ALAN KAY - from Moores Law to OLPC ● inventor OOPs / Smalltalk ● collaborator (GUI, PC, laptop, Smalltalk) ● dynabook (early vision of children's machine) ● philosopher / historian of computer science ● OLPC / Etoys
● dramatic change is eternal, “you can't step in the same river twice” ● computer – human symbiosis (Doug Engelbart) ● computer as a child's personal dynamic medium PHILOSOPHY
Alan Kay & Doug Engelbart
UNIVERSALS * language * communication * fantasies * stories * tools and art * superstition * religion and magic * play and games * differences over similarities (?) * quick reactions to patterns * vendetta, and more
NON UNIVERSALS * reading and writing * deductive abstract mathematics * model based science * equal rights * democracy * perspective drawing * theory of harmony (?) * similarities over differences (?) * slow deep thinking * agriculture * legal systems
NARRATIVE ARGUMENT SYSTEMS THEORY
SOME HISTORY 1965 Moores Law 1967Idea of the personal computer 1967Papert / logo influence 1971Smalltalk 1972A Personal Computer for Children of all ages 1980s – nowCommercialisation 1987logo backlash 1996Squeak 2006 Etoys included in OLPC
MOORES LAW 1965
CARDBOARD MODEL 1972
OOPS / Smalltalk 1970s ● how to manage complexity in robust fashion? ● cell / body metaphor ● everything is an object ● objects send and receive messages
SQUEAK / ETOYS 1996 ● iconic programming ● doing with images makes symbols ● late binding ● Smalltalk, logo, *logo, hypercard
USER INTERFACE ● access to function ● dynamic exploration
SQUEAK PROGRAMS ● Etoys – iconic programming ● Croquet - multi-user virtual 3D applications ● Dabble db – online data base ● Scratch – iconic programming ● Seaside - web application framework ● Sophie - rich-media, networked documents
OLPC