Re: X

["Paul J. Bell" <paulb nomurany com>]

Christopher G. Wilson wrote:

> Greetings All,
>
> >
> > X (and Motif) were the model for Microsoft WIndows, so their
> > influence is very wide indeed.
> >
>
> This isn't _quite_ true.  Windows and MacOS owe much more to
> Xerox PARC's Alto and it's user environment.  Motif owes much of
> it's usability to IBM's CUA (Common User Architecture or Access, I
> can't remember which) initiatives and publications that proposed
> the common menus and keystrokes that can be found in both Motif
> and Windows (and OS/2 by the way).
>
> X and all of the aforementioned windowing environments owe a great
> deal to the cross pollination that happened during the early eighties.
> The thing, IMHO, that sets X apart from everybody else is the foundation
> in networking. The only other system that had this network distributability
> at its core was NeWS from Sun.  THAT is the real innovation in X if you
> ask me!
>
> Chris
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> Christopher G. Wilson, Ph.D. (cgwilson redjack ninds nih gov)
> Lab of Neural Control, NIH-NINDS
> Bldg. 49, Rm. 3A50, Bethesda, MD. 20892-4455
> (301) 496-6738 Voice | (301) 402-4836 FAX
>
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correct, of course.  it would be a serious mistake to ignore the work done at
Xerox PARC' in the late '60.  it truly was the forerunner of all gui-type
stuff and Apple and others did indeed borrow much from their work.

i remember seeing an early system at Xerox PARC in 1968 that among other
things was the first use of a mouse that i had seen.

there was much discussion by the folks there and in medical circles about the
ill effects of using a mouse for long periods.  these concerns centered around
the disconnect of seeing the pointer move around without seeing the hand
move.  something about screwing up the kinesthesia sense, and not carpal
tunnel syndrome or things like that.

i wonder what these people think about this hazard today?

    -paul

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