As computers become cheaper and we learn more about harnessing them in our cooperative work, they will come to support an increasing number of different domains of knowledge work. Moreover, the sphere of computer-supported activity within each domain will steadily expand as more functions and more skills become employed … WYSIWYG will give way to WYSIWYN – “what you see is what you need (at the moment).”
Predictor: Engelbart, Douglas
Prediction, in context:In a 1990 article presented at the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, Douglas Engelbart makes the following statements: ”This paper anticipates that the tools and methods of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) will become harnessed with revolutionary benefit to the ongoing, everyday knowledge work within and between larger organizations. Toward that end, the following needs for interoperability between knowledge – work domains will have to be met, and something such as the ‘open hyperdocument system’ must become available for widespread use … As computers become cheaper and we learn more about harnessing them in our cooperative work, they will come to support an increasing number of different domains of knowledge work. Moreover, the sphere of computer-supported activity within each domain will steadily expand as more functions and more skills become employed … It is predictable that increasing functional overlap will occur as these expanding domains begin to overlap … In an open hyperdocument system, basic standards for document architecture are of course important. But beyond that, facilities for creating, transporting, storing, accessing and manipulating the hyperdocuments are embedded within an open, interoperable information-system environment, and the combined functionality is available within the knowledge-work domains of every class of worker (working from any vendor’s terminal/workstation of suitable capability)… For instance, WYSIWYG will give way to WYSIWYN – ‘what you see is what you need (at the moment)’ – providing different options for how you’d view selected portions of the document space in your windows.”
Biography:Douglas Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse, spent 40 years predicting, designing and implementing the future of organizational computing. In 1962, while at the Stanford Research Institute, he produced the paper “Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework,” from which came the concepts of augmenting human intellect, improvement infrastructure, co-evolution of artifacts with social-cultural language-practices and bootstrapping. His Augmentation Research Center developed an array of important human-computer interface solutions, including hypermedia. In 1989 he co-founded the Bootstrap Institute, a non-profit organization “in a quest to form strategic alliances aimed at improving organizations and society at large.” (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: June 1, 1990
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Proceedings of the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
Title, headline, chapter name: Knowledge-Domain Interoperability and an Open Hyperdocument System
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.bootstrap.org/augment/AUGMENT/132082.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Garber, Adam