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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STANFORD
LIBRARIES AND INSTITUTE FOR THE FUTURE TO HOLD COMMEMORATIVE SYMPOSIUM
CELEBRATING 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF NOTED COMPUTER INNOVATION
Leading
Computer Experts to Honor
Douglas
Engelbart's Vision
PALO
ALTO, Calif., November 9, 1998-- On Wednesday, Dec. 9, Stanford
University Libraries and the Institute for the Future will present
a day-long, public symposium titled "Engelbart's Unfinished
Revolution."
The
event, to be held at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium,
will commemorate and reflect upon Doug Engelbart's vision of computing
as put forth in 1968. This vision defined the future of computing
from that point forward with such innovations as the mouse, display
editing, outline processing, linking and in-file object addressing,
use of multiple windows, hypermedia and context-sensitive help.
The event will highlight the critical importance of documenting
and preserving the history of technological innovation as it occurs
and will draw from the growing collection of the Stanford Silicon
Valley Archives (established 1983).
Tickets
will go on sale to the public at $20 ($10 for students) on Nov.
9 through the Stanford University Ticket Office (at 650-725-ARTS
or http://tickets.stanford.edu).
Thirty
years ago, Engelbart and a small team of visionary researchers
at the Stanford Research Institute stunned the computing world
with an extraordinary demo at the American Federation of Information
Processing Societiesí Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco.
At a time when computers were little more than huge number crunchers,
Engelbart and his team demonstrated a two-way interactive system
that in many important respects remains far ahead of the current
state of information technology today.
"The
1968 demonstration of Engelbartís work completely blew people
away," said Paul Saffo, director of the Institute for the
Future. "It was like a UFO landing on the White House lawn.
Nothing has been the same since in computing. We are going to
examine not only what has happened since then, but also what has
not emerged yet -- the unfinished part of that revolution."
"Engelbartís
demonstration that year was a watershed that fundamentally changed
the course of the computing revolution, contributing not only
ideas, but also many of the people who would later build the systems
we use today," said Michael A. Keller, Stanford University
Librarian. "It is vitally important that we recognize and
preserve the record of technology innovation for future generations."
The
symposium will bring together renowned computer visionaries to
consider the impact of Engelbartís work on the last three decades
of the computer revolution, to explore the challenges facing us
today and to speculate about the next three decades. Confirmed
speakers and panelists include Doug Engelbart, Marc Andreessen,
Stewart Brand, Alan Kay, Jaron Lanier, John Markoff, Ted Nelson,
Howard Rheingold, Terry Winograd and Andy van Dam. The moderator
for the day will be Institute for the Future Director Paul Saffo.
This
milestone symposium is made possible by the generous sponsorship
of BancBoston Robertson Stephens Inc., IBM, Logitech, Sun Microsystems,
Inc., and the Council on Library and Information Resources. Supporters
include SRI International, Digital Persona, Herman Miller Inc.,
theIndustry Standard and Phase Two Strategies.
For
more information, visit our website at http://unrev.stanford.edu
or call 650-725-4844.
Media
contact:
Steven
Fielding
Phase
Two Strategies
415-772-8451
steven_fielding@p2pr.com
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