<s>
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
was	O
a	O
planned	O
series	O
of	O
productivity	O
software	O
by	O
Commodore	O
Business	O
Machines	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
developed	O
the	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
suite	O
both	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
a	O
perceived	O
lack	O
of	O
productivity	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
of	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Lisa	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
popularity	O
,	O
which	O
brought	O
most	O
customers	O
their	O
first	O
experience	O
with	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
Type	O
and	O
File	O
was	O
panned	O
by	O
contemporary	O
computer	O
journalists	O
for	O
its	O
incompleteness	O
and	O
cumbersome	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
scrapped	O
succeeding	O
entries	O
,	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
cultivating	O
the	O
built-in	O
productivity	O
software	O
for	O
Commodore	O
's	O
succeeding	O
home	O
computer	O
,	O
the	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
is	I-Protocol
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
featuring	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
and	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
disembodied	O
hand	O
portrays	O
the	O
cursor	B-Device
,	O
controlled	O
by	O
joystick	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pressing	O
the	O
fire	O
button	O
selects	O
the	O
object	O
that	O
is	O
underneath	O
the	O
cursor	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pressing	O
the	O
typewriter	O
icon	O
leads	O
the	O
user	O
into	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
on	O
which	O
the	O
typewriter	O
and	O
trash	O
can	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
as	O
icons	O
below	O
the	O
text	O
box	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
icons	O
for	O
printing	O
,	O
margin	O
setting	O
,	O
and	O
returning	O
to	O
the	O
main	O
screen	O
(	O
represented	O
by	O
a	O
desk	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
behaves	O
accordingly	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
tick	O
noise	O
accompanying	O
each	O
key	O
press	O
and	O
a	O
margin	O
bell	O
sounding	O
when	O
the	O
cursor	B-Device
is	O
five	O
columns	O
before	O
the	O
right	O
margin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
cursor	B-Device
approaches	O
the	O
center	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
it	O
remains	O
centered	O
with	O
the	O
preceding	O
text	O
moving	O
behind	O
it	O
—	O
moving	O
the	O
page	O
from	O
right	O
to	O
left	O
—	O
as	O
if	O
to	O
simulate	O
a	O
page	O
being	O
moved	O
with	O
the	O
carriage	O
on	O
a	O
real	O
typewriter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Editing	O
of	O
text	O
is	O
handled	O
line-by-line	O
only	O
—	O
users	O
may	O
delete	O
characters	O
behind	O
the	O
cursor	B-Device
using	O
the	O
Backspace	O
key	O
or	O
overwrite	O
characters	O
at	O
the	O
current	O
position	O
,	O
but	O
no	O
block	O
editing	O
features	O
exist	O
,	O
meaning	O
paragraphs	O
will	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
rewritten	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
adding	O
or	O
removing	O
sentences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
prevent	O
accidental	O
data	O
loss	O
,	O
pressing	O
the	O
trash	O
can	O
icon	O
only	O
once	O
on	O
either	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
screen	O
or	O
the	O
main	O
menu	O
puts	O
the	O
document	O
into	O
a	O
limbo	O
state	O
represented	O
by	O
a	O
crumpled	O
up	O
piece	O
of	O
paper	O
in	O
the	O
can	O
;	O
it	O
restores	O
the	O
current	O
document	O
into	O
the	O
word	O
process	O
if	O
the	O
user	O
takes	O
no	O
action	O
within	O
several	O
seconds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pressing	O
the	O
icon	O
twice	O
actually	O
discards	O
the	O
current	O
document	O
from	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
save	O
a	O
document	O
to	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
the	O
users	O
must	O
press	O
the	O
desk	O
icon	O
on	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
to	O
return	O
to	O
the	O
main	O
menu	O
;	O
then	O
they	O
must	O
press	O
the	O
file	O
cabinet	O
icon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
performs	O
a	O
check	O
of	O
the	O
drive	O
to	O
see	O
if	O
the	O
disk	O
is	O
inserted	O
and	O
if	O
said	O
disk	O
is	O
initialized	O
;	O
if	O
an	O
uninitialized	O
disk	O
is	O
present	O
,	O
the	O
program	O
prompts	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
press	O
the	O
fire	O
button	O
to	O
initialize	O
the	O
disk	O
while	O
warning	O
them	O
that	O
this	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
disk	O
being	O
formatted	O
,	O
to	O
prevent	O
accidental	O
data	O
erasure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
the	O
page	O
is	O
labeled	O
(	O
named	B-Device
)	O
,	O
pressing	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
icon	O
saves	O
the	O
current	O
document	O
to	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
was	O
mostly	O
the	O
work	O
of	O
John	O
Feagans	O
,	O
a	O
designer	O
of	O
the	O
PET	B-Device
whom	O
Commodore	O
hired	O
in	O
their	O
research	O
and	O
development	O
office	O
in	O
Moorpark	O
,	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seminal	O
work	O
on	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
by	O
Xerox	O
PARC	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
visit	O
by	O
former	O
PARC	O
employee	O
Robert	O
Metcalfe	O
in	O
1980	O
,	O
sparked	O
Feagans	O
 '	O
interest	O
in	O
developing	O
one	O
for	O
the	O
PET	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
developed	O
a	O
demonstratory	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
comprising	O
an	O
animated	O
filing	O
cabinet	O
that	O
functioned	O
as	O
a	O
file	B-Application
manager	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rows	O
of	O
cabinets	O
contained	O
folders	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
contained	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
files	O
that	O
were	O
stored	O
on	O
a	O
diskette	B-Device
holding	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
dearth	O
of	O
structured	O
work	O
there	O
afforded	O
Feagans	O
the	O
leisure	O
to	O
adapt	O
his	O
demonstration	O
to	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
using	O
BASIC	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mastering	O
how	O
to	O
program	O
joystick	O
control	O
,	O
Feagans	O
added	O
a	O
cursor	B-Device
to	O
the	O
demonstration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Finkel	O
's	O
suggestion	O
that	O
this	O
demonstration	O
be	O
committed	O
to	O
a	O
full	O
product	O
,	O
Hartmann	O
approved	O
what	O
would	O
become	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
,	O
after	O
the	O
winter	O
edition	O
of	O
the	O
1983	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
avoid	O
a	O
complete	O
rewrite	O
,	O
Feagans	O
used	O
his	O
own	O
special	O
compiler	O
to	O
convert	O
his	O
BASIC	B-Language
to	O
assembly	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
code	O
at	O
this	O
point	O
comprised	O
only	O
the	O
file	B-Application
manager	I-Application
,	O
so	O
he	O
teamed	O
with	O
Finkel	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rich	O
Wiggins	O
and	O
his	O
team	O
from	O
Dallas	O
—	O
responsible	O
for	O
Commodore	O
's	O
Magic	O
Voice	O
speech	B-Application
synthesis	I-Application
module	O
—	O
was	O
one	O
such	O
selection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tasked	O
with	O
crafting	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
his	O
own	O
for	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
,	O
Feagans	O
picked	O
several	O
members	O
of	O
Wiggins	O
 '	O
team	O
for	O
himself	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
hiring	O
Michael	O
Tomczyk	O
from	O
Commodore	O
's	O
headquarters	O
in	O
West	O
Chester	O
,	O
Pennsylvania	O
,	O
as	O
supervisor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
development	O
of	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
proved	O
laborious	O
and	O
,	O
pressured	O
for	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
stopped	O
development	O
of	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
beyond	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
and	O
file	B-Application
manager	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
's	O
preview	O
at	O
the	O
summer	O
1983	O
CES	O
,	O
although	O
functional	O
,	O
was	O
described	O
by	O
Commodore	O
there	O
as	O
preliminary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
was	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
of	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
held	O
reservation	O
with	O
having	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
name	O
new	O
sheets	O
for	O
multiple	O
pages	O
of	O
a	O
document	O
and	O
found	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
's	O
line	O
limit	O
non-standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
many	O
reviewers	O
of	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
raised	O
issue	O
with	O
its	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phillip	O
Robinson	O
in	O
InfoWorld	O
panned	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
more	O
advanced	O
editing	O
functions	O
—	O
find-and-replacement	O
and	O
block	B-General_Concept
selection-and-movement	I-General_Concept
chief	O
among	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mary	O
C	O
.	O
Ware	O
in	O
Run	O
wrote	O
that	O
in	O
its	O
quest	O
for	O
mechanical	O
accuracy	O
,	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
inherited	O
both	O
the	O
good	O
and	O
the	O
bad	O
aspects	O
of	O
typewriters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
considered	O
the	O
page	O
's	O
movement	O
from	O
right	O
to	O
left	O
a	O
refreshment	O
from	O
standard	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
as	O
was	O
the	O
margin	O
bell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
'	O
s	O
Gazette	O
defined	O
the	O
mechanical	O
simulation	O
of	O
a	O
typewriter	O
as	O
"	O
perhaps	O
a	O
bit	O
too	O
cute	O
"	O
and	O
complained	O
that	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
provided	O
only	O
a	O
fraction	O
of	O
the	O
versatility	O
of	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Robinson	O
praised	O
the	O
graphics	O
as	O
"	O
clear	O
,	O
effective	O
,	O
and	O
smooth	O
"	O
but	O
found	O
the	O
non-functioning	O
icons	O
frustrating	O
—	O
guessing	O
that	O
their	O
only	O
role	O
was	O
in	O
whetting	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
appetite	O
for	O
further	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Speaking	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
Robinson	O
wrote	O
that	O
its	O
cartridge	O
medium	O
would	O
precipitate	O
wear	O
on	O
the	O
64	O
's	O
cartridge	O
slot	O
,	O
should	O
further	O
entries	O
in	O
the	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
series	O
revolve	O
around	O
one	O
set	O
of	O
functions	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
necessitating	O
pulling	O
these	O
cartridges	O
out	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
access	O
different	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ware	O
found	O
the	O
cabinet	O
metaphor	O
for	O
a	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
intuitive	O
enough	O
for	O
novices	O
but	O
cumbersome	O
for	O
anyone	O
else	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brannon	O
bemoaned	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
's	O
slow	O
speed	O
and	O
erratic	O
operation	O
when	O
writing	O
only	O
one	O
document	O
to	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
end	O
,	O
reviewers	O
agreed	O
that	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
was	O
suitable	O
for	O
novice	O
computer	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Robinson	O
recommended	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
only	O
for	O
first-time	O
computer	O
users	O
familiar	O
with	O
a	O
typewriter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ware	O
and	O
Brannon	O
went	O
one	O
step	O
further	O
,	O
rating	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
a	O
good	O
value	O
for	O
technophobes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brannon	O
compared	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
to	O
an	O
IBM	O
Selectric	O
,	O
requiring	O
no	O
instruction	O
to	O
use	O
but	O
obsolete	O
to	O
the	O
intermediate	O
computer	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
felt	O
that	O
Commodore	O
—	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
VisiCorp	O
,	O
and	O
Quarterdeck	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
released	O
GUI-based	O
applications	O
around	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
—	O
underestimated	O
the	O
many	O
man-hours	O
necessary	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
well-crafted	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
as	O
Apple	O
's	O
Lisa	B-Device
had	O
accomplished	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
proved	O
popular	O
in	O
the	O
home	O
,	O
exposing	O
many	O
purchasers	O
to	O
their	O
first	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1983	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
company	O
had	O
been	O
making	O
progress	O
with	O
designing	O
their	O
TED	O
computer	O
—	O
known	O
from	O
its	O
release	O
as	O
the	O
Commodore	B-Operating_System
Plus/4	I-Operating_System
—	O
executives	O
proposed	O
porting	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
from	O
the	O
64	O
to	O
the	O
TED	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
recommissioned	O
Feagans	O
and	O
Finkel	O
to	O
develop	O
such	O
a	O
port	O
;	O
the	O
former	O
hired	O
four	O
engineers	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
so-called	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
II	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
integral	O
speech	B-Application
synthesis	I-Application
chip	O
of	O
the	O
proposed	O
364	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
TED	O
computer	O
would	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
this	O
capability	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
chip	O
's	O
limited	O
vernacular	O
proved	O
difficult	O
to	O
circumvent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
II	I-Protocol
was	O
previewed	O
at	O
the	O
winter	O
1984	O
CES	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commodore	O
's	O
exhibition	O
revolved	O
around	O
the	O
264	O
and	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
,	O
with	O
Jim	O
Butterfield	O
showing	O
their	O
features	O
to	O
attendees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
exhibition	O
,	O
Commodore	O
executives	O
ended	O
up	O
scrapping	O
the	O
364	O
,	O
renaming	O
the	O
264	O
as	O
the	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
abandoning	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
II	I-Protocol
,	O
instead	O
using	O
Tri	O
Micro	O
's	O
3-Plus-1	O
productivity	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Finkel	O
,	O
accountants	O
at	O
Commodore	O
projected	O
low	O
demand	O
for	O
a	O
Plus/4	B-Operating_System
with	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
II	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
release	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
did	O
end	O
up	O
propelling	O
the	O
image	O
of	O
the	O
still-popular	O
Commodore	O
64	O
from	O
a	O
gaming-only	O
machine	O
to	O
one	O
with	O
the	O
potential	O
for	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Berkeley	O
Softworks	O
revisited	O
the	O
notion	O
of	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
with	O
their	O
GEOS	B-Device
operating	O
system	O
released	O
in	O
1986	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
original	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
's	O
limited	O
feature	O
set	O
,	O
GEOS	B-Device
supported	O
third-party	O
applications	O
,	O
allowing	O
for	O
seemingly	O
endless	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
of	O
a	O
Magic	B-Protocol
Desk	I-Protocol
II	I-Protocol
prototype	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
—	O
complete	O
with	O
functional	O
calculator	O
,	O
spreadsheet	O
,	O
and	O
Rolodex	O
address	O
book	O
—	O
surfaced	O
online	O
in	O
August	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
