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The Xerox 8010 speaks your language
(see other version of brochure here)


As part of an ongoing commitment to office automation, Xerox has made it even easier for you to communicate with other businesses all over the world, in their own native tongue. To do that, remarkable multilingual capabilities have been built into the Xerox 8010 Professional Workstation.

Designed specifically for professional business people with little or no typing skills, the 8010 enables these users to product complex information quickly and easily without errors.

Because the 8010 is an integral component of an advanced information network known as Ethernet, it can be used to request, store, recall, transmit and receive an infinite

flow of information from a variety of machines and computers also connected to the network. Around the world.

For multi-national comporations, banks and shipping companies, this kind of communications link means that a document as routine as a letter can be requested, sent and received in a matter of minutes. Instead of days, or even weeks.

For example, as graphically depicted on the screen above, an 8010 on an Ethernet in the United States can communicate (via a Gateway) with an 8010 on an Ethernet in Japan+. And that includes the capability to edit and print those documents in either language.


To create, format, edit and send or receive documents in a variety of languages with minimal effort, the screen on the 8010 is organized like an "electronic desk top." With the assistance of an electronic pointer, a user simply points to familiar office objects, such as in- and out-baskets, file folders and file drawers. Then, after the touch of a command button, the 8010 will initiate the appropriate action automatically.

And for multi-lingual capabilities with just one standard keyboard, virtual keyboards are used. A virtual keyboard is a pictorial representation of a given lannguage's keyboard layout. When in use, this keyboard layout (which can be displayed on the 8010 screen) will automatically assign an alternate meaning to corresponding keys on the standard keyboard.

For example, when French virtual keyboard capability is activated on an 8010 with an English standard keyboard, the upper case "8" becomes the letter "u" with accent grave, instead of an asterisk.

So, to type an appropriate letter, character or symbol in an alternate language, all the user needs to do is refer to that language's virtual keyboard. For publishers and universities, as examples, this means that a second language excerpt can be easily inserted and accurately displayed. While a report, article or story is still in draft form.


To make document preparation easier, the 8010 provides enormous flexibility. For example, on the screen above, information is displayed as two pages per screen (at 92% of their normal size), with one page in English and the other page in Russian* Using an English standard keyboard, either of these two pages could also be written and displayed in German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish or French; or for that matter, in any combination of these languages. Complete with characters and symbols appropriate to each language.

Or if you prefer, you can order an 8010 with a standard keyboardin Russian*, Spanish, Italian, German, Swedish or French. And still have the same multilingual capabilities.

In fact, portions of as many as six different documents in different languages can be displayed at the same time.

This multiple page per screen capability is especially valuable for translators because it enables them to see the language from which they are translating, while they are preparing the translated version. That not only saves time and effort, it also helps ensure a more accurate translation.

And for businesses that need to compare information written in different languages, two columns per page (as previously shown) can be displayed as well.


One of the most valuable time-saving advantages of the 8010 is that it can create graphics.

And no complicated skills or artistic talents are required. Instead, with just a few keyboard commands, statistical information can be depicted in graphic format.

That's because graphics on the 8010 can be data driven. Once the statistical information is entered, the system quickly calculates percentages or ratios, and then generates the graph.

Moreover, the format and content of the graph can be easily changed -- enabling a user to see how different representations will look. Long before the document is printed on paper.

And as demonstrated by the screen above, text and graphics can be combined in any number of ways within the same document. No matter which language is being used.

For firms such as international oil corporations, consultants, aerospace companies and other businesses who frequently create complex proposals, graphics capability is a valuable asset. Not only are number much easier to understand in graphic form, but graphics is an international pictorial language of its own. At a glance, it conveys the essence of the critical information with memorable impact.


The Japanese language version of the 8010, developed by Fuji Xerox, represents a major breakthrough in international communications. Not only can it write in the Japanese phonic alphabets of Hiragana and Katakana, it also features a full Kanji capability of more than 6000 characters.

As a result, the popular typing method of Kana/ Kanji conversion can be used -- a word typed in Hiragana may be changed to Kanji through the user of an 80,000 word look-up dictionary. (when Kanji is desired, the system allows the user to indicate the

word to be changed and the appropriate Kanji characters are either substituted directly into the text or displayed on a virtual keyboard to give the user a choice.)

Consequently, when a Japanese document is prepared on an 8010, you can be sure that every thought and nuance will be accurately conveyed.

Yet until now, faithfully reproducing, transmitting and printing those Japanese characters electronically has posed a difficult technological challenge.


To overcome these problems, the 8010 features a large scale, bit-mapped display. It enables the 8010 to create a full size 8 1/2" x 11" page with intricately constructed graphics, characters and symbols -- as well as a wide range of font styles and sizes, italics, bold faces and special features appropriate to other languages.

And when it's time to print the document on papger, none of the quality is compromised. The reason is the Xerox high resolution laser printer. It has a 300 x 300 dot-per-inch spot pattern which will reproduce every bit of the information in exceptionally fine detail.

This screen to page integrity gives the user the capability to see exactly how a document will look as it is being developed.

The Xerox 8010 Professional Work Station. When you consider all the advantages it has ot offer as a multilingual text editor, computer terminal, illustrator, file cabinet, electronic mail station, printer and more, it's little wonder that no matter what language you speak, you'll always be able to communicate with it.



Editors Note:

Multilingual was possible because of the Xerox Character Code Set, aka XCCS. (BTW: XCCS was the basis for Unicode.) The Star's multilingual capability was a major factor in the success it had. Voice of America, for example, depended on it to produce scripts for all the foreign language news reports. Star was reworked into Viewpoint, and later into Global View -- all using XCCS. By the end of the project Star/Viewpoint/GlobalView supported nearly all of the world's modern languages, from Arabic, Bengali, and Chinese to Amharic, Burmese, and Cambodian. This support was system-wide -- it was not limited to the doc editor or any particular application. So documents, tables in documents, anything might have a name in a language other than English.

June 16, 1998

This webpage is Copyright 1998, 2002 by David Curbow. All Rights Reserved.

See Also:

Back to Dave Curbow's Xerox Star Historical Documents

The Digibarn's page on the Xerox 8010 Star Information System


The Digibarn's extensive collection of Xerox computers and other artifacts

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