Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons
license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary
on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the
entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/


   Computing Pioneer Douglas Engelbart Is Dead

   Josh Centers

   [1]Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart has passed away at the age of 88 from
   kidney failure. In 1950, Engelbart had an epiphany that changed the
   world. He imagined a computer, similar to the radar consoles he manned
   in the Navy, with a display that could show him all the information for
   a given project.

   [2][tn_Douglas-Engelbart-mouse.jpg]

   Computers of the time were monstrosities that filled entire rooms and
   were programmed with arcane punchcards. But in 1968, Engelbart showed
   off the work that resulted from his epiphany. Eventually dubbed '[3]The
   Mother of All Demos,' his demonstration included an interactive
   keyboard and mouse, text editing, hypertext, video conferencing,
   windowing, and more ' many of the foundations of modern computing that
   we take for granted today. In a little over 90 minutes, Douglas
   Engelbart changed the world.

   [EMBED]

   Our most profound thanks, Dr. Engelbart.

References

   1. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/technology/douglas-c-engelbart-inventor-of-the-computer-mouse-dies-at-88.html
   2. http://tidbits.com/resources/2013-07/Douglas-Engelbart-mouse.png
   3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY

.