Mid-Century Innovations

Why was the demo by Douglas Engelbart and the team at SRI so important?

• Engelbart and his team, and the impact of their work.
  by Janette Olmiala
  March 12, 2024
  In the 1960s, most computers were not equipped with user-friendly interfaces, and his vision introduced key interactive elements that laid the foundation for the future of interactive computing. Engelbart’s 1968 NLS demo included a graphical user interface (GUI) that incorporated windows, a mouse, hypertext linking, real-time collaborative editing, and video conferencing. It showcased the potential… Read more: Engelbart and his team, and the impact of their work.
• The importance of the first computer demonstration
  by Dave Zheng
  February 28, 2024
  This was a historic moment, it marked the first public demonstration of the mouse, showcasing how to interact with a computer using a mouse. At that time, computers were primarily operated through keyboard input commands, and the system could use video conferencing, allowing meeting participants to conference from different locations. This demonstration was a significant… Read more: The importance of the first computer demonstration
• Mother of all Demos
  by John Liu
  February 28, 2024
  The demo by Douglas Engelbart and the SRI team was a game-changer because it introduced the concept of the computer mouse, and looking at it from today’s perspective, it feels like a revolutionary moment. Imagining a time when a simple device like the mouse wasn’t common is mind-boggling. The mouse, which we now take for… Read more: Mother of all Demos
•  From Mouse to Meeting: How Engelbart’s Demo Changed Our Workday
  by Hannah He
  February 27, 2024
  The demo by Douglas Engelbart and the team at SRI invented a series of machines that weren’t even on the market before. The demo included: It set a grounding stone for what is possible for computing in the future.  Also, this demo was publicly shown; people can access the demo video. Computing used to be… Read more:  From Mouse to Meeting: How Engelbart’s Demo Changed Our Workday
• Mother of All Demos: Trans Generational Innovations
  by Lynn Lin
  February 20, 2024
  The demo was a historic and landmark demonstration of an unprecedented technological innovation that laid the foundation for the field of computing and showed how the field could evolve in the future. What they demonstrated was revolutionary for its time, which is why it was called “The Mother of All Demos”. Engelbart’s demonstration not only… Read more: Mother of All Demos: Trans Generational Innovations