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What DID Apple innovate? (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by ElPussyKangaroo@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Genuine question.

I know they were the scrappy startup doing different cool things. But, what are the most major innovative things that they introduced, improved or just implemented that either revolutionized, improved or spurred change?

I am aware of the possibility of both fanboys and haters just duking it out below. But there's always that one guy who has a fkn well-formatted paragraph of gold. I await that guy.

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[–] fubo@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Xerox's prototype desktop computer was called Alto, not X, and had some of these features in a very early form. It was never made into a product for the open market; it was used internally at Xerox and at some research universities.

Apple didn't "steal" from the Alto; Xerox invested in Apple and allowed Steve Jobs and Apple engineers to tour their facilities for product ideas.

You might also be thinking of the X Window System for Unix, whose modern descendant most Linux systems are still using. It's pretty different from the Mac approach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Alto

[–] BoastfulDaedra@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 10 months ago

No, I was thinking of Xerox's initial investigation into rectangular-window based use environments, which literally every single GUI desktop system inherits from. It's name wasn't especially relevant, given it was the only element of its kind at the time.

Most early on, people saw it from Apple. I'm most certainly not referring to the very modern (if simplified) X Window System, which I happen to have in a BSD VM.

My point, which you seem to agree with, is that Xerox did it first, Apple just brought it to market. They didn't invent it, and they didn't ultimately innovate it any more than Microsoft, Sun, KDE, GNOME, or anyone else did; they just served as the earliest exposure most people got to the concept.