Feb
6
Englebart Demo
Filed Under Uncategorized
Everyone knows (well, everyone in our class knows) about Engelbart, about his genius, about his unwavering pursuit to tap into our mind’s fullest potential, and we know that he influenced the mouse and keyboard. Watching the demo, I immediately witnessed the mouse in its most archaic form taking the shape of a black dot on the CRT monitor and appearing very bulky and aesthetically unattractive in hand. However, there was one device besides the keyboard and mouse that piqued my interest. It was something that Engelbart was resting his left hand on. I decided to do some research and find out more about a device that’s called a chord that seems to be nonexistant today.
http://www.cedmagic.com/history/first-computer-mouse.html That’s a link with a pretty good picture of what I saw in the demo for those who don’t know what a chord is. Pressing different keys in different combinations would result in different inputs and commands for the computer to follow. The idea was for the user to have one hand free while using the chord. Today, it can’t be found because, ironically, a five button system was very complicated because it took a steep learning curve to learn all of the chains of command. It’s interesting to think what a less complicated one-handed device would be like. Afterall, as I type this blog, I cannot use a mouse, can’t hold an object, can’t drink a soda, among other things while typing with both hands.