History of Computers part 6 BBC Documentary.mp4
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the evolution of books and computers from exclusive to accessible mediums. It discusses the early days of manuscript preservation, the introduction of the printing press, and the development of chained libraries. The narrative then shifts to the computer's transition from a complex tool used by a select few to a user-friendly device embraced by millions. Highlighting key innovations like Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad and Doug Engelbart's mouse, it underscores the pivotal role of visionaries in shaping modern interactive computing.
Takeaways
- π The art of writing in the Middle Ages was a pioneering medium that became foundational to civilization.
- π For centuries, access to written materials was limited, with illuminated manuscripts being extremely valuable and scarce.
- π Books were kept in high-security chests, requiring multiple keys to access, reflecting their preciousness.
- π After the introduction of printing, books remained large and expensive, making them inaccessible to the wider public.
- π The concept of a 'chained library' allowed for the first time instant, albeit restricted, access to books for the public.
- π Books eventually became smaller, more affordable, and widely available, transforming into a cornerstone of modern culture.
- π» Early computers were expensive and used primarily by a 'mathematical priesthood', with limited popular appeal.
- π¨βπ» Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad program pioneered computer graphics and interactive computing, allowing users to communicate with computers in new ways.
- π±οΈ Doug Engelbart introduced innovations like the mouse, which revolutionized how humans interact with computers.
- π’ Xerox PARC was established to make computers more user-friendly, aiming to bring computing to the masses.
- π§ The Xerox PARC team recognized the need to understand human mentality to make computers accessible to everyone, not just experts.
Q & A
What was the significance of illuminated manuscripts in the Middle Ages?
-Illuminated manuscripts were priceless and represented the exclusive access to written knowledge during the Middle Ages, confined to a select few.
How were books secured at Hereford Cathedral before the advent of printing?
-Books were kept in high-security chests that required three separate keys from canons to be opened.
What was the concept of a chained library?
-A chained library was a system where books were made accessible to the public by being chained, allowing them to be read on-site but not removed.
How did the introduction of printing impact the accessibility of books?
-Printing made books more available to the wider public by reducing their cost and size, making them more affordable and accessible.
What was the initial challenge faced by computers in becoming a popular tool?
-The initial challenge was that computers were expensive and difficult to use, requiring specialized knowledge and programming skills.
What was the significance of Ivan Sutherland's work on Sketchpad?
-Ivan Sutherland's work on Sketchpad pioneered the field of computer graphics and introduced interactive computing, allowing users to communicate with computers in a more intuitive graphical way.
Who is considered the most important person in the history of computing according to the script?
-According to the script, Doug Engelbart is considered the single most important person in the history of computing.
What was the purpose of Xerox PARC and what did they aim to achieve?
-Xerox PARC was established to make computers easier to use and to bring computing to everyone, aiming to humanize computers and make them common objects usable by anyone.
What was the role of Doug Engelbart in the development of computer technology?
-Doug Engelbart demonstrated a series of innovations, including the mouse, and advocated for a change in the way people thought about computers, emphasizing their potential as tools for ordinary people.
Why did Xerox set up a research center in Palo Alto, California?
-Xerox set up a research center to be part of the new electronic world and to explore paperless communication, as they recognized the potential obsolescence of paper.
What was the challenge faced by the scientists at Xerox PARC in making computers more user-friendly?
-The challenge was to understand the problems of ordinary users and to design interfaces that were intuitive and accessible, despite the scientists' own technical expertise.
Outlines
π The Evolution of Books and Early Computing
This paragraph discusses the historical significance of writing and the evolution of books from illuminated manuscripts in the Middle Ages to the advent of the printing press. It highlights how access to books was initially limited to the elite few and how the introduction of chained libraries made books more accessible to the public. The paragraph then transitions to the early days of computing, comparing the initial high cost and complexity of computers to that of books before they became widespread. It describes the frustrations of early programmers and the eventual shift towards user-friendly computing interfaces, exemplified by Ivan Sutherland's development of Sketchpad, which introduced interactive computing and computer graphics.
π₯οΈ Pioneers of Interactive Computing
The second paragraph delves into the contributions of Ivan Sutherland and Doug Engelbart to the field of interactive computing. It notes the lack of immediate impact following Sutherland's groundbreaking work with Sketchpad, despite its potential to revolutionize computing. The paragraph then discusses Engelbart's visionary ideas and his demonstration of innovations like the mouse, which were not immediately adopted by the mainstream. It reflects on the challenges faced by pioneers in computing, including the slow response from the industry and the difficulty in shifting established paradigms. The narrative also touches on Xerox PARC's efforts to make computers more user-friendly, emphasizing the importance of understanding the needs and perspectives of ordinary users, not just technical experts.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Illuminated Manuscripts
π‘Chained Library
π‘Printing Press
π‘Computer Graphics
π‘Interactive Computing
π‘Punch Cards
π‘Mouse
π‘Xerox PARC
π‘Human-Computer Interaction
π‘Paradigm Shift
π‘Sketchpad
Highlights
The art of writing in the Middle Ages laid the foundation for civilization.
Illuminated manuscripts were priceless and access to written word was limited.
Scholars had to visit specific places and get past an attendant priesthood to study.
Hereford Cathedral's high-security chests required three canons with separate keys to access books.
Printing made books less large and expensive, but still not widely accessible.
Chained libraries in the 16th century allowed instant access to books for visitors.
For books to become widely available, they had to become smaller, more affordable, and lose their chains.
Books are now written in hundreds of languages and about thousands of subjects, a stark contrast to their past exclusivity.
The modern computer was initially expensive and difficult to use, much like the early days of books.
Programming in the early days of computing was frustrating and required arcane languages and physical media.
Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad in the 1960s revolutionized computer graphics and interactive computing.
Doug Engelbart's 1968 demonstration showcased innovations like the mouse and changed the way we think about computers.
Xerox PARC was established to make computers easier to use and part of the electronic world.
Xerox PARC's goal was to humanize computers and make them accessible to everyone.
The challenge for Xerox PARC was to understand the problems of ordinary users, not just technical experts.
Children's natural ability to ignore complexity was seen as a model for making computers user-friendly.
Transcripts
the clerks and scribes of the Middle
Ages who practice the art of writing
pioneered a medium which would become
the very foundation of civilization yet
for many centuries access to the written
word was confined to the very few
illuminated manuscripts in the Middle
Ages were priceless one had the value of
a farm scholars wishing to study had to
come to places like this and to get past
an attendant priesthood three canons
with separate keys were needed to open
the high-security chests where books
were kept at Hereford Cathedral after
printing was introduced books remained
large and expensive it seemed unlikely
there would ever become available to a
wider public the latest technology that
came in at the end of the sixteenth
century was the idea of a chained
library whereby books could be instantly
accessible to anybody who visited the
library and by simply extracting a book
with the the chain just long enough for
the book to be lowered from the case
onto the desk in front of the reader
and the other person could study the
book as much as they wanted with no fear
of them being able to remove it for
books to become generally available they
would have to lose their chains and
become smaller and more affordable today
books are everywhere written in hundreds
of languages about thousands of subjects
once the exclusive property of a small
educated class they have become the
foundation of modern culture in the past
few years a competitor to the book has
begun routing itself in the culture of
the young but when the ancestors of the
modern computer first appeared they too
were fabulously expensive and they too
would in the hands of a mathematical
priesthood forty-five years ago the idea
that computers would ever play a popular
role seemed even less likely than that
illuminated manuscripts could lead to
the paperback book even mathematicians
found computers very difficult to use
they had to prepare their programs in
the arcane language of the computer
punch them onto tape or cards and bring
them to a computer center to be run and
it rarely worked first time hey what's
going on here nothing must be wrong with
the oscilloscope I found programming on
the old big machines to be unbelievably
frustrating and I used to get really
angry about it because I couldn't
understand why the things weren't easier
to use I think it was bleak
human being having to punch holes and
lots of cards can keep these cards all
straight and then take this deck of what
might be hundreds and hundreds of cards
to a computer and you go away and you
come back the next day and find out that
your program executed up until card 433
and then it's stopped because you left
out a comma so you take your deck of
cards do you go back and you fix that
and you go back to the computer again
and this time it the program got two
card four thousand and six and it
stopped because you forgot to punch a oh
in stead of a zero or some other
stupidly
I think it was bleak I think it was
dehumanizing
a group of Stanford students filmed
their experience perhaps a little
exaggerated
if programmers were driven to suicide by
computers
what chance was there for ordinary
people ever to use them yet within a few
decades the image of the computer would
change like the book it would get
smaller cheaper and becomes so easy to
use that millions would become literate
in the new medium
we're going to show you a man actually
talking to a computer in a way far
different than it's ever been possible
to do before surely not with his voice
no he's going to be talking graphically
he's going to be drawing and the
computer is going to understand his
drawings and the man will be using a
language of graphical language that we
call sketch pad that started with Island
Sutherland some years ago when he was
busy working on his doctoral degree in
an era when almost everybody thought
that computers were only for crunching
numbers a young graduate student ivan
sutherland had used clever software to
make the computer manipulate engineering
drawings with sketch pad Sutherland had
created the field of computer graphics
and almost 30 years ago demonstrated the
power of a whole new way of talking to
the computer interactive computing but
would anybody listen we were off to a
fabulous start in 1960 with uh Ivan
Sutherland sketchpad one of the most
extraordinary programs ever written and
the amazing thing to me is that this did
not start a vast movement in fact it
just stood there's an example that
people would gaze at they'd look at the
movie and say yeah gee well that's very
inspirational and then go back and do
exactly what they were doing which had
nothing to do with interactive computing
because there wasn't any interactive
computing if everyone was does our job
well along feel very interesting a few
years later another visionary Doug
Engelbart appealed to his colleagues to
change the way they thought about
computers in a spectacular demonstration
he showed off a series of brilliant
innovations including a pointing device
called a mouse I don't know why they
call it a mouse sometimes I apologize it
started that way and we never did change
it Doug Engelbart is the single most
important person in the history of
computing and it's shocking how few
people have actually heard of him it
would be as if we all use electricity
light bulbs but nobody had heard of
Thomas Edison 25 years later Doug
Engelbart walks unrecognized on the
Stanford campus his bold gamble didn't
come off we just thought order then
within a year or two there'll be all
sorts of people joining us pursued in it
become more of an acceptable activity
and you know it seemed in what I hear
from various places is that it's
stimulated motivated some people but it
didn't seem to connect us to something
that was a viable strand of pursuit for
people to pick up and it just didn't
commercial computer makers were slow to
see that computers might become a tool
for ordinary people and just didn't get
the point of what angle Bart and
Sutherland were saying because the
establishment never gets it that's how
it is with paradigm shift the
establishment does not see where the
next wave is coming from and even if
they hire somebody to tell them where
the next wave is coming from they never
believe them which is exactly what
happened with Xerox and Xerox PARC one
of the implications of Engelbart's
demonstration was paperless
communication and that did not go
unnoticed in one quarter
Thank You Debbie that was fast which is
the original oh you've just seen the
Xerox nine the Xerox Corporation owed
its prosperity to pay for kotti a minute
if one day paper was to be outdated and
they wanted to be part of the new
electronic world so in a visionary act
they set up a Research Center at Palo
Alto in California Xerox PARC and they
agreed to fund it for ten years
as a function of spatial frequency they
gathered together the brightest young
computer scientists they could find and
gave them a challenge make computers
easier to use the reason that most of us
went to work there was that we felt that
this would be a an opportunity to bring
computing to everyone remember a
computer at that time was thought of
something that was very forbidding
difficult highly technological you had
to be a real expert and a doctorate to
understand you know that was kind of the
public image and we somehow had to
humanize computers and make them a
common object that anyone could use
in the years ahead this unconventional
group of young scientists sought a
different way of interacting with a
computer that they knew they had far too
much technical knowledge to understand
the problems of the ordinary user
technical people live in this tiny
little world actually we like to think
it's a big world it's actually a tiny
little world and it's full of phrases
that we learned when we're taking math
classes and it's it's hermetic and it's
full of people who like to learn
complicated things they delight in it
and so what you need to have is some way
of constantly shocking yourself into
realizing that the users are not like us
and children do it really well because
they don't care about the same kinds of
things that adults do and they can
always go out and play ball they didn't
they haven't learned to feel guilty
about not working yet it forced us to
start thinking about how human
mentalities might work
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