Word: desktop
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...which the machine can be made to do one's bidding. Conventional computers, including the industry-standard IBM PC, are controlled by entering commands letter by letter on the computer's typewriter-like keyboard. The Mac, by contrast, uses artful screen displays to create the visual illusion of a desktop littered with objects and documents that can be selected and manipulated with a "mouse," a handheld pointing device...
Most of Hawking's working day is spent in his cluttered, book-lined office, amid photographs of his wife Jane and their three children, Robert, 20, Lucy, 17, and Timmy, 8. There Stephen painstakingly writes technical papers or speeches on a desktop computer, stopping frequently to consult with his assistant, Graduate Student Raymond Laflamme, 27, who sits at his side. Occasionally, the artificial voice says "Lift," and Laflamme hoists up Hawking, who has slumped down in his chair. The word "glasses" signals that his spectacles have slid too far down his nose and must be pushed back...
...investors are determined to panic, computers can sure help. A few keystrokes into a broker's desktop computer can trigger the sale of thousands of shares of, say, 500 different companies. Such "program trades" may have played a role in making Black Monday the worst day in Wall Street history. As one Chicago broker joked, the difference between 1929 and 1987 is that last week, it was the computers that jumped out the windows...
...Conversational Desktop is a voice-controlled computer system that acts like an automatic receptionist, personal secretary and travel agent -- screening calls, taking messages, making airline reservations. "Get me two seats to the Bahamas," says Research Scientist Chris Schmandt to his computer. "When do you want to go?" replies the machine...
...models came to the market, and more are on the way. Just as important, innovative software for old and new machines has made personal computers more versatile. It is now possible to turn out printshop-quality graphics -- and design everything from cabinets to cathedrals -- on the space of a desktop...