Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Doug's 1968 Demo

Doug is celebrated on 30th anniversary of his 1968 demo

December 9, 1998
"Engelbart's Unfinished Revolution"
was the name given this day-long, public symposium celebrating the 30th anniversary of Doug Engelbart's now famous 1968 demo where he and his team at SRI first introduced their seminal work to the world. Hosted by Stanford University Libraries and the Institute for the Future, this event brought together Engelbart and key members of his historic team, along with other notable visionaries including Alan Kay, Ted Nelson, Andy van Dam, Stewart Brand, Howard Rheingold, John Markoff, event mastermind Paul Saffo and more, to consider the impact of Engelbart's work on the last three decades of the computer revolution, to explore the greater potential of his seminal vision that has yet to be played out (hence the title), and to speculate about the next three decades.

While many were dazzled by the array of tools presented in his historic 1968 demo, they often missed Engelbart's core message about the paramount importance of raising our collective intellect in earnest to better tackle important and pressing challenges, using a strategic bootstrapping approach to accelerate innovation to maximum effect. Note that Engelbart embedded his bootstrapping approach in the inner workings of his own lab which resulted in unprecedented innovation and sparked a revolution. And that was just the tip of the iceberg of this Unfinished Revolution.

Experience the Event 2

Sample Doug's Sessions 2a

Watch excerpts of Doug Engelbart and crew discuss the past, present, and future of the Unfinished Revolution:

Watch excerpts from the Panel Discussion on the 1968 Demo
Introductions | Where were you on that day? | Technical Setup | Audience perspective | Strategic Goals | Final Thoughts
Panelists: (left to right) moderator Paul Saffo, original research team members Doug Engelbart, Bill English, Charles Irby, and Jeff Rulifson, and guest camerman Stewart Brand
( from Session I )

Watch excerpts of Doug Engelbart and Jeff Rulifson discussing the Unfinished Revolution moving forward.
Exploding Change calls for higher Collective IQ | How to get radically more capable? | Improving how we improve to scale results.
Watch their full session at the interactive Engelbart Academy
( from Session 3 )

Full Program 2b

Watch speeches and panel discussions from "Engelbart's Unfinished Revolution" with MC Paul Saffo, with video clips from the the archives interspersed throughout. Browse the Speaker Bios, watch the full program playlist, or select from the following individual sessions:

Session 1: 9:00-10:40 Morning watch Session 1
9:00	Welcome:	Condoleezza Rice, Michael A. Keller
	Intro:	Paul Saffo (Moderator)
		What you are about to see...
		Archive Footage 1968 Demo
9:15	Panel:	The 1968 Demo Retrospective: Engelbart, English, Irby, Rulifson, Brand
10:15	Lecture:	Video prelude to our next speaker Tim Lenoir
Session 2: 11:00-12:40 Morning watch Session 2
11:00	Welcome:	Paul Saffo
11:05	Panel:	The Last 30 Years: Andreessen, Caruso, Nielson, Rheingold, Zappacosta
11:40	Lecture:	Video prelude to our next speaker Alan Kay
12:10	Panel:	New Horizons: Card, Drexler, Evans, Horn, Markoff
Session 3: 2:00-3:30 Afternoon watch Session 3
2:00	Intro:	Archive Footage 1968 Demo
	Panel:	The Unfinished Revolution: Engelbart, Rulifson
		Q&A \| standing ovation \| slidedeck
		Or watch their session interactively at the Engelbart Academy
2:30	Lecture:	Video prelude to our next speaker Ted Nelson
		Ted's video gives Doug the last word
3:00	Lecture:	Andy van Dam
Session 4: 3:50-5:30 Afternoon watch Session 4
3:50	Lecture:	Terry Winograd
4:20	Lecture:	Stewart Brand
4:50	Lecture:	Jaron Lanier
5:20	Closing:	Michael A. Keller
		Paul Saffo
5:30	Adjourn

Event Resources 2c

Visit the original event website at Stanford, complete with speakers bios, program, announcement and more, and check out Press Coverage below. Learn more at our Gallery of Historic Firsts pioneered by Doug and his crew, which includes links to our 1968 Demo site where you can watch highlights of the Demo (trailer plus selected clips), or experience the Demo interactively. For more on pursuing the Unfinished Revolution today as outlined in Doug's presentation with Jeff Rulifson in Session 3 above, explore his Vision, Strategy, and Call to Action.

Press 4

Announcing the event:
Stanford University - Press Release
Event Website - Introduction
Doug Engelbart's Website - News Bits

The Mouse Turns 30
CBS News with Dan Rather. December 10, 1998.

Computer Pioneer Is Given a 30th Anniversary Celebration,
NY Times. December 9, 1998

Logitech Celebrates 30th Anniversary of the Mouse,
Salutes Doug Engelbart's "Unfinished Revolution"
Business Wire. December 7, 1998.

Upgrading the Human OS
Wired News. December 10, 1998.

Beyond the Mouse: Engelbart and Social Change,
Dr. Dobb's Journal. Dec 11, 1998

Screenshots 5a

[courtesy Stanford University]

Paul Saffo, Moderator and mastermind of this magical event