…a computer workstation called theXerox Star, which was introduced in 1981. Though the process was expensive, the Star (and its prototype predecessor, the Alto) used a technique called “bit mapping” in which everything on the computer screen was, in effect, a picture. Bit mapping not only welcomed the use…

…time its commercial successor, theXerox Star, was released in 1981, at over $16,000 per machine, it was too late. Not only had new computer companies—such as Apple Computer, Inc. (now Apple Inc.), Commodore Business Machines, Ltd., and Tandy Corporation—already released more affordable machines, but even the giant International Business…