4 Responses to “Douglas C. Engelbart (1925-2013)”

1. Don Holmberg Says:
   July 4th, 2013 at 1:07 am

   This was a true computer pioneer. His impact on the world is massive and yet most people didn’t even know who he was.

   At least CNN and USA Today covered it. Sort of. The stories got buried pretty quick though.

   Rest in peace.

2. JackSoar Says:
   July 4th, 2013 at 2:22 am

   Engelbart was probably one of the first figures I read about when I was starting to get into computer history. I loved his mouse design, as primitive as it was. It’s just such a cool-looking doodad, in addition to its obviously huge impact.

   Shame we’re sort of getting away from mice in popular computing, what with touchscreens and touchpads and so forth. I still think the mouse is the most intuitive way of interfacing with a computer, and I hope it stays around for many decades to come.

   Kudos to him for his invention, and I’m sad to see him go.

3. Johann Says:
   July 13th, 2013 at 3:53 pm

   Rest in peace, Mr. Engelbart. I started using computers in the 1970s, and throughout that decade and all of the next we used arrow and tab keys to move around screens (much like airline reservation terminals still are, I think). It was fast and efficient but of course limited to certain fixed locations on the screen. I still prefer keyboard shortcuts for any sort of commands, but the mouse has been indispensable for photo editing, and, more importantly, bringing general computing to the masses.

   I hope he was proud that in this age where phones are considered obsolete after a year his invention has stood strong since 1967.

4. Mike Says:
   November 28th, 2013 at 9:15 am

   There is an interview @ PBS: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/player/?ext=mp4&show=011 . Rest in Peace Mr. Engelbart !

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