Dynabook: The Complete Story

Name: Dynabook: The Complete Story
Uploaded: 2017-09-29T20:19:15.000Z
Duration: 1 h 56 min 40 s
Channel: Alan Kay
Description: Alan Kay delivers a comprehensive historical account of the Dynabook, detailing its intellectual lineage from Vannevar Bush to Douglas Engelbart and its…

Alan Kay

Computer History Museum·Alan Kay

1:56:40

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Dynabook: The Complete Story

Alan Kay Computer History Museum

1:56:40·2017·graduate·Public Lecture

Alan Kay delivers a comprehensive historical account of the Dynabook, detailing its intellectual lineage from Vannevar Bush to Douglas Engelbart and its realization through Smalltalk.

Alan Kay, computer researcher and inventor, recounts the history of Dynabook, an early attempt to create a portable computing system. He begins talking about his influences, including Vannevar Bush’s MEMEX, the writings of Robert Heinlein, Douglas Engelbart, the MIT LINC project, J.C.R. Licklider’s work for ARPA, and the Burroughs 220 computer. He shows several film segments, including pieces of Ivan Sutherland’s Sketchpad film, work at the Rand Corporation, and a demonstration of the Smalltalk programming environment, and Dynabook concepts from 1973. Kay recalls his time at the University of Utah under Dave Evans and Bob Barton. An extended segment of an animation program is shown, demonstrating the kinds of programs children were creating with Smalltalk. Kay concludes by describing the NoteTaker portable computer.

Systems & CS Malleable Computing & Dynamic Media Software Design & HCI Tools for Thought, Smalltalk & Dynamic Media Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)History of Computing Personal Computing