Editing Xerox Alto (section)

==Diffusion and evolution==
Technically, the Alto is a small minicomputer, but it could be considered a [[personal computer]] in the sense that it is used by one person sitting at a desk, in contrast with the [[mainframe computer]]s and other [[minicomputer]]s of the era. It is arguably "the first personal computer", although this title is disputed. More significantly (and perhaps less controversially), it may be considered to be one of the first [[workstation]] systems, with successors such as the [[Apollo/Domain|Apollo]] workstations and systems by [[Symbolics]] (designed to natively run [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]] as a development environment).<ref>{{cite web |title=Personal Computer Milestones |url=http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml |author=<!-- Unstated --> |date=<!-- Undated --> |publisher=Blinkenlights Archaeological Institute |access-date=December 31, 2006 |archive-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802180248/http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1976 to 1977, the Swiss computer pioneer [[Niklaus Wirth]] spent a sabbatical at PARC and was excited by the Alto. Unable to bring back an Alto system to Europe, Wirth decided to build a new system from scratch and he designed with his group the [[Lilith (computer)|Lilith]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethistory.ethz.ch/rueckblicke/departemente/dinfk/forschung/weitere_seiten/lilith/index_EN/popupfriendly/|title=Lilith Workstation|access-date=January 3, 2017|archive-date=March 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303134438/http://www.ethistory.ethz.ch/rueckblicke/departemente/dinfk/forschung/weitere_seiten/lilith/index_EN/popupfriendly/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was ready to use around 1980, before Xerox released the Star in 1981 and Apple released [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]] in 1983 and [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] in 1984. Around 1985, Wirth started a complete redesign of the Lilith under the Name [[Oberon (operating system)|"Project Oberon"]].

In 1978, Xerox donated 50 Altos to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], [[Stanford University]], [[Carnegie Mellon University]],<ref name="wadlow198109">{{cite magazine |last=Wadlow |first=Thomas A. |date=September 1981 |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1981-09/BYTE_Vol_06-09_1981-09_Artifical_Intelligence#page/n59/mode/2up |title=The Xerox Alto Computer |magazine=Byte |access-date=October 19, 2013 |pages=58 |volume=6 |issue=9}}</ref> and the [[University of Rochester]].<ref name="denber198202">{{cite magazine |last=Denber |first=Michel |date=February 1982 |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-02/1982_02_BYTE_07-02_Winter_Computing#page/n29/mode/2up |title=Altos Gamesmen |magazine=Byte |access-date=October 19, 2013 |type=letter |pages=28 |volume=7 |issue=2}}</ref> The [[National Bureau of Standards]]'s Institute for Computer Sciences in [[Gaithersburg, Maryland]] received one Alto in late 1978 along with Xerox Interim File System (IFS) file servers and Dover laser printers. These machines inspired the ETH Zuerich [[Lilith (computer)|Lilith]] and Three Rivers Company [[PERQ]] workstations, and the [[Stanford University Network]] (SUN) workstation, which launched a spin-off company, [[Sun Microsystems]]. The [[Apollo/Domain]] workstation was heavily influenced by the Alto.

Following the acquisition of an Alto, the White House information systems department sought to lead federal computer suppliers in its direction. The [[Executive Office of the President of the United States]] (EOP) issued a [[request for proposal]] for a computer system to replace the aging [[Office of Management and Budget]] (OMB) budget system, using Alto-like workstations, connected to an IBM-compatible mainframe. The request was eventually withdrawn because no mainframe producer could supply such a configuration.

In December 1979, [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]]'s co-founder [[Steve Jobs]] visited Xerox PARC, where he was shown the [[Smalltalk]]-76 object-oriented programming environment, networking, and most importantly the [[WYSIWYG]], mouse-driven [[graphical user interface]] provided by the Alto. At the time, he didn't recognize the significance of the first two, but was excited by the last one. The GUI was promptly integrating into Apple's products, first into the [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]] and then in the [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]], and Jobs recruited several key researchers from PARC.<ref name=nerds>{{cite web |title=PBS Triumph of the Nerds Television Program Transcripts: Part III |publisher=PBS (Public Broadcasting System) |url=https://www.pbs.org/nerds/part3.html |access-date=February 8, 2007 |archive-date=December 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216210647/http://www.pbs.org/nerds/part3.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1980 to 1981, Altos were used by engineers at PARC and at the Xerox System Development Department to design the [[Xerox Star|Star]] workstations.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}