<s>
In	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
design	O
,	O
an	O
interface	B-Architecture
metaphor	I-Architecture
is	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
visuals	O
,	O
actions	O
and	O
procedures	O
that	O
exploit	O
specific	O
knowledge	O
that	O
users	O
already	O
have	O
of	O
other	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
purpose	O
of	O
the	O
interface	B-Architecture
metaphor	I-Architecture
is	O
to	O
give	O
the	O
user	O
instantaneous	O
knowledge	O
about	O
how	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
similar	O
to	O
physical	O
entities	O
but	O
also	O
have	O
their	O
own	O
properties	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
desktop	B-Application
metaphor	I-Application
and	O
web	O
portals	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
an	O
interface	B-Architecture
metaphor	I-Architecture
is	O
the	O
file	B-Operating_System
and	O
folder	O
analogy	O
for	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
of	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
example	O
is	O
the	O
tree	O
view	O
representation	O
of	O
a	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
as	O
in	O
a	O
file	B-Application
manager	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
began	O
work	O
on	O
what	O
would	O
eventually	O
become	O
the	O
Xerox	B-Device
Alto	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1973	O
,	O
Xerox	O
completed	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
first	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
the	O
Xerox	B-Device
Alto	I-Device
,	O
which	O
had	O
a	O
sophisticated	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
GUI	B-Application
)	O
involving	O
windows	O
,	O
icons	O
,	O
menus	O
and	O
a	O
pointer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
WIMP	B-Application
)	O
Unfortunately	O
,	O
the	O
Xerox	B-Device
Alto	I-Device
,	O
and	O
its	O
successor	O
the	O
Xerox	B-Operating_System
Star	I-Operating_System
were	O
far	O
too	O
expensive	O
for	O
the	O
average	O
consumer	O
,	O
and	O
suffered	O
from	O
poor	O
marketing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
Apple	O
Computer	O
launched	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
affordable	O
and	O
commercially	O
successful	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
to	O
include	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Macintosh	B-Device
was	O
the	O
second	O
Apple	O
Computer	O
to	O
ship	O
with	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Lisa	I-Device
being	O
the	O
first	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1985	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
which	O
bore	O
a	O
striking	O
resemblance	O
to	O
both	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
Alto	B-Device
's	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
eventually	O
overtook	O
Apple	O
in	O
the	O
PC	O
market	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
predominant	O
GUI-based	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Experts	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
understand	O
what	O
is	O
going	O
on	O
with	O
the	O
technical	O
aspects	O
of	O
an	O
interface	B-Architecture
metaphor	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
concept	O
behind	O
interface	B-Architecture
metaphors	I-Architecture
appears	O
simple	O
(	O
to	O
promote	O
more	O
efficient	O
facilitation	O
of	O
a	O
computer	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
empirical	O
evidence	O
exists	O
to	O
support	O
these	O
claims	O
.	O
</s>
