Lisa Apple (1983) – How Today's Obvious Was Conceptualized

This presentation will analyze the source code of the Apple Lisa operating system, specifically the LisaDesk section. The presentation will highlight my findings for the 8th edition of the Critical Code Studies Working Group. The discussion will emphasize the significance of this code in the evolution of graphical user interfaces and desktop metaphors, noting the influence of Xerox PARC and Douglas Engelbart's "The Mother of All Demos". This will also explore how this commercial failure provided a glimpse into the future of personal computers with features that were reintroduced years later and continue to be influential today. The goal is to use source code as a historical resource to gain a deeper understanding of the early development of personal computers and the history of computing.