Larry Tesler, a pioneering computer scientist who worked at Apple from 1980 to 1997, and created computerized cut, copy, and paste, died this week at the age of 74.
Tesler was VP of AppleNet and Apple’s Advanced Technology Group. During his time at Apple, he played a key role in the development of products ranging from the Lisa to the Newton MessagePad.
And that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to his contribution to computing.
Category: Apple History
My Cairo Throw⇢
Last week, I linked to this blanket that features designs by Susan Kare. I ended up ordering one and have opened it over on Instagram. I’m going to work out a way to hang it in my studio.
A Plague of Performas⇢
When I mentioned that I was trying to do a weekly chart on Six Colors, Stephen Hackett suggested a few charts that he’d like to see—some silly, some serious. I’m not sure where this one falls. Stephen was curious about how many Macs were released, historically, per year.
It’s a complicated concept. My first thought was to chat all Macs that have ever been alive at any given time, but that would require a level of research that I am not able to do today. Instead, I decided to focus on release years, and scoured the Macs by year page at EveryMac.com to generate a list.
Video: Mac OS 9’s Voiceprint⇢
Mac OS 9 included a featured named Voiceprint, which allowed you to log in to your Mac with just a spoken phrase. It wasn’t great.
Apple didn’t even get the “My voice is my passport” reference right.
Cairo Throw⇢
I’m thinking this would look good as a tapestry in my studio:
The original emoji, Cairo was a typeface designed by Susan Kare in 1984 for the first Macintosh operating system. Taking its name from the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt, each symbol was drawn by hand using the bitmap grid. A few notable symbols lived on into later operating systems including the cursor and watch.
Kare designed this woven blanket for the Jacquard loom, an early example of computer-controlled machinery, operated with punched cards and invented by Joseph Jacquard in 1801.
iPad at 10
Ten years ago, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad. As you may imagine, there’s quite a collection of stuff to absorb about this:
- Upgrade #82: Jason and Myke discuss the iPad keynote and a lot of what has happened since.
- AppStories #147: Federico and John look back at the introduction of the iPad and how apps have defined the product ever since. John wrote a great article as well, which includes a roundup of all the whacky rumors and rendering leading up to the iPad keynote.
- Simple Beep #88: Ed and Brian walk though the keynote in great detail.
- Debug #41: A 2014 episode of Rene Ritchie’s old podcast, in which Nitin Ganatra talks about the original iPad interface.
- Rene Ritchie’s video on the iPad’s origins.
- The chair Steve Jobs sat in during the keynote.
It’s also fun to revisit old reviews:
About that Easy Pay Video⇢
One of the true gems on The Apple Archive is this video about Easy Pay, a roaming payment solution Apple used in its retail stores back in my day.
Rumor around Apple Retail was that this video was not officially-sanctioned, and that the people involved had been let go after it surfaced. Sean Hollister at The Verge has gotten to the bottom of this once and for all:
I can guess what you’re thinking, but no, these employees were not fired — in fact, a LinkedIn profile suggests lead singer Brian Maslow spent five more years at the company and got promoted first to train his fellow Apple retail employees, later trained Whole Foods employees, and is now a manager of talent development at NBCUniversal.
The Apple Archive⇢
Sam Gold has put together the ultimate Apple press imagery archive. I’m blown away by the work that must have gone into this.
Some Short-Lived Macs
A common talking point between Apple fans over the last few years has been the long gaps between hardware updates for many Mac models. Apple has pretty much righted that ship now that the 2013 Mac Pro has been replaced, but it did get me thinking about what Macs had unusually short lives.
This is probably not a comprehensive list. One can only scan a list of Performa model information for so long before starting to cry.
Twenty Years Ago, Steve Jobs Showed Off the Aqua Interface for the First Time
At Macworld 2000, Steve Jobs unveiled the user interface for Mac OS X. It was called Aqua.
Aqua, as seen in the Mac OS X Public Beta
I love how Jobs introduced it:
When you design a new user interface, you have to start off humbly. You have to start off saying “What are the simplest elements in it? What does a button look like? And you spend months working on a button.”
Snazzy Labs, on Mac Clones⇢
A great video about a weird chapter in Apple history:
What People Thought About the iPod’s Introduction⇢
Joe Rossignol at MacRumors has rounded up coverage of and responses to the original iPod, some 18 years ago.