| |
The Man Behind the Mouse
an interview with Douglas Engelbart
by Judith Quain
|
| |
Douglas Engelbart’s revolutionary ideas have had an enormous impact on how people at the end of the twentieth century interact personally and do business. Yet when he began his almost fifty year career, not many people were ready to listen. Undaunted, he stayed close to his vision and defied the odds.
On December 9, 1968, Engelbart and his colleagues introduced two new technological advancements that would ultimately transform modern computers and communication: the computer mouse and a two-way interactive system called an "online system," or NLS. Ten years later, Doug Engelbart lost his funding - his superiors being quite sure that he had led his research laboratory in the wrong direction. But today he is winning awards for what he created back then.
Founder and director of the Bootstrap Institute (a non-profit technology research organization), author of over 25 publications, holder of 20 patents, recipient of many honors, and a member of the prestigious Inventor's Hall of Fame, Douglas Engelbart has finally been recognized for his pioneering work. But there is still more to come in what he calls "the unfinished revolution." Stay tuned for his thoughts on what we can look forward to in the next millennium.
|
|
|
|
|
"I have to keep thinking and generating something."
|
|
Douglas Engelbart
;)
