Bill Atkinson, an early Apple graphical interface developer, passed away

IT Home June 8th news, William D. "Bill" Atkinson, an important developer of Apple's early graphical user interface, passed away on June 5th due to complications of pancreatic cancer. His family posted the news on Facebook that he died at his home in Potola Valley, California, when his family was with him. Atkinson's family also mentioned that he was left behind his wife, two daughters, stepson, stepdaughter, two brothers, four sisters and his dog, Poppy.

According to IT Home, Atkinson's career at Apple lasted from 1978 to 1990 In 2019, he was the 51st employee of Apple and was recruited by Steve Jobs himself. He has made many pioneering contributions to Apple computers, including the invention of the menu bar, the selection of lasso tools, the selection of animation effects of the "Marching Ant" project, and the discovery of a midpoint circle algorithm that can quickly draw circles on the screen. He was also the main designer of Lisa's computer graphical user interface (GUI), which was a novel concept in the computer field at that time. He had a strong interest in lattice technology (through lattice forming images similar to photos), a technique similar to the way newspapers print photos. In addition, he and Jobs invented RoundRects, a design that is still used in system messages, application windows and other graphic elements of Apple products.

However, Atkinson's most well-known achievement is the hypermedia application development tool HyperCard. He described HyperCard as a kind of “software building blocks,” a technology that debuted in 1987, greatly promoting the software development of Macintosh computers.

Atkinson's career was equally rich and colorful. In 1990, he joined General Magic along with Andy Hertzfield and investor Mark Borat. In 2007, he joined Numenta, an early “computer intelligence” company, and was keenly aware of the importance of artificial intelligence. In the 2000s, Atkinson also devoted himself to nature photography, where his photography works were sold through personal websites and received widespread acclaim. His colleague Hertzfield also recalled working with Atkinson on his popular website folklore.org, sharing his story of joining Apple and working with Apple outstanding figures such as Susan Carre, Jeff Ruskin and Jobs.

In the obituary, Atkinson's family said: "He is an amazing person, and his existence makes the world different forever. He has a strong interest in consciousness, and now he has entered another level of consciousness, and we want his journey to be as meaningful as he was with us."