Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) is a research and development company founded in 1970. Originally part of Xerox Corporation, it became one of the most influential technology research laboratories in history, inventing many technologies that define modern computing.
Inventions
PARC researchers created numerous foundational technologies:
- Graphical User Interface (GUI): Windows, icons, and menus
- Ethernet: Local area networking
- Laser Printing: The technology behind modern printers
- Smalltalk: Object-oriented programming language
- WYSIWYG Editing: What-you-see-is-what-you-get document editing
- The Alto: The first personal computer with a GUI
The Alto and Personal Computing
The Xerox Alto, developed in 1973, was the first computer to use a desktop metaphor with windows, icons, and a mouse. Though never commercially sold, it influenced the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows.
Legacy and Influence
PARC’s innovations were famously commercialized by others—Apple’s Macintosh and later Windows adopted PARC’s GUI concepts. Many PARC researchers went on to found or lead major technology companies. The lab continues research today as a subsidiary of Xerox.