Research

Groundbreaking developments tend to begin long before there is a genuine need for them in the marketplace, and innovations are triggered by people who have one thing in common – an idea! But oftentimes, years pass between concept and product. From idea to genuine product Computer graphics originated in the 1950s, when the Whirlwind computer was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with a light pen input source which worked directly with a CRT monitor. The first Computer Aided Design (CAD) application using the light pen dates back to 1963 when Ivan E. Sutherland laid the foundation with his doctoral thesis “Sketchpad: A man-machine graphical communication system.”

Introduction: Computer data backup is a fast developing field nowadays. New trends and solutions appear, backup methods and technologies become more complex. Need complete knowledge of backup technology, related features and methods? A look at its history will definitely help.

In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons. It sometimes features other elements, such as "wheels", which allow the user to perform various system-dependent operations, or extra buttons or features that can add more control or dimensional input. The mouse's motion typically translates into the motion of a cursor on a display, which allows for fine control of a graphical user interface.

A punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Now an obsolete recording medium, punched cards were widely used throughout the 19th century for controlling textile looms and in the late 19th and early 20th century for operating fairground organs and related instruments. They were used through the 20th century in unit record machines for input, processing, and data storage. Early digital computers used punched cards, often prepared using keypunch machines, as the primary medium for input of both computer programs and data. Some voting machines use punched cards.

From the halls of a university research lab to the desks of hundreds of millions of computer users, the computer mouse has come a long way. Douglas Engelbart created the first prototypes of the now-familiar device in 1963 at Stanford Research Institute, but he first displayed his creation to the public in 1968 forty years ago Tuesday. During that unveiling, Engelbart presented what some have called “the mother of all demos,” outlining concepts that would presage the next 40 years of computing, including the use of a three-button palm-sized contraption called a “mouse.”

This page is a work in progress. It is an attempt by my to capture some of the key events, dates, and players that have helped drive the evolution of the range of input devices, technologies and techniques that we use today. I have organized the page in chronological order. And, be clear that my purpose here is to provide a brief overview, not a text book. I am not trying to chronicle the full history; rather the key highlights. If you are interested in diving in deeper, here are a few other resources on the topic of human input to computer systems that I have available on-line:

In computing, a keyboard shortcut is a sequence or combination of keystrokes on a computer keyboard which invokes commands in software.

In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Following the decline of punch cards and paper tape, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards became the main input device for computers.

In computing, an input device is any peripheral (piece of computer hardware equipment) used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system such as a computer or other information appliance. Input and output devices make up the hardware interface between a computer and a scanner or 6DOF controller.

1985 – Aldus Corp releases PageMaker for the Macintosh in July 1985, and relied on Adobe’s PostScript page description language.