Douglas Engelbart and the team from Stanford are credited as early computer pioneers, and it is incredibly fascinating to see what their initial visions were. Many of the functions of computers we take for granted today, such as the “tracking spot” or mouse, hyperlink, zooming function, and bulleted lists, were revolutionary during this time. Moreover, the creating and sharing of files, access to all the information about them, and visual graphs and maps reminded me of a text editor, finder window, and even Google Drive. With the advent of individual applications designed to cater to specific needs, this early model might seem unfocused as the amount of interactive functions included is enormous. All of the affordances laid out in the demo can be overwhelming all at once, but it is fascinating to see how we have taken these fundamental concepts and implemented them across the Internet.
There was no scrolling done in this prototype, and as that is something most of us have become accustomed to, it was frustrating to watch the way in which the screen changed to reveal more information. Regardless, it is incredible to see how Engelbart envisioned the zoom function and the way in which we use it today. Additionally, the special keyboard was an interesting idea, but in comparison to the monumental functionality of the regular keyboards of today, it feels unnecessary. I can see the appeal to keep only one hand occupied and type quickly with just one hand, but it feels like a lot of unnecessary learning to do when the larger keyboard already exists. The birth of the functions we still use regularly, however, is critical to interaction design of today.
I’d love to see how you support why is the birth of the functions are still relevant to interaction design. Nice work!