The iPad 3 will have Siri because it is the final
step in creating the most user friendly computer, a journey which began over 30
years ago…
The Graphical User Interface Comes to the
Macintosh
In December 1979 Steve Jobs saw, for the first time
in his life, a graphical user interface (GUI) at XEROX PARC, which was being
used on the Xerox Alto computer. A graphical user interface is what you are
seeing right now: a computer screen with icons, re-sizable windows, etc.,
instead of written text commands. He said that he was so blown away by it that
he knew that Apple had to adopt similar interfaces for its computers.
Otherwise, it might cease to exist. He was right, because, in 1984, Apple came
out with the Macintosh, the first affordable computer with GUI. These days, any
computer that doesn’t have GUI is, for most people, not a computer.
Touch Screen Computing Begins With iPhone
and iPad
In 2005 Steve Jobs decided to get rid of the
keyboard and mouse and asked his Apple engineers to create a tablet with a
special operating system, which utilized only one’s fingers. The operating
system and glass tablet were created and Steve Jobs decided to use the
multi-touch interface for the phone rather than the tablet, which was to be
released 5 years later as the iPad. Although both the iPhone and iPad were
released to much skepticism, Jobs predicted the future once again when he
realized, through his own genius, that eliminating the keyboard and mouse were
the most logical things to do. Touchscreen smartphones and tablets are already
replacing sales of desktop computers.
Voice Assistant Comes to iPhone (and) iPad
In 2010 Steve Jobs called Dag Kittlaus to discuss
the acquisition of his startup, Siri, a project which he had been working on
since 2007. Apple bought the startup and spent a year on tinkering with Siri
before making it available for the iPhone 4S. Sooner or later, Siri will be introduced
on the iPad as well because it represents the next logical progression: a touch
screen tablet with voice assistant AI, reminiscent of what Apple predicted for
itself in this 1987 concept video.
Steve Jobs did not invent the GUI, he did not
invent the concept of a touchscreen tablet, he did not invent voice assistants.
He foresaw the future of computing, and led
the efforts to make his visions a reality.
