From: tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May)
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 93 23:36:09 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: wired & batch file
Message-ID: <9302120734.AA07610@netcom.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Karl Barrus writes:

>        Finally, crypto is mentioned in WIRED magazine!  It's on the
>"HYPE LIST" behind Object Oriented, Post-Modern, Raves, and ahead of
>Smart Drugs.  Here is the paragraph on it (bottom of page 87):

And I'm sure you all know "Wired" is preparing a major article on the
Cypherpunks and crypto. I've seen the Steven Levy rough draft and it looks
good.

>So, fellow rabid defenders freedom, who is Ted Nelson?? :-)  I guess
>I'm too young...

You _must_ be young! Lucky you. 

Ted Nelson is the chief popularizer (and early architect, to be fair) of
"hypertext," or nonlinear, linked writing. As in being able to click on
this word, "hypertext," and see lots of threads taking you off to various
other places, articles, sidebars, and so on. Hypertexts thus transcend the
simple linear writing style enforced on us by paper and books.

Nelson wrote an extremely influential book called "Computer Lib," circa
1975, which described hypertext and accurately predicted many of today's
most important trends. Microsoft Press reprinted it, with corrections and
addditions, a few years back. Definitely recommended!

His project, known as "Xanadu," has been developing for close to 30 years.
About 10 or so years a team of programmers nucleated around Xanadu to
commercialize it. Known as the Xanadu Operating Company, it was funded by
Autodesk (maker of Autocad) from 1988 until just a few months ago, when
Autodesk decided to reorient its efforts. XOC may still be seeking
alternative funding.

Our own Dean Tribble is centrally involved, and other participants included
Mark Miller, Roger Gregory, and various others (some of whom show up on
this list, or at the physical Cypherpunks meetings).

Apple's "HyperCard" was a poor imitation, in the sense that full
bidirectional links were not supported (and some other limitations, though
in fairness to Bill Atkinson and Apple, the original product, codenamed
"WildCard," was not intended to be full hypertext.)

(I use a true hypertext writing system called "StorySpace," for the Mac.
Other platforms have their own such programs. Nothing as grand as Xanadu,
though. And there's a newsgroup called alt.hypertext if you're interested.)

Ted Nelson is living in the Bay Area, working on various projects. He's
shown some interest in crypto things, and talked to some of us at a recent
Hackers Conference about the implications.

Hypertext is definitely a good idea, but the commercialization has been
slow in coming.

-Tim May




>
>/-----------------------------------\
>| Karl L. Barrus                    |
>| elee9sf@menudo.uh.edu             | <- preferred address
>| barrus@tree.egr.uh.edu (NeXTMail) |
>\-----------------------------------/