Quite some time ago, in the early 1960s, Ivan Sutherland developed an interactive sketching system. Even if you do not consider the bulky house-size computers of the time, Sketchpad remains a remarkable milestone in HCI. Here is a short clip out of a seminar by Alan Kay "Doing with Images Makes Symbols. Communicating with Computers"(Apple 1987) where he comments on Sketchpad:

 Now please fast forward by 46 years an watch what's possible today:

Amazing, isn't it? (Source: IxDA-discuss)

Credits: Photos courtesy of the Early Office Museum

This photo was taken at the end of the 19th century.  It shows an office worker of the time at a "Wooton Cabinet Office Secretary". The desk itself was invented by William S. Wotton in Indianapolis. A marketing brochure of Wooton's Desk Manufacturing Co. describes the desk as follows:

The Secretary is entirely different from anything ever constructed before. It consists of three sections, the main case and (two) wings or doors, which contain pigeon-holes, shelving, drawers, etc. convenient in arrangement and uniform in appearance. We manufacture four grades, the Ordinary, Standard, Extra and Superior, and three sizes of each grade.  The ornamentation and decorative style increased with each higher grade. Its capacity is more than double that of any other desk manufactured, occupying the same floor space. Every division is within easy reach of the writer; the Secretary can be opened and closed in a moment, and when closed, the contents are secure from dust and intrusion. The lock which fastens the wings is the only one required. (source: wottondesks.com)

Lovely, indeed. A personal desktop, storage for letters, security and single login, assembled in a decent craftsmen's design. How far have we come if we compare Wotton's secretary with today's working environment?

BTW_ have you noticed the mobile phone? Click the image to solve the riddle.

Well, with this diagram I try to gain an understanding what a Desktop PC actually is. The chart is rough. It's maybe wrong. But it is an attempt to provide a historical perspective on PCs related to other computing hardware. I should explain the dimensions a bit. The past is left and starts in the mid 1960s. As time goes by we have the Minis and Micros of the 1970s (and of course the research and development at Xerox Parc), then the PCs of the 1980s – does anyone remember what happened in the 1990s? Today we talk about cloud computing and virtualization.

The colors I chose have the following meaning: Blue stands for computers shared by several users. Orange and green is personal computing, with green indicating portability of the device.

I also added some visionary clouds. The idea of Personal Computing and Alan Kay's Dynabook concept from 1972 have definitely a profound impact in setting the agenda for the following decades towards modern PCs. Im am not that sure regarding grid- and cloud computing. But it is in any case a good use for CPU power that is available in data centers.

So that's the historical context from my point of view. Would you agree?

PS_ I suppose "Desktop" became prefix for "PC" just to distinguish the computer from Laptop PCs. It should not be confused with "desktop" as in "desktop metaphor".

A smart summary of Marshal McLuhans theories:

In Hamburger Erstaufführung präsentiert das Hamburger Informatik-Forum zusammen mit dem Department Informatik den Dokumentarfilm "Weizenbaum. Rebel at Work." (D/USA/AUT 2006). Der Film ist ein liebevolles Portrait über das Leben und Wirken des bekannten Computer- und Medienkritikers.

Die Filmemacher Peter Haas und Silvia Holzinger, sowie Prof. Dr. Joseph Weizenbaum (84) - Ehrendoktor der Universität Hamburg - werden bei der Veranstaltung anwesend sein und nach dem Film für Fragen zur Verfügung stehen.

22. März 2007, 18.30 Uhr - 21.00 Uhr
Agathe-Lasch-Hörsaal (ESA B)
Hauptgebäude der Universität Hamburg
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1

Der Eintritt ist frei.

Weitere Infos...

Technorati Tags: Weizenbaum

• reboot7 - tripreport
• A Chat with Doug Engelbart
• Back to the Future – The Way to a Personal Dynamic Medium for Creative Thought

Technorati Tags: reboot7, Engelbart