Week 7 Dicussion Questions

Chapter 1: Bitmapping

1.    In 1968 Douglas Englebart introduced “direct manipulation” of data. How was this different than how data was interacted with before?

When Englebart presented his demo of computer manipulation using a computer and a little rolling box, this was when everything changed. Who knew a little rolling box called a mouse would have had so much impact as it does today. With the mouse you could directly interact with the computer and move anywhere on the screen. It made guiding through the computer easier. Before the mouse interaction with the computer was impossible. The computer before was just used with a keyboard so it was basically used to type documents, a more advanced typewriter.

2.    By creating an “information space,” how did Englebart’s advancement change the way people thought about machines/computers? In what ways did it lead the way not only to interfaces as we think of them today but virtual spaces and augmented reality?

Englebart found that when your working there should be a place where you could have all your knowledge mapped out in one space, this is where information space began. He wanted people to acknowledge that computers are where this is could happen. It was where all of your idea’s could come to life right at your fingertips from your mind to the screen. To add to that he crated a bitmapping screen where the visual aspect came in where you could see images to files to personal folders.

Chapter 2: The Desktop

3.    As discussed in Chapter 2, describe some of the advancements that took place at Xerox PARC, the people involved and what they contributed.

Xerox PARC is a high end science computer lab that consist of scientists whose backgrounds came from Stanford Research Institute. The company built ideas off of Englebart research and one person particular was Alan Kay. He made the idea of overlapping windows to give more depth to the desktop, it utilized the whole screen space which gave you control to move things back and forth of the screen. He turned real life into a computer from stacking papers to a trash can to throw away things. Xeror made a first desktop interface as part of a operating system. This lead to greater things that Steve Jobs brought to Apple later.

As We May Think

4.     Vannevar Bush’s vision inspired the next few generations of technologists, and his idea of a “memex” resembles devices we use today. What was the “memex” and what benefits did Bush think it would have?

Memex is a device that where individuals could store their own records, book, and communications. He wanted this place to be a sort of research where one could find things need and have notes with links involved. He wanted this device to be a private library that one could use that would of screens with information in them that could use photography as well and this would be a benefit.