Stanford University

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NEWS RELEASE

11/9/98

CONTACT: Steven Fielding, Phase Two Strategies: 415-772-8451

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 6 ­ 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 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 Societies' 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 Engelbart's 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."

"Engelbart's 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 Engelbart's 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., the Industry Standard and Phase Two Strategies.

For more information, visit our website at http://unrev.stanford.edu or call 650-725-4844.

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