Xerox PARC

Founding of Xerox PARC

1970

Xerox PARC is founded. George Pake and his supervisor, Jacob Goldman, the vice president of research at Xerox, choose the Stanford University Industrial Park to house the laboratory due to its proximity to a prominent research university (Xerox's requirement for the laboratory) and Pake's personal connections to Stanford University. (Pake 54)

PARC Examines Trends in Technology

1971

According to co-founder George Pake, one of the first things Xerox PARC did was examine the state of relevant technologies for Xerox, and try to predict how those technologies would develop over time. Some trends they noticed were increasing numbers of transistors on integrated circuits, "dedicated processing power" for individual people in the form of workstations, and communication between workstations and with printers. These trends would greatly influence PARC's research. (Pake 56)

Invention of the Laser Printer

1971

In 1971, Gary Starkweather transferred to Xerox PARC with the longtime idea of creating a laser printer. Within the year, he and others created the scanning technology necessary to make one. Later, in 1972, Starkweather and others built the Scanned Laser Output Terminal (SLOT), a prototype laser printer, using an existing copier. Laser printing was PARC's first major innovation, yet had little to do with the computing breakthroughs they would become best known for. (Pake 57-58; O'Regan 229)

Engelbart's Influence Arrives

1971

Also in 1971, many researchers left Stanford Research Institute (SRI) for Xerox PARC. SRI employed Douglas Engelbart, co-creator of the mouse and creator of the On-Line System that allowed users to manipulate files and text on screen. The defecting employees, including Bill English, who created the mouse with Engelbart, saw potential in personal computers; Engelbart did not. Engelbart's ideas continued to influence the researchers at PARC, inspiring many innovations. (Atkinson 47-50; Cozzi 56)

Smalltalk

1972

In 1972, the first version of Smalltalk, Smalltalk-72, was released for use within Xerox PARC. It was developed in the Learning Research Group by Alan Kay and others. Smalltalk was the first object-oriented programming (OOP) language, in which programmers create "classes" that dictates the properties and behavior of "objects," pieces of data created from classes. Smalltalk would go on to influence many later OOP languages, such as Java. (O'Regan 228-229; Heracleous et al. 334)

Lampson's Vision for the Xerox Alto Computer

1972

By 1972, development of Xerox PARC's Alto workstation computer was underway. Researcher Butler Lampson wrote a memo to management that year to request funding to build multiple Altos. In the memo, he depicted his own vision for personal computers, in which many Altos, each run by one person with personal files, could be connected together, allowing workers to communicate. He also explained that this would allow PARC to test the viability of personal computers. (O'Regan 226-227)

Introduction of the Alto

1973

The experimental Xerox Alto computer was introduced in 1973. This was the first computer that had a built-in graphical user interface (GUI) with a bitmap display and the now-familiar windows-and-icons interface. The Alto soon became widely used within Xerox PARC, but was never sold commercially; its expensive price meant that it may not have been a commercial success regardless. (Rajaraman 888; Heracleous et al. 332; Pake 59)

Invention of Ethernet

1973

A 1973 memo written by Robert Metcalfe is the original description of Ethernet. Ethernet is used to connect computers to other devices, including other computers, over short distances using a cable. Its use of packet-switching was inspired by ARPANET, the famous predecessor of the Internet, and ALOHAnet, a packet-switching network created by the University of Hawai'i that was wireless. By late 1973, researchers were able to connect machines at PARC with Ethernet. (O'Regan 227-228)

The Bravo Word Processor

1974

Bravo, a word processor, was created in 1974 for use on the Xerox Alto. It was not the first word processor, but it was the first one to follow the "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) model. In other words, documents created using Bravo would look nearly identical to how they looked when printed out. This model became very influential, as it is the most common design for modern word processors, such as Microsoft Word. (Heracleous et al. 331-332; Pake 59)

Point and Click

1975

Previously, the mouse had been used simply to position the cursor at a specific location within a block of text; this had been true since Engelbart's On-Line System and had remained so for Bravo. Then, in 1975, researchers at Xerox PARC created a word processor called "Gypsy," the first program to use the now-ubiquitous "point-and-click" interface with a mouse. This changed the way mice were used, allowing even greater interaction with the computer. (Atkinson 50; O'Regan 225)

The Xerox 9700

1977

The Xerox 9700 Electronic Printing System was released in 1977. It was based on the EARS laser printer, which in turn was based on Gary Starkweather's SLOT printer. Intended for high-volume situations, it could print 120 pages per minute. The Xerox 9700 was quite successful and pioneered a new market for electronic printing. This was the only time that Xerox was able to capitalize on an innovation made at PARC. (O'Regan 229; Pake 58; Cozzi 56)

Ethernet is Commercialized

1979

In 1979, Ethernet was commercialized. Xerox released multiple products related to Ethernet. Additionally, Robert Metcalfe, one of the inventors of Ethernet, left PARC to found the company 3Com, which also sold Ethernet products. The commercialization of Ethernet allowed it to become widespread, allowing computer owners to create networks and eventually connect to the Internet. (Pake 59; O'Regan 228)

Steve Jobs' Visit to PARC

1979

In November of 1979, Steve Jobs visited Xerox PARC. He was inspired by the Alto computer's capabilities and decided that his company, Apple, would incorporate some of these functions into its own computers, particularly its GUI with icons and windows, and its bitmapped graphics. He even hired PARC engineers to help with implementation. Apple implemented these features in its unsuccessful Lisa computer, and then in the highly successful Macintosh. (Cozzi 56; Atkinson 50; Heracleous et al. 334)

The Xerox Star

1981

In 1981, Xerox released its 8010 Star, a workstation computer based heavily on the Alto. Its capabilities were revolutionary; it introduced bitmapped graphics, the mouse-driven and icon-and-windows interface, WYSIWYG programs, and Ethernet to a commercially-available computer. However, the Star was also extremely expensive at $16,000, and therefore was unable to become commercially successful. (Pake 58-59; O'Regan 225)

The Split

2002

In 2002, the laboratory formerly known as Xerox PARC became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and changed its name simply to "PARC." Computing research is still conducted there, and PARC now serves not only Xerox, but also VMware, Samsung, and others. While PARC is no longer making as many breakthroughs as they were in the 1970s, it is safe to say that it continues to push the boundaries of computing. (O'Regan 225-226)