The Xerox printer's history: from office supplies to technological innovation

When Maria, the manager, arrives at work each day from Monday through Friday, she opens the door, switches on the coffee maker, adjusts the lighting to match the visual identity of the workspace, takes a seat at her desk, moves the marker from the left side of the desk to the right, and then presses a button on the control unit of her work computer.

Nothing extraordinary occurs to Maria on this typical day. Her usual working tool will activate in ten to twenty seconds. Then, Maria will send out around twenty letters, converse with seven of her coworkers via chat, use a calculator to figure out a few figures and print thirty sheets using an office printer manufactured by the Xerox company.

This is normal for Maria.

The same printer—the business that began it all—is in the office corner.

Forgotten Heroes

When you question Maria about the printer, she will seem surprised and raise an eyebrow before stating that it is a Xerox of some kind, prints rather well, and has a lot of helpful functions. Additionally, this business often exudes confidence because it manufactures printers, scanners, and other office printing supplies. She will then ask you to refrain from asking foolish questions.

Meanwhile, if Xerox had not been invented, Maria would not have written to seven coworkers, mailed twenty letters, or accomplished all of her other daily tasks.

Envision turning on your computer and seeing this screen rather than the standard desktop:

It's unsettling, confusing, and utterly unclear what to do with it.

Computer interfaces had a black backdrop with symbols on them until the 1970s. Standard windows and trash cans containing removed documents, no double clicks. Xerox created the first GUI in 1973. Indeed, they are the people who manufacture printers.

Although it appears familiar and comprehensible now, the GUI significantly advanced in the 1970s. They employed the metaphor of the office for their interface, where a file became a symbol for a document, a folder became a location for deleted documents, and the trash could hold documents that were never opened. It was only a line of words on the screen earlier. Currently, the UI is understandable, user-friendly, and prepared for the general public.

After that, skilled designers became engaged, and the symbols grew increasingly complex and intricate:

After that, the design.

Additionally, design, design, and design:

Even in 2019, as I type this, I can still see the symbol for a floppy disk that, when clicked, saves all changes in Microsoft Word. Over fifteen years have passed since floppy disks were obsolete; will someone soon invent a new metaphor for document storage?

What causes the crooked cursor?

Things that elude us appear to be entire, clear, and monolithic. The average user does not realize that this black box has a million pieces, each in charge of its own small operation when they switch on the computer. It's merely a functional item or fails to function. The computer isn't a mysterious device. Instead, it is a timepiece that has a million gears.

Additionally, this applies to operating systems. It is not even necessary for us to consider what it is. We hit the button, let the download finish, and go to work. The fact that every mouse click triggers an array of algorithms that occasionally function properly and occasionally fail is unimportant to us.

The operating system (OS) and the computer are not directly connected. Therefore, we don't even need to consider this. We will get a pre-assembled monolithic system from the store that needs to be switched on. Additionally, a buddy who is more knowledgeable about this subject will come to "reinstall Windows" if something goes wrong.

There are many different types of operating systems. Furthermore, they are both similar and different. However, a cursor exists on every GUI platform. The cursor is an arrow that is 45 degrees skewed for some reason.

This is the typical arrow that we see:

The cursor was initially drawn as an up arrow by computer mouse inventor Douglas Engelbart.

And this is how it needed to appear:

This cursor appears strange, foreign, and unnatural. But if it weren't for technological constraints, it would have been like that.

When the first computer with a graphical user interface was being designed, it was discovered that the screen resolution was so poor that it was impossible to draw a precise vertical arrow in a suitably tiny way. The pointer was 45 degrees slanted and expanded. And that's what the Xerox people thought of. These are the men who manufacture printers, as we discovered.

Although it is no longer required, drawing a vertical arrow is now feasible. Everyone is accustomed to it.

GUI metaphors

Under some operating system variations, the shredder functioned as the standard basket. The symbol was abandoned and looked much like a printer. The desktop is a metaphor for a computer. While it is not what we are used to seeing, windows, directories, documents, and a calculator are all recognizable features of computers. Although a Word document clarifies things for us, it is not like a paper sheet. There's even a metaphor for dragging components about the screen: rearranging items on the table.

Unusual metaphors are also included. Ever wonder why certain websites have a hamburger symbol covering the menu?

The term "hamburger" was created by Norm Cox. Norm is an advisor for interaction and UI design. Furthermore, he created this Xerox symbol. In the interface field, Xerox may very well be comparable to Freemasons if that is how it appears to you.

The "burger" design was subject to strict limitations: the symbol needed to resemble a list, be as straightforward as a road sign, and be effective and easy to remember. Most significantly, it's little.

The idea then came to be.

The "burger" icon then vanished for a while before reappearing as a component of the mobile menu, where it was perfectly sized and useful. Is it intuitive, though? The answer to the question, "What will occur if you tap this icon?" is that a menu will popup for all modern users. However, upon closer inspection, this metaphor is not all that effective—it's just three consecutive lines that have no meaning to an uneducated user.

Here's another query: did Norm realize the evolution of his succinct three-line symbol into what would eventually be known as current "burgers"?

Rather than afterword

Not much has changed regarding the interfaces since the earliest Xerox Research Center documentary. Even in the 1970s drawings, there are still familiar elements that we can identify. This indicates either the original metaphor's greatness or the overall stagnation of the interface sector.

In any case, Maria, the manager, only needs to click a button to send mail instead of memorizing several terminal instructions. Clicking on a button is expected and logical, and dragging objects across the desktop is as natural as breathing. However, this is a massive project and a clever Palo Alto idea.

And only a printer in the corner, it would appear.

And last, a little parable:

A sysadmin once enquired:

— Instructor, how about this lovely image for your desktop? I have an excellent selection of desktop wallpapers featuring moral law and a starry sky.

Why do you believe the wallpaper I have right now is worse? Yin Fu Wo questioned again.

I'm not sure what image you currently have. I haven't seen your desktop before. You're typically opening a lot of windows.

Yin said, "I never saw it either." - I'm at work.