Andy’s New Media Blog

It’s hard to sit here at my desktop computer and not be struck by not only how much more technologically advanced it is than anything in Engelbart’s research center, but also how ridiculously common this technology is. Still, despite the fact that Engelbart was still limited by the technology of his time, it still seems like the research center was an incredible achievement. What I found most interesting while reading the article wasn’t any one aspect of the center, but rather the fact that so many disparate parts and ideas were all brought together so successfully. It’s even more awe inspiring when you think that a good amount of the things he describes all had to be invented and created separately, but also are integral to the overall success of the project. One particularly cool part of the reading was the television that essentially allowed for computing and video chat simultaneously. This is something that is only now coming into regular use, so it’s cool to see how Engelbart’s ideas are still being mined by the computer manufacturing and software companies.