The Xerox Star: a retrospective

A description is given of the Xerox 8010 Star information system, which was designed as an office automation system. The idea was that professionals in a business or organization would have workstations on their desks and would use them to produce, retrieve, distribute, and organize documentation, presentations, memos, and reports. All of the workstations in an organization would be connected via Ethernet and would share access to file servers, printers, etc. The distinctive features of Star are identified, and changes to the original design are examined. A history of Star development is included. Some lessons learned from designing Star are related.<>