Bill Atkinson, a key figure in the establishment of Apple's Macintosh, has passed away.
Remembering the Pioneering Pixelsmith: Bill Atkinson, 1948-2023
The tech world is mourning the loss of Bill Atkinson, a trailblazing genius who breathed life into the Apple Macintosh. On June 5, Atkinson, aged 74, passed away at his California home due to pancreatic cancer complications. The news, shared by his family on Facebook (Meta, banned in Russia), was picked up by Apple Insider.
Atkinson entered Apple's fold in 1978, as its 51st employee. Simultaneously, he was chasing a bachelor's degree in neurobiology from the University of Washington. The New York Times revealed that Atkinson was the chief designer and developer of the Apple Lisa computer's graphical user interface (GUI).
Transitioning to the initial team of 30 Macintosh developers, Atkinson crafted the revolutionary graphics editor MacPaint and other Mac applications. Moreover, he developed QuickDraw, a graphics library that powered the sneak peek desktop icons on both the Lisa and the Macintosh.
More recently, insiders tipped off RBC Group Bloomberg about Apple's projected 2026 release of "smart" AI glasses. Remarkably, Atkinson is credited with creating the "pop-up menu," the "double-click," and the "lasso selection," just a taste of his groundbreaking contribution to the tech sphere.
During the 80s, Atkinson also created HyperCard, a visual programming environment dubbed the first hypertext environment before the birth of the World Wide Web (WWW).
Leaving Apple in 1989, Atkinson co-founded General Magic, innovating further in the realm of computer intelligence technologies. Following decades of tech tinkering, he found solace in nature photography.
Bill Atkinson's influence on the tech world cannot be overstated. His pioneering work on graphical user interfaces, graphics editors, and interactive software paved the way for the sleek, user-friendly devices we use today. Let's raise a toast to the pixelsmith that empowered the consumer tech revolution.
[1] INFO TECH[2] MAGIC HAPPENS[3] WE CODE FOR NATURE
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