Myst co-creator Robyn Miller writes about computer pioneer Doug Engelbart’s “mother of all demos” from 1968.
What I didn’t know until recently, is that a stunted version of hypertext had been demonstrated as early as 1968. This was no run-of-the-mill boring-vision-of-the-future demo. This was, simply put, “The Mother of All Demos”. Steven Levy first gave it that name and it seems to have stuck: The Mother of All Demos (and oh I really love that name). Douglas Engelbart’s whirling vision of the future; it was the first public use of a mouse, as well as examples of cutting, copying, pasting, teleconferencing, video conferencing, email, and… hypertext. It’s just too damn much for 1968! From Steven Levy in his book, Insanely Great, The Life and Times of the Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything:
“… a calming voice from Mission Control as the truly final frontier whizzed before their eyes. It was the mother of all demos. Engelbart’s support staff was as elaborate as one would find at a modern Grateful Dead concert. …”