SD Forum’s Future of Software Development Lecture Series:
The event is hosted by Sam Rockowitz and co-hosted by the Computer History Museum.

Welcome and Announcements:
Laura Merling, executive director of SD Forum, welcomes the audience and thanks Sandy for his work on the series. She encourages attendees to share their thoughts and ideas for future series topics.

Software Development Forum:
Laura Merling briefly introduces the Software Development Forum, which focuses on emerging technology trends and provides education to the community.

Home Networking Expo Announcement:
Laura Merling announces the upcoming Home Networking Expo, which will cover topics such as content and infrastructure within the home, including developer toolkits and keynotes on the future of the home.

Computer History Museum:
Sam Rockowitz highlights the Computer History Museum’s role in videotaping the talks in the series for their archives. John Toole, executive director of the museum, thanks the Software Development Forum for their collaboration.

Museum’s New Building and Upcoming Lecture:
John Toole announces the museum’s new phase one building and the upcoming lecture, “Jurassic Software: The Origins of Consumer Software,” featuring notable speakers.

Preserving History:
John Toole emphasizes the museum’s mission to authentically preserve hardware and software artifacts and create a world-class exhibition for visitors to understand the history of technology and innovators.

Alan Kay:
John Toole acknowledges Alan Kay as one of the museum’s fellows and expresses his pleasure in working with the Software Development Forum.

Speaker Introduction:
Sam Rockowitz introduces the speaker, Alan Kay, as a renowned and influential figure in software development. He highlights Kay’s contributions, including his roles at Xerox, Atari, Apple, Disney, HP, and Viewpoints Research Institute. Rockowitz mentions Kay’s famous quote, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it,” and notes that Kay has exemplified this philosophy through his work.

Kvetch About Non-Development in Software:
Kay expresses his discontent with the lack of progress in certain areas of software development over the past 20 years. He points out that several significant anniversaries this year are related to promising software concepts that have not been fully realized. He attributes this stagnation to the conservative tendencies of businesses, which prioritize instrumental reasoning and case-based reasoning.

Instrumental Reasoning and Case-Based Reasoning:
Kay explains that instrumental reasoning is a cognitive bias where people evaluate ideas or tools solely based on their contribution to existing goals. He states that only about 5% of children are not instrumental reasoners, indicating that this tendency is deeply ingrained in human nature. Kay contrasts instrumental reasoning with the behavior of early adopters who embrace new ideas and transform themselves in the presence of innovation. He also discusses case-based reasoning, which is a compartmentalized way of dealing with past experiences and is a fundamental part of our nervous system. Kay emphasizes that while case-based reasoning is useful as a first-order theory, it becomes problematic as a second-order theory, leading to stagnation in innovation.

The Impact of Business-Oriented Commercialization:
Kay criticizes the commercialization of PCs, which focused primarily on business customers. He argues that businesses were not genuinely interested in computers and mainly sought to automate paperwork, resulting in a narrow and limited view of computing. Kay observes that this commercialization dominated the market and stifled exploration of other potential applications of computers.

Printing Revolution:
Gutenberg’s contributions: 250+ characters, manuscript duplication, hand illumination. Aldus’s impact: portable library, user-centered design, measuring saddlebags. Printing revolution’s gradual impact on rhetoric and expression. Children’s role in embracing the printing press.

Computing’s Potential:
Moore’s Law and the promise of universal literacy. Challenges in achieving large-scale computing literacy.

Project MAC and End User Computer Literacy:
ARPA funding, Licklider’s vision of man-machine symbiosis. Sketchpad’s significance: first personal computer, continuous zooming, windowing, nonlinear constraint solving. Ivan Sutherland’s contributions: computer graphics, object-oriented software, real-time problem solver.

Sketchpad’s Innovations:
Dynamic, object-oriented programming. Prototype-oriented system, creating instances from masters. Continuous problem solving and impressive thesis.

Legacy of Sketchpad:
Inspiration for subsequent work in computing. Ivan Sutherland’s restless nature and continuous exploration.

Sketchpad: A Revolutionary Software:
Sketchpad, developed by Ivan Sutherland in the 1960s, was a groundbreaking software that enabled users to create and manipulate digital drawings using a light pen. It was a pioneering system that introduced many core concepts of modern computer graphics, including object-oriented programming and graphical user interfaces. Despite its capabilities, it remains challenging to find a system today that matches the capabilities of Sketchpad, highlighting its enduring impact on the field.

Space War: A Pioneering Video Game:
Space War, created around the same time as Sketchpad, was a landmark video game developed for the PDP-1 computer. It was one of the first games to feature real-time graphics and multiplayer gameplay, making it a groundbreaking title in the early days of video gaming. The game introduced fundamental concepts such as object-based programming and force calculation, requiring players to carefully manage their spacecraft’s velocity and trajectory.

Space War’s Enduring Legacy:
The simplicity and accessibility of Space War made it a popular game that inspired numerous clones and remakes across various computer systems. Its object-oriented approach, where each spaceship is represented as an independent entity, paved the way for future advancements in computer graphics and game development. Space War’s influence can still be seen in modern video games, where the basic concepts of physics and object interaction continue to play a vital role in gameplay.

ARPA’s Dream: Collaboration and the Future:
ARPA, a key player in the development of early computing, envisioned systems that would facilitate collaboration among users. This vision laid the foundation for future advancements in networking and distributed computing, enabling people to work together seamlessly across vast distances. The pursuit of this goal continues to drive innovation in the field of computer science, as researchers and developers explore new technologies to enhance collaboration and communication in the digital age.

Engelbart’s 1968 Demo:
Engelbart gave a groundbreaking demo in 1968 that showcased the potential of personal computing and collaboration. The demo featured a mouse, a graphical user interface, and sub-second response time. The computer used for the demo was a time-shared machine with limited resources. Engelbart and his team prioritized sub-second response time and worked hard to achieve it. The demo included features for immersive collaboration, such as shared context and a shareable blackboard.

Collaboration and Group Process:
Engelbart’s demo emphasized the importance of collaboration and improving group process. The demo showcased how technology could facilitate immersive collaboration and shared understanding. Engelbart’s team used circular table arrangements with consoles to share context and collaborate. Videos and written materials about the demo are available for those interested in improving group process.

ARPA’s Vision of the Computer Environment:
ARPA envisioned different forms of the computer environment. One form was demonstrated by Engelbart’s demo, focusing on personal computing and collaboration. Another form was presented by RAND, which superficially appeared different.

A Trailblazing Coincidence:
In 1968, the tablet and mouse were independently invented, marking a turning point in user-interface design. Grail, a remarkable end-user system developed by Rand Corporation, showcased innovative features like handwriting recognition and dynamic object manipulation.

The Enigma of Graffiti:
Graffiti, a handwriting recognition system from the 1960s, outperforms modern recognizers despite its age. The original recognizer, published in 1966, achieved near-perfect character recognition with only 8K of code.

The Tyranny of the Majority in Software Development:
The majority of programmers fall below average in skill, leading to a “tyranny of the majority” that hinders software progress. Emphasizing best practices and leveraging past knowledge can help improve the quality of software development.

The Maxwell’s Equations of Programming:
McCarthy’s invention of Lisp in the early 1960s is considered a groundbreaking achievement in programming language design. Lisp’s elegance and mathematical underpinnings earned it the moniker “Maxwell’s equations of programming.”

Peter Deutsch’s Remarkable Lisp Implementation:
At the age of 16, Peter Deutsch developed an interactive Lisp interpreter and operating system for a small 4-core machine. This remarkable achievement demonstrated the power of Lisp and the potential of young programmers.

The DynaBook: A Vision for Children’s Computing:
Alan Kay’s vision for the DynaBook, a portable computer designed for children, emerged from his work on Sketchpad, Simula, and dynamic objects. Kay believed that children could learn advanced mathematics, like vector differential geometry, through programming and play.

The Idealization of Wireless Computing:
The SRI bread truck, equipped with packet radio technology, demonstrated the potential of wireless computing in the early 1970s. This experiment foreshadowed the future of mobile computing and the internet.

The Significance of the Alto:
The Xerox Alto, released in 1973, was a milestone in computing history, combining a bitmap display, a mouse, and a graphical user interface. It laid the foundation for modern personal computers and influenced the development of the Apple Macintosh.

Squeak: A Continuation of Xerox PARC’s Legacy:
Squeak, an open-source programming environment, is a modern outgrowth of the research conducted at Xerox PARC. It embodies the philosophy of viewing systems as vehicles rather than goals, enabling users to create and explore new ideas.

Smalltalk Implementation and Cross-Platform Compatibility:
Smalltalk was implemented using a model of the kernel that could be debugged, rather than relying on paper documents. A translator was developed to convert the simulation into a lower-level form compatible across platforms. This approach resulted in a PowerPC VM that could be used to improve itself and easily ported to various platforms.

Challenges of Software Portability:
Kay criticizes the traditional approach of specifying software using paper documents and validating implementations through benchmarks. He emphasizes the difficulty in achieving compatible implementations across platforms using this method, citing examples like Fortran and C.

Squeak’s Portability and Features:
Squeak, a modern Smalltalk implementation, runs on 30 platforms bit identically due to the sound debugging process and mathematically sound translation. Squeak includes its own operating system, tools, and socket system, making it a completely portable system. Porting Squeak to a new platform typically takes only a week or two.

Benefits of Working with Kids in Software Development:
Kids are more likely to reject software that they don’t enjoy, providing valuable feedback. Kids enjoy fun projects like designing and painting virtual cars, which can incorporate advanced graphics techniques.

Key Insight: Smart Rectangles
Kay realized that to an end user, all graphical user interfaces essentially consist of “smart rectangles” floating on the screen. This insight highlights the importance of simplicity and user-friendliness in software design.

Object-Oriented Programming and Universal Objects:
Alan Kay introduces the concept of universal objects that can wear costumes and exhibit idiosyncratic behavior. These objects serve as the foundation for building a programming system.

Properties and Scripts:
Kay demonstrates how to manipulate the properties of objects, such as a car’s heading, to control its movement. He explains how to create scripts that influence the behavior of objects, such as making the car turn or move forward.

Variables and Steering:
Kay introduces the concept of variables through the use of a steering wheel. The heading of the steering wheel influences the car’s movement, allowing students to explore the relationship between variables and outcomes.

Compilation and Execution:
Kay emphasizes the efficiency of the programming system, which recompiles scripts quickly as changes are made. This allows for rapid prototyping and experimentation.

Real-World Investigations:
Kay transitions to using the programming system to investigate real-world phenomena, such as the motion of falling objects. He highlights the importance of operational thinking and encourages students to design experiments and make observations.

Galileo’s Insight:
Kay discusses Galileo’s famous experiment on falling objects and how a young girl intuitively understood the limitations of stopwatches in this context. She proposed listening for the sounds of impact to determine whether objects were falling at different rates.

Children’s Capacity for Operational Thinking:
Kay asserts that children are capable of thinking operationally about scientific concepts. He suggests that they can often grasp these concepts better than college students.

Video Analysis:
Kay introduces the use of video analysis to investigate the motion of falling objects. He acknowledges the challenges of interpreting video data but emphasizes the value of using technology to explore scientific phenomena.

Applying Frames to Measure Velocity:
Each frame represents a unit of time, allowing students to measure velocity by calculating the vertical drop between successive frames.

Galileo’s Method for Measuring Acceleration:
Galileo observed that the change in velocity of a falling object appeared constant, indicating constant acceleration.

Using Simulation to Understand Differential Equations:
Students created a simulation to model the motion of a ball, adjusting the speed variable to achieve constant acceleration.

Encouraging Experimentation and Creativity:
By simulating physics phenomena, students can experiment with different scenarios, such as dropping objects off cliffs or creating a lunar lander game.

The State Space Approach:
The state space method simplifies complex mathematical equations, making them more accessible and intuitive for students to understand.

Empowering Students with Limited Mathematical Background:
This approach allows students with limited mathematical knowledge to explore and comprehend complex scientific concepts.

Lunar Lander Game as a Practical Application:
Students developed a lunar lander game using the simulation, demonstrating their understanding of gravity, velocity, and acceleration.

Prototyping in Space:
Students extended their learning to space exploration, creating a simulation with multiple spaceships and differentiating them with different colors.

Minimal Coding Required:
The simulation requires only a simple program to run, highlighting the efficiency of the state space approach.

Complexity of Software vs. Mathematics:
Kay emphasizes that the mathematics involved in software is often minimal compared to the complexity of the code itself.

Edge of the Art Stuff:
Alan Kay moves on to showcase some advanced examples of children’s programming. Children demonstrate their understanding of mathematics by creating a program that allows a robot car to stay in the middle of the road by analyzing different sensor inputs. Another example involves a program that allows children to create and animate objects with different costumes and movement patterns.

Learning Rates:
Children learn about rates by adjusting the increment value of a cursor and observing how the object’s movement changes. They realize that a movie player is essentially a series of frames displayed in rapid succession.

Audio Integration:
Children discover that speaking into a microphone results in a series of rectangles displayed in a “holder.” A program is created that allows children to move a cursor to animate a speaker and hear the corresponding sounds. The speed of the audio playback can be adjusted to create different effects.

Synthesizer Revelation:
Children realize that the $300 synthesizer they convinced their parents to buy is actually just a combination of two lines of code and some recordings.

The Simplicity of Models:
Complex programs and phenomena can be represented by simple mathematical models. Optimizations can be abstracted, enabling powerful and straightforward programming.

Feedback and Gradient-Seeking:
Feedback mechanisms can be used to create lifelike simulations, such as a salmon swimming upstream. Ants wandering randomly and leaving scent trails demonstrate loose coupling and self-organization.

Buoyancy and Gravity:
Gravity applied to particles in a confined space creates buoyancy. The upward force is proportional to the number of particles stacked on top. Changing the mass of the sphere affects the buoyancy.

Brownian Motion and Einstein’s Paper:
Turning off gravity results in Brownian motion, a phenomenon observed by Einstein in 1905. Einstein’s kinetic theory of heat explained the movement of small particles and the resulting motion of larger particles.

Atoms and the Importance of Kids:
Einstein’s work on Brownian motion provided evidence for the existence of atoms. Adults should pay more attention to kids, who are often the ones inventing new technologies.

Croquet’s Peer-to-Peer Solution:
Croquet employs a peer-to-peer solution to address the challenges of immersive collaboration in online environments. This approach eliminates the need for a central server, allowing for real-time transactions over slow networks. The solution involves a distributed replication of objects, ensuring that all participants have access to the same information.

Overcoming the Exponential Problem:
Traditional solutions, such as Engelbart’s server-based approach, face a catastrophic exponential problem as the number of participants increases. Croquet’s peer-to-peer solution alleviates this issue by enabling direct communication between participants without the need for a central server.

Collaborative Objects in Croquet:
Croquet introduces the concept of collaborative objects that exhibit specific behaviors and can be manipulated by any participant. These objects serve as shared resources within the collaborative environment, allowing participants to interact with them in various ways. Examples of collaborative objects include mirrors, portals, and 3D shapes like Sierpinski pyramids.

Immersive Collaboration in Croquet:
Croquet enables immersive collaboration by providing a shared virtual space where participants can interact with each other and manipulate objects in real time. The system allows participants to see and hear each other, creating a sense of presence and engagement. The distributed replication of objects ensures that all participants have the same view of the shared space and can interact with objects simultaneously.

Immersive Virtual Reality:
Alan Kay’s virtual reality headset provides a truly immersive experience, allowing users to feel like they are actually inside a different world.

3D and 2D Seamlessly Blended:
Kay’s VR technology goes beyond traditional 2D screens, seamlessly blending 3D and 2D elements to create a realistic and immersive virtual environment.

Interacting with Virtual Worlds:
Users can interact with objects in the virtual world, such as picking up and moving them, creating a sense of physical presence and interaction.

Hyperlinked Virtual Worlds:
Virtual worlds can be linked together through hyperlinks, allowing users to effortlessly navigate and explore different virtual spaces, just like web pages on the internet.

Robotic Avatars:
Users can control robotic avatars within the virtual world, giving them the ability to move around, explore, and interact with objects in a natural and intuitive way.

Feeling of Presence:
The combination of immersive visuals, interactive objects, and robotic avatars creates a strong sense of presence, making users feel like they are actually inside the virtual world.

Virtual Reality as a Powerful Medium:
Kay’s VR technology opens up new possibilities for education, entertainment, and communication, providing users with a unique and engaging way to experience and interact with virtual worlds.

Technology Showcase:
Squeak allows users to create and explore various virtual worlds. These worlds can be customized using simple tools, enabling users to create and manipulate objects, textures, and environments.

Full Mesh Physics Transfer:
Squeak features a mesh physics transfer system, allowing objects to interact realistically with their environment. This enables the creation of dynamic simulations, such as the flag physics demonstrated in the video.

Collaborative Play:
Squeak allows multiple users to interact and collaborate within the virtual worlds. Users can control each other’s avatars, manipulate objects, and communicate in real-time.

Underwater World with Scriptable Fish:
Squeak includes an underwater world where users can create and control fish using simple drawing tools. These fish can be animated and interact with the environment, showcasing Squeak’s versatility in creating dynamic simulations.

Simple 3D Modeling Tool:
Squeak provides a simple 3D modeling tool that allows users to create basic 3D objects by drawing their outlines. The system automatically generates a 3D model based on the user’s input, enabling quick and easy object creation.

Rich 3D Environment with Texture Issues:
Squeak can render rich 3D environments with textures and detailed models. However, the demonstration encountered some texture issues due to driver problems, indicating potential optimization needs.

Networked and Lightweight:
Squeak’s 3D system, including networking capabilities, was developed by a small team of three people. The system runs on lightweight computers, such as a two-pound ultralight machine, demonstrating its efficiency and accessibility.

Distance Manipulation and Quick Movement:
In the 3D worlds, distance is not a limiting factor. Users can quickly jump to distant locations or objects by simply selecting them, enabling fluid and immersive exploration.

Smalltalk: A Remarkable System with Minimal Codebase:
The Smalltalk system, encompassing the operating system, applications, 3D graphics, and development tools, is remarkably compact, with a codebase of only 2.8 megabytes and 230,000 lines of code. The average method size in Smalltalk is a mere 56 bytes, demonstrating the efficiency and conciseness of the system.

Abstraction and Late Binding as Key Concepts:
Abstraction mechanisms play a crucial role in reducing the complexity of software systems, enabling developers to focus on the essential aspects of the problem rather than getting bogged down in implementation details. Late binding allows for dynamic changes to be made to the system, facilitating rapid prototyping and iterative development.

The Importance of Learning Curves and Iterative Development:
Software engineering should embrace the notion of learning curves, acknowledging that it is a gradual process of understanding and refining the system. Late binding in Smalltalk enables developers to make changes and improvements as they learn more about the system, without having to start from scratch.

Historical Examples of Paradigm Shifts:
Alan Kay draws parallels between the advent of the printing press and the potential impact of computers on society. He emphasizes the need for children to develop a sense of taste and threshold in order to appreciate and contribute to the next level of technological advancements.

Examples of Educational Games that Foster Computational Thinking:
Games like Rocky’s Boots and Robot Odyssey can be effective in teaching children about digital logic and programming concepts in a fun and engaging manner. These games emphasize the importance of problem-solving, logical thinking, and creativity in the context of a game.

The Role of Children in Technological Innovation:
Alan Kay highlights the importance of fostering children’s inventive skills, while also guiding them to avoid trivial pursuits and develop a refined sense of taste and threshold. Children have the potential to drive technological advancements to new heights, but they need the right guidance and support to reach their full potential.

The Garage Myth:
The notion of a garage-based innovation is often romanticized. However, significant advancements in computing have been driven by teams of experts, including PhDs, rather than individuals working in isolation. The role of children in computing history has been exaggerated.

Understanding LISP:
Peter Deutsch’s feat of understanding and implementing LISP at a young age is highlighted as a remarkable achievement.

Artificial Intelligence and Education:
AI-powered tutoring was envisioned as a potential advantage of computers, but it remains a challenging problem to solve. Brute force approaches may be feasible for specific cases, but a general solution is lacking.

Abstraction and Mystery:
The design philosophy in Kay’s work emphasizes transparency and avoiding AI-driven automation. Children are encouraged to understand the cause-effect relationships and develop heuristics themselves. This approach aims to prevent superstition and promote a deeper understanding of the system’s behavior.

Constraint Solvers and Nonlinearities:
The car programming in Kay’s system does not use constraint solvers or relationship maintenance systems. Children may encounter limitations due to the inherent nonlinearities of computing systems.

Powerful Ideas:
The curriculum includes 40 projects, with 12 core projects that introduce powerful ideas to children. These ideas include the concept of increase by, feedback, and randomness/probability. These ideas encompass a substantial portion of how science comprehends the world.

Adult Learners:
Adults often struggle to learn new systems due to their existing knowledge and preconceptions. They may attempt to apply familiar concepts from other systems, hindering their ability to grasp the new system’s unique features.

Creativity in Children:
Children are inherently creative and happy when they can play and create their own toys. They are open to working within any system that is powerful for them.

Play and Creativity in Adults:
Adults often lose the sense of play and creativity as they grow older. Working with children can help adults rediscover the importance of play in the creative process.

Mirrors of Knowledge:
The Human Intellect Center at SRI aimed to create a system of knowledge that could be explored through different mirrors, such as art, music, and literature. This system would allow individuals to explore different domains of knowledge and make connections between them.

Visual Connectivity and Creativity:
The visual nature of the system would facilitate the connection of different domains of knowledge. This connectivity could lead to an explosion of creativity, as individuals could explore new ideas and concepts.

Focus on Paradigms:
Individuals often focus on a particular paradigm or domain of knowledge. The system would allow individuals to move between different paradigms and make connections between them.

Connections and Creativity:
Alan Kay highlights the importance of making connections between different domains of knowledge and ideas. This connectivity can lead to new insights and creative solutions.

Legacy of the Human Intellect Center:
The Human Intellect Center at SRI was a pioneering effort to create a system that would foster creativity and exploration. The center’s work continues to inspire researchers and educators to develop new ways to support learning and creativity.