Bill Atkinson, who made computers easier to use, dies at 74

Wait 5 sec.

Atkinson is credited with inventing many of the key aspects of graphical computing, such as "pull-down" menus and the "double-click" gesture, which allows users to open files, folders and applications by clicking a mouse button twice in succession. Before the Macintosh was introduced in January 1984, most personal computers were text-oriented; graphics were not yet an integrated function of the machines.