1973, Science and Technology: Xerox Alto

On 1 March 1973, the Xerox Alto was introduced by Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). Widely regarded as one of the most influential computers ever developed, the Alto was the first computer system to combine a graphical user interface (GUI), a mouse, Ethernet networking, a bitmap display, and the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously. It was also among the first computers to feature a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) word processor, allowing users to see on screen a close representation of the final printed document. Although the Xerox Alto was never a commercial success, its pioneering technologies had a profound influence on the design and development of later computer systems, including the personal computers that followed.

Xerox Alto

The Alto was housed in a relatively compact cabinet and featured a custom-built central processing unit (CPU) constructed from numerous small-scale integration (SSI) and medium-scale integration (MSI) integrated circuits. Only a limited number of Altos were built initially. By the late 1970s, however, around 1,000 machines were in use across various Xerox laboratories, with a further 500 deployed at several universities. In total, approximately 2,000 Alto systems were manufactured.

Xerox Alto

The following software was developed for the Xerox Alto:

• Bravo and Gypsy, the first WYSIWYG word-processing systems.
• Laurel, an early email application, later succeeded by Hardy.
• Sil, a vector graphics editor.
• Markup, a bitmap graphics editor and one of the earliest paint programs.
• Draw, a graphics editor capable of creating illustrations using lines and splines.
• ICARUS, the first WYSIWYG integrated circuit (IC) design editor.
• The first versions of the Smalltalk programming environment.
• Interlisp, a programming environment based on the Lisp programming language.
• Alto Trek, one of the first networked multiplayer video games, created by Gene Ball and inspired by the television series Star Trek.

Interlisp

Alto Trek

1973, Music: French Single Charts 11/03/1973

N° 30
Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: I. Gillan, I. Paice, J. Lord, R. Blackmore, R. Glover
- Video clip

N° 29
Simon Butterfly - Rain, Rain, Rain

- Country: West Germany
- Music/Lyrics: H Barnes, R. Bernet, S. Linus
- Video clip

N° 28
Elton John - Crocodile Rock

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: E. John, B. Taupin
- Video clip

N° 27
Sylvie Vartan - Non je ne suis plus la même

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: J. Renard
- Video clip

N° 26
James Brown - I Got Ants In My Pants

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: J. Brown
- Video clip

N° 25
Julien Clerc - Si on chantait

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: J. Clerc, É. Roda-Gil
- Video clip

N° 24
Albert Hammond - It Never Rains In Southern California

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: A. Hammond, M. Hazelwood
- Video clip

N° 23
Nicoletta - Les volets clos

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: P. Misraki, R. Forlani
- Video clip

N° 22
Slade - Gudbuy T' Jane

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: J. Lea, N. Holder
- Video clip

N° 21
Joe Cocker - Pardon Me Sir

- Country: UK
- Music/Lyrics: C. Stainton, J. Cocker
- Video clip

N° 20
Gérard Lenorman - Les jours heureux

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: D. Seff, R. Seff
- Video clip

N° 19
Art Sullivan - Petite fille aux yeux bleus

- Country: Belgium
- Music/Lyrics: A. Sullivan, J. Velt
- Video clip

N° 18
Claude François - Le lundi au soleil

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: F. Thomas, J. Rivat, P. Juvet
- Video clip

N° 17
Joe Dassin - La complainte de l'heure de pointe (à vélo dans Paris)

- Country: USA / France
- Music/Lyrics: C. Juwens, C. Lemesle, L. Deane, R. Dassin
- Video clip

N° 16
Billy Paul - Me And Mrs. Jones

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: C. Gilbert, Gamble-Huff
- Video clip

N° 15
Démis Roussos - Forever And Ever

- Country: Greece
- Music/Lyrics: R. Constantinos, S. Vlavianos
- Video clip

N° 14
Michel Chevalier - Je veux t'aimer

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: G. Aber, J. Loudermilk
- Video clip

N° 13
Il était une fois - Les filles du mercredi

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: R. Dewitte, S. Koolenn
- Video clip

N° 12
Carly Simon - You're So Vain

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: C. Simon
- Video clip

N° 11
Stone et Charden - Le prix des alumettes

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: E. Charden, Y. Dessca
- Video clip

N° 10
Marie Laforet - Viens, viens

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: H. Barnes, R. Bernet, S. Linus
- Video clip

N° 9
The Osmonds - Crazy Horses

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: A. Osmond, M. Osmond, W. Osmond
- Video clip

N° 8
Stevie Wonder - Superstition

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: S. Wonder
- Video clip

N° 7
Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side

- Country: USA
- Music/Lyrics: L. Reed
- Video clip

N° 6
Alain Chamfort - Signe de vie, signe d'amour

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: J. Rivat
- Video clip

N° 5
Frédéric François - Quand vient le soir on se retrouve

- Country: Belgium
- Music/Lyrics: F. François, M. Atria
- Video clip

N° 4
Daniel Guichard - Faut pas pleurer comme ça

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: D. Guichard, J. Kernoa, Christophe
- Video clip

N° 3
Dalida & Alain Delon - Paroles... paroles...

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: G. Ferrio, Michaële
- Video clip

N° 2
Johnny Hallyday - Comme un corbeau blanc

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: G. Thibaut, J. Renard
- Video clip

N° 1
Sheila & Ringo - Les gondoles à Venise

- Country: France
- Music/Lyrics: C. Carrère, Michaële, L. & P. Sebastian
- Video clip

1973, Car Spotting: Parking Olympic swimming pool Wezenberg, Antwerp, Belgium

First row parked vertically, front to back
Ford Taunus GXL Coupé (TC), Toyota Celica (A20 / A30), Volvo Amazon, Austin / Morris Mini, Ford Escort (Mk I), Volkswagen 1200 / 1300 (Type 1, Beetle), unidentified yellow car.

Parked horizontally, front to back

First row, left to right
Renault 12, Opel Record C Coupé or Opel Commodore A Coupé, unidentified white car.

Second row, left to right
Citroën Dyane, Saab 96, Volkswagen 1200 / 1300 (Type 1, Beetle), Volkswagen 1200 / 1300 (Type 1, Beetle), Citroën 2CV, unidentified car.

Third row, left to right
Opel Rekord D, Ford Escort (Mk I), Ranger II, Fiat 127, Volvo Amazon, Renault 4, Peugeot 504, Ford Capri (Mk I), 

Parked in front of the Children's Hospital Louise-Marie, left to right
Renault 4 Van, Renault 4, Volkswagen 1600 TL, Citroën 2CV.

Parked in the Karel Oomsstraat, front to back
Renault 6, Fiat 850 Familiare, unidentified red car, Peugeot 504 Familiale, Ford Escort (Mk I), unidentified van, Peugeot 504, unidentified brown car, Peugeot 204 or 304, Peugeot 504, the rest is unidentifiable.

1973, Belgian Comics: Mr Magellan, L’Île des colosses

In 1973, the album "L’Île des colosses" ("The Island of the Colossi"), was released in the comic series Mr Magellan. The series was created in 1969 by cartoonist Henri Ghion, known as Géri, with scripts by Jean Van Hamme (1969-1970) and André-Paul Duchâteau (1971-1979). It was serialised in the weekly magazine Tintin/Kuifje from 1969 to 1979, and later published as 8 albums by Éditions du Lombard in Belguim and Dargaud in France.

Mr Magellan is an agent of the International Testing Organisation (I.T.O.). He drives a white Rolls-Royce Phantom V equipped with rockets that enable the car to fly. He smokes cigars and makes use of a wide range of ingenious gadgets. In his investigations, Magellan is assisted by Capella, a red-haired expert in Eastern martial arts.

"L’Île des colosses"
- full colour
- publisher: Éditions du Lombard
- Dutch title: "De wandelende beelden"
- never published in English
- drawings by Géri (Henri Ghion)
- story by André-Paul Duchâteau

"De wandelende beelden" Cover

The main characters in this story are Mr Magellan, Capella, Professor Wolfgang Aloysius, Shamboy, and Myra Von Mars.

Mr Magellan

Capella and Mr Magellan

Myra Von Mars

Synopsis
Mr Magellan and Capella are expected, on a stormy and ill-omened night, to attend a meeting with Professor Wolfgang Aloysius. Capella has a strange premonition, which soon proves to be well-founded. The Professor is abducted, and his servant, Shamboy, is shot with a bronze arrow taken from a statue of Diana that mysteriously disappears...

Professor Wolfgang Aloysius

Shamboy

Trivia

• Reference to Lot’s wife from the biblical story. When Sodom was destroyed, Lot, his wife, and their children were given the chance to escape. The condition was: leave the evil behind, go, and do not look back. Lot’s wife ignored this warning and was turned into a pillar of salt.
• A reference to the Moai, the large stone statues located on Easter Island.
• A reference to the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

Reference to Lot’s wife

Reference to the Moai

Reference to Aristotle Onassis

Vehicles

• Rolls-Royce Phantom V
• unidentified yellow flying / submarine car
• Honda Dax (Honda ST-series)
• Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander

Rolls-Royce Phantom V

unidentified yellow flying / submarine car

Honda Dax (Honda ST-series)

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander

1973, Designs: Cars, furniture, electronics, clothes III

Coggiola Sylvia GT
- Designed by Trevor Fiore, Italy, 1973
- Built by Carrozzeria Coggiola, Beinasco, Turin, Italy, 1973
- Based on the Opel GT

Coggiola Sylvia GT

Coggiola Sylvia GT

Coggiola Sylvia GT

Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Drophead Coupé
- Designed and built by Pietro Frua, Turin, Italy, 1973
- Based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI

Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Drophead Coupé

Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Drophead Coupé

Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Drophead Coupé

Togo Seating Group
- Designed by Michel Ducaroy, France, 1973
- Manufactured by Ligne Roset, France, 1973

Togo Seating Group

Togo Seating Group

Togo Seating Group

Uchiwa Wall Lamp
- Designed by Ingo Maurer, West Germany, 1973
- Manufactured by Design M, West Germany, 1973

Uchiwa Wall Lamp

Uchiwa Wall Lamp

Grundig Micro-Boy 300
- MW Portable Transistor Radio
- Manufactured by Grundig, Fürth/Bayern, West Germany, 1973

Grundig Micro-Boy 300

Grundig Micro-Boy 300

British car adverts

Alfa Romeo Alfasud

Citroën DS23

Datsun Bluebird

Datsun Bluebird

Fiat 124 Special T

Ford Consul GT

Lancia Beta

Mini 1275 GT

Moskvitch

Moskvitch

Peugeot 504

Saab 96

Saab 99

Saab 99

TVR 3000M

TVR 3000M

Vauxhall Firenza Sport SL