Star (computer)

Star (computer)
vonguard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Name	Star
Developer	Xerox Corporation
Manufacturer	Xerox PARC
Family	Xerox workstation line
Release date	1981
Discontinued	1985
Units shipped	~25–50 (approx.)
Media	floppy disk, hard disk
Os	Star Operating System
Cpu	Intel 8086 (or custom microcoded processors)
Memory	256 KB–1 MB (varied)
Display	17" bitmapped display
Input	keyboard, mouse

Star (computer)

The Star workstation was a pioneering personal workstation developed and produced by Xerox Corporation at Xerox PARC and Xerox Development in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Designed to integrate graphical user interface paradigms, bitmap displays, mouse input, and networked office systems, the Star influenced subsequent systems from Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, and DEC. Its design combined hardware innovations, object-oriented document models, and networked services that were seminal for modern desktop computing, influencing software such as Smalltalk, Bravo, and applications from Hewlett-Packard and Adobe.

Introduction

The Star workstation emerged from research at Xerox PARC and development at Xerox Systems Development Division, building on prototypes and projects including the Alto, Smalltalk-80, Bravo, Ethernet, and Interlisp. Key organizational players included Xerox PARC, Xerox Corporation, Xerox Development, and product teams influenced by engineers and researchers who had affiliations with universities and institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of California, Berkeley. The project intersected with contemporaneous efforts and entities like Apple Computer, Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment Corporation, Adobe Systems, Hewlett Packard Labs, and Intel.

History and Development

Star's lineage traces to the Alto workstation at Xerox PARC, where researchers including Alan Kay, Butler Lampson, Charles Thacker, Bob Taylor, and Adele Goldberg contributed to concepts that later appeared in the Star product. Development phases involved teams at Xerox PARC, Xerox Development, and service organizations such as Xerox Office Systems Division and Xerox Research. Milestone events and projects related to Star included the creation of Ethernet by Robert Metcalfe, the evolution of Smalltalk, the Bravo text editor, and demonstrations to outside organizations including Apple, Microsoft, IBM, and various universities. Industry responses and legal events later involved Apple Computer's Macintosh launch, Microsoft Windows development, and litigation and licensing discussions involving entities such as Xerox, Apple, and others.

Architecture and Design

The Star architecture integrated a bitmapped raster display, a mouse-driven graphical user interface, a desktop metaphor with folders and icons, and a networked document server model using Ethernet. The system architecture reflected principles from object-oriented research in Smalltalk and the Alto's workstation model, and employed microcode and processor technology from Intel and other semiconductor firms. Design influences and collaborators included Xerox PARC researchers, the Alto project team, and software engineering groups with links to institutions like Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford, MIT, and companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation and Sun Microsystems.

Hardware Components

Hardware components of the Star encompassed a 17-inch monochrome bitmapped display, keyboard, two-button mouse, proprietary workstation chassis, floppy drives, optional hard disk storage, and network interface hardware for Ethernet connectivity. Key suppliers and related silicon vendors included Intel, Motorola, and other semiconductor firms, while peripheral manufacturers and partners included Hewlett-Packard, Canon, and DEC. The Star's hardware lineage intersected with contemporaneous systems such as the Xerox Alto, IBM PC, Apple Lisa, Apple Macintosh, Sun-1, and workstation-class machines from companies like Apollo Computer.

Operating System and Software

The Star ran a proprietary Star Operating System incorporating ideas from Smalltalk, Bravo, Interlisp, and PARC research projects. Application software for the Star implemented WYSIWYG document editing, email and office automation, and networked file services, and influenced later software such as Microsoft Word, Apple Lisa Office Manager, Adobe PostScript workflows, and office suites from IBM and Hewlett-Packard. Development tools and environments linked to the Star included Smalltalk-80 environments, Mesa-related systems, and programming practices diffused to academic centers like Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and commercial environments including Apple, Microsoft, and Lotus.

Performance and Applications

The Star was marketed to corporate customers for office automation tasks including word processing, electronic mail, document management, and collaborative workflows. Performance characteristics were constrained by contemporary CPU and memory technology from Intel and semiconductor partners, but the system excelled in usability and integrated networked capabilities via Ethernet. Deployments and demonstrations connected the Star to customer organizations and sectors such as law firms, financial institutions, research labs, and government agencies that evaluated systems from IBM, DEC, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems.

Legacy and Influence

Although produced in limited quantities, the Star's influence on human–computer interaction, graphical user interfaces, office productivity software, and networking was profound. Concepts from Star and Xerox PARC diffused to Apple Computer's Macintosh and Lisa projects, Microsoft Windows, Sun Microsystems' workstation designs, and enterprise solutions from IBM and Hewlett-Packard. The Star informed academic curricula at Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Berkeley, and influenced subsequent commercial technologies from Adobe Systems, Intel, Motorola, Digital Equipment Corporation, and others. Its legacy endures in desktop metaphor conventions, document-centric workflows, GUI standards, networked file services, and the historical narrative connecting Xerox PARC to contemporary computing.

Category:Workstations Category:Xerox