Day: 21 May 2007

Funny place the internet. Or maybe we’re the ones that are funny. Maybe it’s just me, funny peculiar. You know, I never thought of looking for The Mother Of All Demos on the web.

Then, last week, I had the opportunity of attending a Doug Engelbart seminar at MIT, and the incredible privilege of having a private dinner with him, courtesy Tom Malone and the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. [My thanks to all concerned.] Naturally, I looked for the video soon after, and there it was.

If you haven’t seen it already, do look at it: link. I’ve also shown it in my VodPod in the sidebar to this blog. It’s an hour and 15 minutes long; do not adjust your set when watching it, there is no sound for the first few minutes. I think everyone who has any interest in computing should watch it and hear from the man who, along with his team, gave us the mouse, hypertext, and the precursor to today’s GUI.

It is also worth going to this link, if you have the time.

Most of you know my views on the unusability of today’s patent regime. So you can imagine how I felt when I learnt about this (I quote from Wikipedia, but I had heard of it independently):

In 1967, Engelbart applied for, and in 1970 he received a patent for the wooden shell with two metal wheels (computer mouse U.S. Patent 3,541,541 ), describing it in the patent application as an “X-Y position indicator for a display system”. Engelbart later revealed that it was nicknamed the “mouse” because the tail came out the end. His group also called the on-screen cursor a “bug,” but this term was not widely adopted.

He never received any royalties for his mouse invention, partly because his patent expired in 1987, before the personal computer revolution made the mouse an indispensable input device, and also because subsequent mice used different mechanisms that did not infringe upon the original patent.

I’m glad to hear that Logitech provide Doug with free office space and support; other companies (and there are a few slightly bigger ones (!) ) should note and follow suit.

Have you ever noticed that whenever you try and describe something “new”, there is a tendency to use words that relate to the “old” thing it replaces? I guess it’s human nature. The trouble is, quite often this leads to a misunderstanding of what the new thing is about. As Einstein is reputed to have said,

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them

Which is why, whenever I get a chance, I try and use an example from a completely different field to try and explain what I’m saying.

Take software platforms. A month ago I wrote this post,  describing them as multisided open marketplaces. Many of you “got” what I was talking about, many of you didn’t. So here’s a view from a different perspective.

What American Idol can teach us about software platforms:

Let us think of American Idol as a platform, and see what happens. [In the UK, if you prefer, you can use the same arguments for X Factor, there is no real difference.]

• The platform is open to all, with no barriers to entry. You only have to watch the early stages to know this is true.
• There are no fees to be paid by entrants. Instead, the platform makes money by advertising, and by charging for the voting process. An interesting version of The Because Effect.
• Everyone understands what the platform is for, but not everyone uses the platform as it was intended. There is a whole industry of spin-offs generated, ranging from merchandising and out-takes through to the alternative careers that have been launched. How else can you explain a Sanjaya or an Eye-Of-The-Tiger? So no surprise, you now have American Idol video games and syndicated series as well.
• While success has its roots in openness of access, the real value is in the quality of what emerges, which requires excellent moderation. Yes, it’s true, Simon Cowell is a 1000lb gorilla.
• While moderation is important, it is the market that sets the standard: what really matters is what the people think. Which is why the moderators can’t start believing in their own propaganda. 
• A good platform transcends national and cultural boundaries. It’s not just about X Factor and American Idol and Indian Idol (I understand there are 10 X Factors and ) but also Classical Idol and Country & Western Idol and Left-Handed Yodelling While Drunk Idol. Believe it or not, there is actually an American Inventor series.
  
• Scalability is an essential ingredient. If people couldn’t get through at vote times, there would be no platform; if people could not choose from a variety of ways to get through, there would be no platform.

Enough said.  Just stuff to think about. Comments welcome.