GUI+(Graphic+User+Interface)

= GUI - from Alto to Windows 1.0 = toc GUI (pronounced GOO-ee) stands for Graphical User Interface. The interface is the software that accepts user commands and translates them for the computer. The features of modern GUI are include the mouse, graphical windows, pull-down menus, buttons, scroll bars, icons, and wizards.

The first computer interfaces worked with punchcards. Command-line interface was considered a great advance over this. Command languages installed in the computer allowed users to type in commands with a keyboard. It worked well for those who knew computer languages. Some examples of Command-line interface are BASIC, DOS, Unix and Lenox.

An intermediate step between Command-line and GUI was Menu-based interface. It used a mouse and drop-down menus with point-and-click but no graphics. It is more user-friendly for people who do not have experience with computers. People experienced with computers prefer Command-line to Menus because they have memorized their commands and can type faster than they can point and click (Types). One Menu-based interface many people are familiar with is the iPod.

GUI technology made it possible for almost anyone to use a computer, whether or not they knew computer code. When Apple and Microsoft introduced their GUI's in 1984 and 1985 respectively, the home computer revolution was on.

How did we get to Windows and Mac?
Xerox usually gets the credit for the first GUI with the introduction of its Alto computer in 1973. It was the first computer to feature all the essential elements of modern GUI: A 3-button mouse, bit-mapped display, and graphical windows (Timeline). The Xerox Star replaced the Alto in 1981. In the same year Visi Corp introduced Visi On, the first GUI for IBM personal computers. Apple introduced its first commercially available GUI with the Lisa in 1983, which was quickly replaced by the Macinsosh in 1984. In 1985, Microsoft released its long anticipated Windows 1.0. IBM incorporated it into its PC's, allowing the PC to outstrip the Apple Macintosh in home computer sales.

Below is a slideshow of a timeline of early GUI's, moving backwards from Microsoft Windows 1.0 to the Alto.

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**References**
Chapter 2: The first GUIs. (n.d.). A brief history of user interfaces.

Graphical user interface. (n.d.). Webopedia.

Graphical user interface timeline. (n.d.). ToastyTech.

GUI. (n.d.). Computer hope.

GUI (graphical user interface). (2000, August). SearchWinDevelopment

Types of user interfaces. (2010, Dec 10). Articlesbase: Free online articles directory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PERQ