How Xerox invented the GUI and lost it

How Xerox invented the GUI and lost it

Xerox is a company that people who want to sound smart or to sound visionary should be familiar with. In the 1960s, Xerox was a company that seemed to own the future, in a position similar to the position Apple or Nvidia are in today. The Xerox name was synonymous with photocopying. In the days before digital document retrieval, every office had at least one photocopy machine. Xerox was in the enviable position of its trademark being a verb. If I said I was xeroxing, people knew exactly what I was doing. But Xerox famously invented the GUI and got very little for its invention.

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Apple IIc: A smaller, sleeker Apple II from 1984

Apple IIc: A smaller, sleeker Apple II from 1984

The Apple IIc was the 4th computer in the Apple II line, introduced April 24, 1984. It was a bit of a departure from the earlier Apple II machines.

The Apple II, II+, and IIe were strictly desktop computers. The system unit was a large box with an integrated keyboard and, importantly, expansion slots. The expansion slots went a long way toward ensuring the Apple II’s longevity. When you ran short on hardware capability, there were seven expansion slots to plug more hardware in to solve your problem.

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The first Youtube video

The first Youtube video

The first Youtube video went live April 23, 2005. Titled “Me at the zoo,” it shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. You can still view it on the site. The same day, Youtube launched a public beta. The domain had been live since February 15, 2005. This was the humble beginning of something that changed how we watch television and how content is created and delivered.

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When Escom bought Commodore

When Escom bought Commodore

Escom acquired Commodore on April 22, 1995 for $14 million. At the time, it seemed like Commodore’s long nightmare might be over. The Amiga had a new owner. Sadly, it didn’t work out that way.

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Timex Sinclair 1000 computer: Revisiting its legacy

Timex Sinclair 1000 computer: Revisiting its legacy

The Timex Sinclair 1000 was the U.S. version of the Sinclair ZX81. Timex announced it April 20, 1982, and released it in July. It was a real computer for $99 way back in 1982. It sold 500,000 units in 1982, but only 100,000 units in 1983, so it was only on the market for about 18 months.

The Timex Sinclair 1000 sold for $99, and was the first home computer to sell for under $100. It was a very limited machine with 2 KB of RAM, a membrane keyboard, and no color or sound, and was discontinued in 1983.

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Gordon Moore and Moore’s Law

Gordon Moore and Moore’s Law

Gordon Moore (January 3, 1929 – March 24, 2023) was a cofounder of chipmaker Intel Corporation. He proposed Moore’s law which makes the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit, or computer chip, doubles about every two years. Moore’s Law was first published April 19, 1965.

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The last MP3 patent

The last MP3 patent

Medieval Europeans believed that the divine right of sovereignty transferred instantly from one monarch to the next upon the death of the previous one. This led to a saying, first used in 1422 in France, that translates to “The king is dead. Long live the king!” And in that same spirit, when the last patent related to the MP3 file format expired April 16, 2017, a few people said MP3 is dead, long live Mp3. And some skipped the part about MP3 living long, and just declared it dead.

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Apple II announced April 16, 1977

Apple II announced April 16, 1977

On April 16, 1977, Apple launched the Apple II, one of the first pre-built desktop computers, although it wouldn’t ship until June of that year. It went on to sell about 6 million units over the course of the next 17 years, making it the longest lived and most successful of the three prebuilt micro computers that arrived on the market in 1977.

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Intel Celeron 266 introduced April 15, 1998

Intel Celeron 266 introduced April 15, 1998

On April 15, 1998, Intel introduced its Celeron 266 processor. It was the first Celeron in a product line that lasted 25 years, but it wasn’t one of Intel’s finest moments. The Celeron was a cut-down Pentium II, designed in a rush as a response to pricing pressures from AMD. And it looked like a typical rush job.

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Google’s acquisition of Doubleclick

Google’s acquisition of Doubleclick

On April 13, 2007, Google agreed to acquire DoubleClick for US$3.1 billion in cash. Google had already been in the advertising business since 2000, with its Adwords product. Buying Doubleclick further sent Google down the road of funding itself through selling advertising.

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