In 1968, Douglas C. Englebart wow’s the crowd with his presentation on computer features that people have never seen before. He also demonstrates the hardware: the mouse and the keyboard. Things that most of us, at least for us interaction designers, use everyday.
Englebart’s law is : “Digital technology would became increasingly miniaturized and affordable, its injection into all levels of business and society would become increasingly widespread and rapid.”
(Doug Engelbart Institute 2008)
Was his prediction true? Absolutely. We are still making predictions on techlonogy today, it has even taken over jobs that only humans could do, such as self driving cars! We are evolving extremely quick, and it’s accessible to most humans. As for his prediction on “miniturized” we are doing everything that he did in his demonstration on our smartphones that fits in our pockets.
As an individual, I use my smartphone to call Ubers, book appointments, or call my mother.
On my laptop, I do work, interaction design work. I use the features that Englebart talks about almost everyday, and I take them for granted as we have technologically evolved so much since his time. He goes over the basics, and I use those to make design that is user-friendly and easy on the eye. What I do is also very much simplified, interaction designers have designed user interfaces with features that are easy to find and that people can access with just a click.
Source:
Doug Engelbart Institute. 2008. “About ‘Engelbart’s Law’ – Doug Engelbart Institute.” Www.dougengelbart.org. 2008. https://www.dougengelbart.org/content/view/316/322/#:~:text=Before%20there%20was%20a%20Moore.
