Steve_Jobs/fQpja1hx">Steve Jobs</a> arranged a visit to Xerox PARC, during which <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple Computer</a> personnel received demonstrations of Xerox technology in exchange for Xerox being able to purchase stock <a href="/facts/Option_(finance)/5gJFXV3X">options</a> in Apple. After two visits to see the Alto, Apple engineers used the concepts in developing the <a href="/facts/Apple_Lisa/PJpJhNRK">Lisa</a> and <a href="/facts/Macintosh_128K/oXlQGVpX">Macintosh</a> systems.
In 1981, Xerox commercialized a line of office computers, the <a href="/facts/Xerox_Star/MT15wQq1">Star</a>, based on concepts from the Alto. A complete office system including several workstations, storage, and a <a href="/facts/Laser_printing/fJ2GrUBj">laser printer</a> cost up to $100,000 (equivalent to $346,000 in 2024). Like the Alto, the Star had little direct impact on the market.

Xerox Alto open-in-new

Xerox Alto