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Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!lll-lcc!pyramid!prls!mips!wilkes
From: wilkes@mips.COM (John Wilkes)
Newsgroups: misc.legal,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.apple,comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.hp,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Apple Challenges HP New Wave, MS-Windows, Potentially OS/2 PM
Message-ID: <1928@electron.mips.COM>
Date: 24 Mar 88 01:46:46 GMT
References: <5480@well.UUCP> <5492@well.UUCP> <535@nunki.usc.edu> <1473@alliant.Alliant.COM>
Reply-To: wilkes@electron.UUCP (John Wilkes)
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 28
Keywords: Apple Mac HP Microsoft Windows OS/2 New Wave Frivolous Litigation

In article <1473@alliant.Alliant.COM> rosenkra@alliant.UUCP (Bill Rosenkranz) writes:
>apple has no way of claiming they invented (and own) window/mouse-type 
>computing environments. it seems to me that apollo was selling just that
>circa 1980. sun has suntools and NeWS. MIT/DEC/IBM/... have X. what's

I believe that it is generally accepted that the mouse was invented by Doug
Englebart while he was at SRI.  They did alot of research into alternative
methods of human-computer interaction.  Originally, the mouse was used with
a keypad thingie that had 4 piano-key-shaped keys.  The mouse had three
buttons on it, and this allowed for many combinations since the mouse
buttons and keypad keys could be used together.  Doug can probably type
faster using that setup than a regular keyboard.  They also experimented
with footpedals and knee pads.  This made for a more active interaction
with the computer - sort of looked like dancing.  The foot/knee pedals did
not survive the test of time.  This was back in the sixties, I believe;
pretty weird stuff for its time.  There are undoutedly many papers that one
could dig up describing the work.  Doug Englebart now works for McDonnell
Douglas (nee Tymshare, which bought the entire project from SRI and made it
a product).

(Dis)claimer:  Once upon a time, I worked for Doug Englebart at Tymshare.

-John Wilkes
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