Last line: "But win or lose, the age of "friendly" computing has begun."
Feels bittersweet to recall the age of "friendly" computing in these dark days of "antisocial" computing.
Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
171–180 of 186 posts
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
VGA 640x480 was 16 colors, wasn’t it? The Mac II did 256 colors at that resolution. The software side also helped. Windows (¿mostly?) ran a fixed palette, while the Palette Manager on the Mac made it easy for applications to pick whatever color (out of 16M) they wanted. On the hardware side, most PCs still had monochrome monitors, and even those with color monitors didn’t typically have ones as good as the Trinitrons…
So are we talking about what was available or what people could actually afford? Because if it's the later, the Mac II was much more expensive than even the highest end PCs. You're right though on the color palette. I never understood why Windows nor its applications didn't change it to something less garish than the default CGA palette.
I think we’re talking about what people saw. If you saw a Mac II, chances were quite good that it either had a Trinitron display or that monochrome vertical one.
If you saw a PC with a color monitor, chances were that monitor was moved over from a DOS machine, and dated from the 320x240 era.
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
And just a few years later in 1986, the "Scotty uses a Mac" scene from Star Trek IV: https://youtu.be/LkqiDu1BQXY?t=64
Fun fact: "transparent aluminum" is a reality, albeit insanely expensive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride
Didn't anyone else wonder why they needed transparent aluminium? Wouldn't some water proof cameras have been sufficient to keep an eye on the whales?
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not even sure you can get a working real C64 for $200 now.
There seems to be a few C64's including breadbin and C64C models on eBay most days that I look. Granted some may need recapping or other work done, but there are plenty of others in working condition or only needing minimal repairs. I think you could get one for not much more than $US200 + plus shipping.
So funny that you could get a Raspberry Pi for like $5 that is orders of magnitude more powerful, and could even emulate a complete C64.
Everyone loved the C64 though, so fond memories are worth something.
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't see a reference to it at that link but it's because audio equipment manufacturer McIntosh Labs had the trademark: https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/ Edited to add from wikipedia: “Apple Inc. employee Jef Raskin named the Macintosh line of personal computers after the McIntosh. He deliberately misspelled the name to avoid conflict with the hi-fi equipment manufacturer McIntosh Laboratory. Apple's attempt in 1982 to…
I just lost ten minutes to drooling over the absurdly over-the-top McIntosh Reference System. Now I need to win the lottery.
How much does it cost?
Unsurprisingly the price doesn't seem to be listed on their site.
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
The idea of having to wear a glove to type is horrid. As with the iPod, iPad, and iPhone, I fully expect Apple to wait for things like smart glasses to evolve a bit before jumping into the fray with a mass-market application. Being one of the first-to-market has never been their thing.
They are pretty far from first to market. I'd say Google was first to market with Glass, along with several competitors including Vuzix. Apple developed ARKit, which would work nicely with glasses technology. I agree a glove is a little too complex, but an eye tracking Swype would be a useful innovation.
I think eye tracking Swype sounds horrific.
I think I'd feel sick if I had to type anything of any length, and I don't even get motion sickness usually.
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Additionally, the Lisa Desktop Library contains many similarly named routines to the Mac Toolbox. The Lisa Desktop Library was never directly exposed to third-party applications though. (The Lisa Toolkit exposed it indirectly.) Lisa Desktop Library: https://www.apple.asimov.net/documentation/applelisa/AppleLi... As an example, the Lisa Desktop Library has PROCEDURE HiLiteMenu(menuId: INTEGER); The Xcode 11 beta that…
That function is inside an #if 32-bit, which means it no longer actually exists in 64-bit only macOS. I think AppleScript/Apple Events is the oldest technology still standing, but maybe printing and scanning is older.
Good point! it is only usable from 32-bit apps, which don't run anymore.
But -- if we want to be technical, the function still actually exists, since macOS menus are still driven by Carbon code.
$ nm /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/HIToolbox | grep HiliteMenu 0000000000077d86 T _HiliteMenu
That's kind of amazing to me!
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just lost ten minutes to drooling over the absurdly over-the-top McIntosh Reference System. Now I need to win the lottery.
How much does it cost? Unsurprisingly the price doesn't seem to be listed on their site.
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funny, I've felt the same thing about VR. With AR, I can think of a million practical applications. With any kind of VR that is short of full sensory immersion, I can't think of a single practical use.
Has VR ever been sold as "practical"? I've never seen it used for anything than gaming. That's a large enough market to justify the tech IMO.
The only games that really appealed to me as a use case for VR are "Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes" and using it as a virtual cockpit for mech/dog fighting sims, otherwise it just seems like a thing I have to have on my head for not much gain.
I think it is used for pornography a fair bit though
Re: Apple Reveals ‘Lisa’, Its $50M Gamble (1983)
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
My dad paid $6k+ for a IIci in 89. I had no idea at 9 years old and really no appreciation for what kind of money that was. In 2000 I bought a Power Mac G4 for around $2k. Being young with lots of disposable income, I didn't appreciate then either what kind of money that was. It's only recently that I've started to understand what a computer costs as I've bought computers while paying living expenses.
In 2000, you were 30 years old. That's hardly young :)
I was 20, actually :)