ASCII Art Xerox Alto
I created and printed an ASCII art rendition of the Xerox Alto to commemorate my time with M. Mitchell Waldrop’s The Dream Machine.
The Dream Machine
I consider M. Mitchell Waldrop’s The Dream Machine to be a masterpiece of non-fictional storytelling. The book primarily follows J. C. R. Licklider, taking the reader on a decades-long journey from the advent of computing to that of the internet.
Throughout this time, computers evolved from individuals sitting at a desk performing manual calculations, to large, centrally-located and prohibitively expensive mainframe machines, capable of so much more in this domain than their human counterparts, if only one had the access and ability to control them.
Licklider made numerous contributions to the field of computing throughout his life. Most notably, he was the first director of ARPA’s Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO). Here, he was a visionary, funding such projects as the development of graphical user interfaces and inspiring his successors to develop the ARPAnet, a predecessor to the internet.
He famously wrote of
Man-Computer Symbiosis
, the case for interactive computing to
augment human ability beyond what was possible with the dominant
batch-processing methodology of the time1, and of an Intergalactic Computer Network
that would allow
otherwise lone users to communicate with one another
near-instantaneously, regardless of their distance2.
Xerox Alto
While the Xerox Alto’s capabilities pale in comparison to today’s alternatives, it was revolutionary at the time, being one of the first personal computers. Featuring a graphical user interface, a computer mouse and Ethernet connectivity, it embodied Licklider’s vision of interactive, personal computing. It was, then, the right subject for a piece commemorating The Dream Machine.
ASCII Art Xerox Alto
This ASCII art rendition of Docubyte’s Xerox Alto artwork3 was printed at size A2 on Hahnemühle Pearl 285gsm.
It is supremely personal—the colour scheme, font and ethos reflect those of my developer environment (and, by extension, this website—itself a reflection of my developer environment)4. It is, to me, a reminder of how far computing has come and of my dedication to developing expertise in this field; it is inspiration for seeking simplicity and elegance.
