Steve Capps is a pioneering American computer programmer and software engineer, who was one of the original designers of the Apple Macintosh computer and co-designers of the Finder in the 1980s. He also led development of the Apple Newton PDA and designed music software such as SoundEdit, before developing user interface (UI) designs for Microsoft's Internet Explorer and online/mobile payment systems.

Early life and education

While a computer science student at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Steve Capps started working at the Xerox Corporation and learned about graphical user interfaces (GUI). Capps graduated from RIT with a Bachelor of Science degree.

In 1979, Capps wrote and designed Dali Clock for the Xerox Alto, the first GUI personal computer workstation. Capps' inspiration was the morphing effect seen in Peter Foldes' 1974 short computer animated film La Faim (Hunger), with key-frame animation by software engineer Nestor Burtnyk and physicist Marceli Wein.

Career

Apple Computer, Inc.

Capps joined Apple Computer, Inc. in 1981 after leaving the Xerox Corporation, and he worked with a small team of programmers and hardware engineers put together by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in Cupertino, California. Capps was then selected by Jobs to join the Apple Macintosh software team in January 1983, principally writing the Finder (along with Bruce Horn) and Macintosh system utilities such as ResEdit. Capps was named an Apple Fellow in 1994. The game was the only one to be self-published as a retail product by Apple, and it was shipped in 1984 with elaborate packaging for the floppy disk that included other Capps projects as bonuses, such as Clock (based on Dali Clock), the Amazing maze generator, and a font named Cartoon. Stewart Brand said in 1984, "I think the Mac is going to be a great game machine, and ALICE is the first proof." SoundEdit was eventually sold to Macromedia and discontinued in 2004.

Apple Newton

From 1987 to 1996, Capps led the development of the Newton handheld computer while at Apple. Handwriting recognition was a key part of the plan. Capps was the chief architect and Apple Fellow for the Apple Newton, where he led the specification and development of the user interface of Newton, shepherded the team of software developers, and wrote many portions of the built-in application software. Capps worked as head of user interface and software development on the Newton handheld device under the leadership of John Sculley, Apple's CEO at that time.

Although the Newton failed to catch on as a personal digital assistant (PDA) and was discontinued in 1997, it was the first computer designed to fit in people's pockets when it was shipped in August 1993 and it proved influential.

Later work

After leaving Microsoft, Capps became an independent developer. In 2009, Capps created the game AliceX for the iPhone based on his earlier game Through the Looking Glass (aka Alice).

Capps then became Chief Innovator at financial technology company PayNearMe, where he developed and designed PayNearMe's user interface for scalable, easy-to-use mobile payments. In June 2023, Capps became the first PayNearMe Fellow. Their child Emma Capps was born in 1997.

References

  • Steve Capps Day at Apple
  • Steve Capps at the 'Newton Hall of Fame'
  • Onedoto (Steve Capps' user interface design company)