Douglas C. Engelbart, Inventor of the Computer Mouse, Dies at 88

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/technology/douglas-c-engelbart-inventor-of-the-computer-mouse-dies-at-88.html?ref=technology&_r=0&pagewanted=all

by stevewilhelm • 13 years ago

205 19 13 years ago

nytimes.com

Vivtek• 13 years ago

"Albert Einstein, explainer of Brownian motion"...

hga• 13 years ago

Hmmm, I can't think of anything better in a short headline. It does at least give the layman the tiniest idea....

E.g. more accurate but not headline quality: "Douglas C. Engelbart, Inventor of Modern Computer Interface Except For Graphics...."

Can't say "Windows" since that has too close an association with the Microsoft brand, and most think they're inherently graphical.

For Einstein they could have said "Explainer of the Universe...."

saraid216• 13 years ago

I explained him to a friend of mine as "basically the father of HCI". It's not precisely true, but it captures the gist and import better than "he invented the computer mouse".

networked• 13 years ago

I'd go with "computing pioneer". Then again, that headline could be less likely to encourage people to read on and find out what Engelbart actually did.

vanderZwan• 13 years ago

Well, as is the headline just makes him sound like some oddbal inventor who didn't do much else worth discussing.

bowerbird3• 13 years ago

i'd say "brilliant visionary of the computer's potentials."

that still misses the fact that the world failed to develop those possibilities in any meaningful way, but that kind of myopia would be hard to address no matter what one said...

-bowerbird

ralmeida• 13 years ago

For what it's worth, as of right now the title reads "Computer Visionary Who Invented the Mouse" (the URL remains the same as the title posted in HN, which leads me to believe the title was changed).

The article itself is rather long, and I found it a thorough professional biography. The headline was meant to grab the attention of the laymen, and I think losing a little perspective in order to raise general awareness and relateability of the piece to the general public is acceptable in this case.

cpursley• 13 years ago

Click in peace

keithpeter• 13 years ago

Also at

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5986307

See jgrahamc's post :)

rbanffy• 13 years ago

Moving. Thanks for pointing it.

adventured• 13 years ago

Engelbart was nearly 40 when he and his team invented the mouse. A rather dramatic testament against the more recent agism in technology.

dbin78• 13 years ago

We will forever be indebted to Mr. Engelbart. Thank you sir!

osmsiberiano• 13 years ago

He was not just an inventor of the mouse, but of almost all things we use in development today: collaborative editors, video calls, hypertext, versioning.

A Great Man he was.

estreeper• 13 years ago

I was just listening to one of Douglas Crockford's talks which discussed the contributions Engelbart made to computer science. What really stuck with me was the sheer number of new concepts he showed in his demo, which, though made in 1968, would showcase features not seen for decades, and some of which are still not effectively in use. If you haven't seen it, it's well worth the hour and forty minutes.

I think this is also a good moment to reflect on how incredible it is to be involved in a science which is still so much in its infancy that seminal figures in its development are still alive and well. Let us not forget their contributions, and most importantly, not overlook the concepts that, if employed today, can advance us far beyond where we are now.

Douglas Engelbart's Mother of All Demos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY

rnl• 13 years ago

lol steve jobs maded the mous

Douglas C. Engelbart, Inventor of the Computer Mouse, Dies at 88

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