William Dana Atkinson (1951 to 2025) was an American computer engineer and programmer who worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990. He was the principal designer and developer of the graphical user interface of the Apple Lisa and one of the first thirty members of the original Macintosh team. He designed and implemented QuickDraw, the graphics toolbox on which the Macintosh interface depended, and created the MacPaint application. He also conceived and built HyperCard, an influential hypermedia system that let non-programmers write programs and design databases. Atkinson dithering is named for him. After Apple he co-founded General Magic, later worked as a nature photographer, and received the EFF Pioneer Award in 1994.
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Source Bill Atkinson (Wikipedia)
Source Bill Atkinson (Wikipedia)
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Source Bill Atkinson (Wikipedia)LeadQuote, Lead
was an American computer engineer, computer programmer and photographer
Sources
1. Bill Atkinson (Wikipedia)
Early life and education
Atkinson was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, on March 17, 1951.
Personal life and death
He died from pancreatic cancer in Portola Valley, California, on June 5, 2025, at the age of 74.
Apple
was the creator of the MacPaint application
Lead
was an American computer engineer, computer programmer and photographer
Affiliated With: University of Washington, Early life and education, graduate study
Atkinson continued his studies as a graduate student in neurochemistry at the University of Washington.
In Group: Computer Graphics, Apple, QuickDraw
He also designed and implemented QuickDraw, the fundamental toolbox that the Lisa and Macintosh used for graphics.
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