Apple Computer designer: Bill Atkinson, the Apple computer designer who helped millions use the Lisa and Macintosh computers through his work on graphical user interfaces, passed away at 74. His family confirmed on Facebook that pancreatic cancer caused his death. Atkinson shared a close friendship with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs while they worked together on the Macintosh in the early 1980s. Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his condolences on X (formerly Twitter).

“We are very sorry to hear about Bill Atkinson’s demise. We will always be inspired by his inventiveness, compassion, and groundbreaking work on the Mac. He was a great visionary. His loved ones are in our thoughts,” Cook wrote.

Take a look at the post:

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Bill Atkinson. He was a true visionary whose creativity, heart, and groundbreaking work on the Mac will forever inspire us. Our thoughts are with his loved ones.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 8, 2025

Who is Bill Atkinson?

Atkinson programmed QuickDraw, the core software layer for the Lisa and Macintosh computers. This set of short programs efficiently displayed text, images, and shapes on the screen. QuickDraw powered the distinctive graphical interface that simulated a “desktop,” complete with icons representing directories, files, and applications, and it was directly integrated into the hardware of the machines.

Experts often credit Atkinson with developing key elements of graphical computing, including “pull-down” menus and the “double-click” action, which allowed users to open files and programs by simply clicking a mouse button twice. Before Apple released the Macintosh in January 1984, most personal computers relied on text-based interfaces that required users to enter complex commands. Mouse pointing devices were rare, and computer graphics had not yet become a standard feature.

QuickDraw:

Apple first created QuickDraw for the January 1983 release of its Lisa computer. Although Lisa included early, user-friendly features for business users, its exorbitant $10,000 price tag (about $33,000 today) led to commercial failure. QuickDraw quickly laid the foundation for the Macintosh’s successful graphical user interface. Computer scientist Alan Kay led the “Dynabook” project at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s, inspiring this computing approach.

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In 1979, Xerox privately demonstrated Kay’s work to Steve Jobs and a small group, including Atkinson. Since the Apple engineers couldn’t access the software code, they made educated guesses about the underlying technology. Their assumptions sparked major technological breakthroughs and created new capabilities.

After launching the Macintosh, Atkinson developed HyperCard, a tool that combined text, images, and video into a simple database format. This software significantly influenced the creation of the World Wide Web.

Atkinson & Steve Jobs Relations:

Jobs persuaded Atkinson, then a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at the University of Washington, to join Apple as its 51st employee. They built a strong friendship while collaborating on the Macintosh in the early 1980s. However, when Jobs left Apple in 1985 to start NeXT, Atkinson chose to stay, saying he was committed to the HyperCard project.

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