Lisa computer retrospective - Part 5 of 7

From: David Craig <dcraig_at_email.domain.hidden>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 17:30:15 -0700

THE APPLE LISA COMPUTER: A RETROSPECTIVEPART 5 OF 7MACINTOSH: BACK TO THE FUTURE-------------------------------------------------Though the Lisa is now over a decade old, Lisa Technology stillinfluences the Macintosh. As the Macintosh product line matures,it has in many ways circled back to approach the Lisa of 1983.When Apple introduced the Lisa in January 1983, the Macintoshwas already under development. In January 1984 Apple introducedthe Macintosh which, at a casual glance, resembled a physicallysmaller Lisa in many ways. But underneath, the Macintosh and theLisa were totally different. The Lisa depended on a multi-tasking operating system, the Macintosh only on single-tasking.The Lisa's extra memory (8 times that of the original Macintosh128) and hard drive allowed use of comparatively sophisticatedLisa programs and larger data files. The Lisa's Desktop Managerand its distinctive user interface were drawn on by theMacintosh developers as a foundation for the Macintosh Finder.A short list of Lisa legacy 
items from Mr. Larry Tesler'sarticle "The Legacy of the Lisa" (MacWorld magazine, Sep. 1985)appears below (I've added the Software development list):* User interface	- Menubar, pull-down menus, keyboard-activated menu commands	- Printing dialog boxes	- Appearance, structure, and operation of windows and scroll			bars	- Ability to move windows and icons by dragging with the mouse	- Windows that zoom to open and close	- Dialog and alert boxes with buttons and check boxes* Applications	- QuickDraw graphics package	- LisaDraw converted to MacDraw	- LisaProject converted to MacProject	- LisaWrite, LisaCalc, LisaTerminal influenced Macintosh			applications	- Lisa Desktop Manager influenced the Macintosh Finder design	- Lisa printing architecture influenced Macintosh printing* Software development	- Lisa Pascal converted to MPW Pascal	- Lisa Clascal influenced MPW Object Pascal	- Lisa Workshop influenced design of Macintosh Programmer's			Workshop	- Lisa Workshop editor (LisaEdit) influenced editor design	- Lisa To
o
lKit influenced heavily the Macintosh MacApp			framework* Hardware	- Single-button Mouse design	- ImageWriter printerThe Lisa legacy may also be seen in its influence, through theMacintosh at least, on environments for non-Applemicrocomputers, including Microsoft Windows, Digital Research'sGEM, and Commodore's AmigaDOS. Close examination of thesesystems will show a superficial resemblance to the Lisa (andMacintosh) environments. But many times below the surface onefinds behavior that is reminiscent of the PC-DOS and CP/Msystems from (relatively) long ago.Other Macintosh technical areas influenced by the Lisa were:*       System 7 Stationery*       System 7 Apple Events*       Finder's Print MonitorWhen I work with the Macintosh (e. g. a Macintosh II seriesmachine) in 1993, I notice two prominent differences from theLisa of 1984.First, the Macintosh is much faster than the Lisa. Editingcomplicated images in LisaDraw is almost an exercise infutility. Apple has made excellent progress in enhancing thespeed of i

ts Macintosh series. If Apple had kept the Lisaproduct line one could only assume that hardware speedimprovements would have followed advancing technology. I'veheard that Apple developed a prototype Lisa based upon the 68020processor, but canceled this project along with the Lisa as awhole. This might have made the Lisa a much faster machine.Second, the Macintosh seems comparatively incomplete in someways. For example, the Macintosh Finder does not save thedesktop, open application location, and data states, as did theDesktop Manager. I miss being able to press the Lisa's power-offbutton and just walk away from the computer, knowing that thecomputer would save all my application data and turn offautomatically. Whenever I wished to resume work, I just pressedthe power-on button and the Lisa showed me a screen matching theone I had left.I don't mean to criticize the Macintosh unfairly, since it hasin its own right contributed much to the field of personalcomputing. But the Lisa benefited in general by resultin g
 from atotal system approach that delivered integrated functions with aconsistent and high quality user interface. I can only speculatehow this "total approach" originated, but think it may havesomething to do with the experience and age differences of theLisa and Macintosh development teams. From my readings itappears that the Lisa developers were about a decade older thantheir Macintosh counterparts. The Lisa developers came mainlyfrom large computer companies like Xerox, HP, and DEC, which hadcreated and manufactured minicomputer systems, while theMacintosh developers came mainly from within Apple's II and IIIcomputer divisions. The Lisa developers also appear to have hada different programming philosophy than the Macintoshdevelopers. The Lisa's core software was primarily written inPascal, a high-level language. Macintosh core software, on theother hand, was written in 68000 assembly language.I can only hope that Apple will resurrect some Lisa Technologythat is appropriate for Macintosh (and newer) syste

ms. This hopeassumes that Apple will preserve the Lisa development materialsas best it can. Unfortunately, my experiences in this areasuggest that Apple has lost some Lisa materials already and doesnot put a high priority on saving (what many there may consider)the "antiquated" Lisa technology that remains. I see thepreservation of Lisa design notes and Lisa Office System sourcecode files as crucial for the continuation of the Lisa's legacy.Hopefully Apple will remove the confidentiality status of itsLisa materials in the upcoming years so that outsiders likemyself may have access to this body of knowledge.SYSTEM 7 LISA DEDICATION: THE LAST WORD?-------------------------------------------------The Lisa was considered by many at Apple to be a failedexperiment. Even so it appears that some people working thereunderstand, and wish to commemorate, the Lisa's legacy to theMacintosh. These people provided a short dedication to the LisaDesktop Manager and its designers in the Macintosh System 7operating system, whi

c
h first appeared in 1990, almost a decadeafter the Lisa's debut.On a Macintosh running System 7 you may obtain a dialog showinga Lisa dedication. Hold down the Option key and select the menuitem "About the Finder" (this item is called "About thisMacintosh" if the Option key is not held down). You should see apretty mountain scene with a list of names at the bottom edge.Wait about 15 seconds and the bottom names will scroll, showingmore names of contributors to various versions of the MacintoshFinder. Eventually you will see a dialog describing the LisaDesktop Manager.END OF PART 5

> Regards,
> David T. Craig
>
> ###########################################################
> # David T. Craig -- CyberWolf Inc. -- ACI 4D Developer #5
> # Aspen Plaza, 1596 Pacheco, Suite 203
> # Santa Fe, NM 87505 USA
> # voice 505.983.6463 ext 15 -- fax 505.988.2580
> # dcraig_at_email.domain.hidden
> ###########################################################

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Host your mailing list for free at Maclaunch http://www.maclaunch.com/forms/list.shtml Received on 2001-01-04 16:28:41