The Mother of Demos and its Place in Modern Society

Doug Englebart and his team have provided the very essence of information and its use via his demo of the computer. The computer did something no one could have imagined at the time. It collected data and information which was put to use in a practical setting. In the Mother of All Demos, Doug Englebart showed the power of the computer and made lists that were able to hold information planted inside.

Doug Englebart and his computer still have many practices that are utilized in the present day. Simple interactions such as drop down menus and copy pasting is a very essential aspect in 21st century computer usage. Additionally, Englebart used language that is still used today. Examples of this consist of: modify, copy, paste, and much more. A lot of tools from his demo are still used today as well. We still use keyboards and mice to access the internet successfully. Englebart’s demo had a few flaws and bugs that were unfortunately because the computer was an unknown device that no one knew how to troubleshoot. However with innovation sprouting for many decades, bugs like the cursor missing were fixed and adjusted.

During the process of designing as an Interaction Designer, we used information architecture to help create a product that is useful. Information architecture is important to make the structure of the design is accurate and organized. Just like how Doug Englebart made lists and organized his thoughts that he put inside his computer, I as an Interaction Designer strive to create systems that do the same.

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One thought on “The Mother of Demos and its Place in Modern Society

  1. I agree on the “Simple interactions such as drop down menus and copy pasting is a very essential aspect in 21st century computer usage.” and I think this is being kept for so long is becuase of its simpleness, which is the goal that interaction designers wanted to achive.

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