Editing 1234: Douglas Engelbart (1925-2013)
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| title = Douglas Engelbart (1925-2013) | | title = Douglas Engelbart (1925-2013) | ||
| image = douglas engelbart 1925 2013.png | | image = douglas engelbart 1925 2013.png | ||
− | | titletext = Actual quote from The Demo: '... an advantage of being online is that it keeps track of who you are and what | + | | titletext = Actual quote from The Demo: '... an advantage of being online is that it keeps track of who you are and what you’re doing all the time...' |
}} | }} | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete}} | |
− | The | + | The comic describes and references {{w|The Mother of All Demos}} in honor of {{w|Douglas Engelbart}}, who died on July 2nd, 2013. |
− | The title text is a reference to recent revelations about spying by the United States {{w|National Security Agency}} | + | The demo is renowned for the numerous technologies Engelbart's team introduced, which the comic references before sliding into apocryphal claims. At the first panel he presents various inventions, including the {{w|Computer Mouse}}. The second panel contains the opening lyrics of Leonard Cohen's song {{w|Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)|Hallelujah}}. The "Secret Chord" is a reference to his "Chord Key Set" he also presented at this demo. This relatively obscure device, essentially a piano with five keys, was meant as an alternative to the well-known keyboard. The third is a reference to contemporary internet memes, specifically [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/cats cat pictures] and [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/yolo YOLO]. |
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+ | The title text is a reference to recent revelations about spying by the United States {{w|National Security Agency}}. | ||
===The inventions in detail=== | ===The inventions in detail=== | ||
− | Several of the inventions presented by | + | Several of the inventions presented by Engelbart in 1968 were years ahead of their time, and many would prove to be very influential in the development of personal computing. Some of the technologies demonstrated found success in the following decades, while others did not. |
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'''Cathode ray tube''' | '''Cathode ray tube''' | ||
− | :The German physicist {{w|Ferdinand Braun}} invented the {{w|Cathode ray tube}}, or CRT, in 1897. The Russian scientist {{w|Boris Rosing}} was the first to use the CRT to receive a video signal. CRT was the most common technology used for television screens and computer monitors in the last century, but has since been succeeded by modern devices such as {{w|OLED}}, {{w|plasma display}}, or the ubiquitous {{w|LCD}}. In the demo, | + | :The German physicist {{w|Ferdinand Braun}} invented the {{w|Cathode ray tube}}, or CRT, in 1897. The Russian scientist {{w|Boris Rosing}} was the first to use the CRT to receive a video signal. CRT was the most common technology used for television screens and computer monitors in the last century, but has since been succeeded by modern devices such as {{w|OLED}}, {{w|plasma display}}, or the ubiquitous {{w|LCD}}. In the demo, Engelbart used CRT monitors to demonstrate video conferencing, as well as collaborative real-time editing. |
'''Computer mouse''' | '''Computer mouse''' | ||
− | : | + | :Engelbart did refer to this device as a "mouse", but officially it was named the "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System". He filed a [http://www.google.com/patents/US3541541?printsec=drawing#v=onepage&q&f=false patent] for this device on June 21, 1967 and received the patent on November 17, 1970. Engelbart stated: "I don't know why we call it a mouse. It started that way and we never changed it." |
'''Text movement/cloning''' | '''Text movement/cloning''' | ||
− | :This is well known today as "cut, copy and paste". On some early text-based systems, the user moved the cursor to the beginning of the text to be copied, typed <CTRL>+K+B , and then moved the cursor to the end of the copied text and typed <CTRL>+K+E. At the demo, | + | :This is well known today as "cut, copy and paste". On some early text-based systems, the user moved the cursor to the beginning of the text to be copied, typed <CTRL>+K+B , and then moved the cursor to the end of the copied text and typed <CTRL>+K+E. At the demo, Engelbart demonstrated that the same task could be accomplished with the mouse. Today, many people do not use keyboard commands for cut, copy and paste, and instead use the mouse exclusively. |
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'''Joint file editing''' | '''Joint file editing''' | ||
− | :Text editors were in the nascent stage of their development in 1968. | + | :Text editors were in the nascent stage of their development in 1968. Engelbart demonstrated the first text editor capable of "joint file editing". The first successful system to implement joint file editing came 15 years later, when {{w|Concurrent Versions System|CVS}} was made available in the middle of the 1980's. |
'''E-mail''' | '''E-mail''' | ||
− | :Although not referred to as e-mail, | + | :Although not referred to as e-mail, Engelbart demonstrated the exchange of "direct messages", which fulfills a similar role to modern e-mail. |
'''File sharing''' | '''File sharing''' | ||
:The demo also demonstrated the exchange of files between users, paving the way for modern file sharing, and the associated legal and ethical debate. | :The demo also demonstrated the exchange of files between users, paving the way for modern file sharing, and the associated legal and ethical debate. | ||
'''Audio codec''' | '''Audio codec''' | ||
− | : | + | :Engelbart demonstrated a "masking codec" capable of coding and decoding an audio stream. This would eventually lead to the development of the wide variety of mondern audio codecs, including the MP3 codec, which was produced by the {{w|Fraunhofer Society}}. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :San Francisco, December | + | :San Francisco, December 9<sup>th</sup>,1968: |
− | + | : Douglas: ...we generated video signals with a cathode ray tube | |
− | :Douglas: ... | + | : Douglas: ...we have a pointing device we call a "Mouse" |
+ | : Douglas: ...I can "Copy" text | ||
+ | : Douglas: ...and we have powerful joint file editing | ||
+ | : Douglas: ...underneath the file here we can exchange "Direct Messages"... | ||
− | + | : Douglas: ...users can share files... | |
− | :Douglas: ... | + | : Douglas: ...files which can encode audio samples, using our "Masking codecs" |
− | :Music: I heard there was a secret chord | + | : Douglas: ...the file you're hearing now is one of my own compositions... |
+ | :Music in the background. | ||
+ | : Voice: I heard there was a secret chord | ||
− | + | : Douglas: ...and you can superimpose text on the picture of the cat, like so...this cat is saying "YOLO", which stands for "You Only Live Once"... | |
− | :Douglas: ... | + | : Douglas: ...just a little acronym we thought up... |
− | :Douglas: ... | ||
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | [[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | ||
[[Category:Internet]] | [[Category:Internet]] | ||
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