#Mate translate windows mac os
#Mate translate windows software

The desktop was called Workbench, programs were called tools, small applications ( applets) were utilities, directories were drawers, etc.

#Mate translate windows mac os

By comparison, the Mac OS places all drives on the desktop itself by default, while in Windows the user can access the drives through an icon labelled 'Computer'.Īmiga terminology for its desktop metaphor was taken directly from workshop jargon. For example, external hard drives appeared on the 'desktop', while internal ones were accessed clicking on an icon representing the computer itself. The desktop metaphor is ubiquitous in modern-day personal computing it is found in most desktop environments of modern operating systems: Windows as well as macOS, Linux, and other Unix-like systems.īeOS observed the desktop metaphor more strictly than many other systems. The first computer to popularise the desktop metaphor, using it as a standard feature over the earlier command-line interface was the Apple Macintosh in 1984. Files could be archived into the drawers of the desktop.

Other applications included a calculator, rolodex organiser, and a terminal emulator.

The Magic Desk I program featured a typewriter graphically emulated complete with audio effects. Onscreen options were chosen by pushing the fire button on the joystick. The user made their choices by moving a sprite depicting a hand pointing by using the same joystick the user may have used for video gaming. Built as a cartridge for the Commodore 64 home computer in 1983, a very primitive GUI presented a low resolution sketch of a desktop, complete with telephone, drawers, calculator, etc.

One of the first desktop-like interfaces on the market was a program called Magic Desk I. Though it was incorporated by PARC in the environment of the Smalltalk language. The use of window controls to contain related information predates the desktop metaphor, with a primitive version appearing in Douglas Engelbart's ' Mother of All Demos', The first computer to use an early version of the desktop metaphor was the experimental Xerox Alto, and the first commercial computer that adopted this kind of interface was the Xerox Star.

#Mate translate windows software

The desktop metaphor was first introduced by Alan Kay at Xerox PARC in 1970 and elaborated in a series of innovative software applications developed by PARC scientists throughout the ensuing decade. Other features such as menu bars or taskbars have no direct counterpart on a real-world desktop, though this may vary by environment and the function provided for instance, a familiar wall calendar can sometimes be displayed or otherwise accessed via a taskbar or menu bar belonging to the desktop. Hence one can find trash cans on the desktop, as well as disks and network volumes (which can be thought of as filing cabinets-not something normally found on a desktop).

The desktop metaphor itself has been extended and stretched with various implementations of desktop environments, since access to features and usability of the computer are usually more important than maintaining the 'purity' of the metaphor. Small applications called desk accessories are also available, such as a desk calculator or notepad, etc. A document can be opened into a window, which represents a paper copy of the document placed on the desktop. The desktop metaphor treats the computer monitor as if it is the top of the user's desk, upon which objects such as documents and folders of documents can be placed. In computing, the desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users interact more easily with the computer. The computer interface is a conceptual metaphor of a writing desk.