(DIR) Hitori Dake no Renga - The Literate Anti-Comic (DIR) Floodgap Gopher Fun and Games Hitori Dake no Renga - The Mouse That Roared (27) Image: (IMG) panel-27.jpg In the 1960s, computers were monstrosities in data centres that did things like compute missile trajectories and count Thomas Watson's pocket change, a perfect environment for the gamechanger when Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute appeared with what we in hindsight recognize today as the prototype of the modern computer mouse. But, of course, to simply home in on the mouse as an end in itself is to miss the point(er). Really, we don't think of how revolutionary it was to have let alone a pointing device, but an actual computer that would interactively and nearly instantaneously respond to your intention as if you were its only user, and moreover, a computer that allowed symbolic, interconnected and interactive browsing through data rather than you submitting a batch job on a punch card and waiting for your output. Today that's rather pedestrian. In 1968, it was electrifying, and not just a little bit mind-bending, so we celebrate this achievement on its 40th anniversary. For that matter, this demo even introduced the concept of the window metaphor, something we on our modern Macs and PCs sort of take for granted now. To the world of ASR-33 teletypes, this was just too much to comprehend. The Register has some nice information on the historical context, and coincidentally chose the same laudatory epithet. :) Or watch it yourself. Copyright 2008 Cameron Kaiser except noted. All rights reserved. (TXT) What on earth is Hitori Dake no Renga? (FAQ) (HTM) Hitori Dake no Renga Web version Previous: (DIR) Hitori Dake no Renga - Fermat's Last Renga (26) Next: (DIR) Hitori Dake no Renga - No, You Can't Have a Glass of Water (28)