Joho345, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Type: Workstation
Presentation: Released in March 1973
Dimensions and Weight:
Processor: Transistor-transistor logic based CPU with a complexive clock of 5.88 MHz, featuring an Arithmetic Logic Unit built on four 74181 MSI chips
Memory: 96 to 512 KB
Storage Media: 2.5 MB one-platter disk cartridge (hard drive)
Operating System: Proprietary system with a graphical user interface
Notes: Despite it not being successful commercially, the Xerox Alto left a crucial legacy in the history of computing. It was the first commercial computer to implement a mouse, Ethernet connectivity, and multitasking. It also used an operating system with a graphical interface, a revolutionary concept at the time, that would inspire the development of Mac OS, Windows, and other graphical environments in the 1980s.
