[vcf-midatlantic] Xerox Wildflowers - Dandelions and Daybreaks

[Andrew Diller]

As I learn more about these systems and start to see them working, it's hard not to realize the folly Xerox engaged in here. They had not 1, not 2, but 3 entire hardware generations of systems (Alto->Dandelion->Daybreak) to refine the desktop and GUI application suite concept.

They controlled both the hardware and the software for these systems.

The _owned_ the copier / laser printer market- and could do anything they wanted in terms of output for these devices to paper. 

They invented ethernet and had the whole interconnected network/office lan designed and done.


And then they let Apple come in... and with later help from Canon (LaserWriter) define and dominate the Desktop publishing market.. which Xerox had completely invented, refined deployed and had working (eating their own dog food) for years. 

It's just astonishing when you consider the possibilities that Xerox had in 1983-86 and just completely punted on.


-andy


> On Aug 17, 2020, at 10:26 AM, Dean Notarnicola <dean.notarnicola at vcfed.org> wrote:
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> Legend says Star, but Corey or Tony May have better info
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> On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 10:13 AM Andrew Diller via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org <mailto:vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org>> wrote:
> I know DavidG has done some amazing work (along with other members) on VCF's 8010 (Dandelion)... And strangely enough the same day (yesterday) someone on the SGI Discord I frequent posted this amazing video, which I thought I'd share to interested people here:
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> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Dlr5rY9SI <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Dlr5rY9SI> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Dlr5rY9SI <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Dlr5rY9SI>>
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> Of a Daybreak (Xerox 6085) booting up into ViewPoint 2.0 and using the apps. VCF also has a Daybreak which would be great to get fully functional again as well.
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> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Daybreak <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Daybreak> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Daybreak <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Daybreak>>
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> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Star <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Star> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Star <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Star>>
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> I'm not sure of the dates, but do people know if the Xerox Star would have been the system that Jobs and the Apple team viewed at Xerox back when they had their infamous visits? Or were those Altos?
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> -andy
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