Nowadays, the computer has become an integral part of modern life. Being used in business, in science, at home, etc., it is virtually ubiquitous. But it is also interesting to study the history of this device. In this paper, we will consider two models of the computer that have influenced the creation of this piece of technology, and make a comparison between them.
The hypothetical future piece of equipment that Bush (n.d.) describes in his article originally published in 1967, the “memex,” was to serve as a personal device used in order to store vast amounts of information, process it quickly, and retrieve it in the shortest terms. It was to work as an “enlarged intimate supplement to his [a man’s, i.e. a person’s] memory” (Bush, n.d., p. 86). The device was also to be able to tie “items together to form trails in the heart of the matter” (Bush, n.d., p. 87). Interestingly, it appears that, according to the author, the user of the “memex” was to insert all the information into the device on their own, or perhaps much of the data could be inserted into in the process of production. In other words, no idea of “pre-Internet” is apparent in the engineer’s description of the “memex.” It is also noteworthy that Bush believes that a different type of machine than the tape-based “memex” must be used for some mathematical operations, such as “statistical analysis, evaluating correlation coefficients and the like, and for solving integral equations” (Bush, n.d., p. 89).
On the other hand, Kay and Goldberg (1977) describe a hypothetical device they call “Dynabook.” It was to be used as an instrument for programming and solving problems; for storing and processing information while allowing interactive access to it; for use as a text editor; and for painting, drawing, and writing music (Kay & Goldberg, 1977, p. 393). The digital device was to be maximally small and portable, and was to be able to receive information, as well as to give it to the user in “quantities approaching that of human sensory systems” (Kay & Goldberg, 1977, p. 394). It was also supposed (almost) instantly, responding to the user’s request at once. It was also to be able to be used by children, who could write programs, music, paint pictures, and gain access to a vast amount of various information.
As we were able to see, Bush’s “memex” was to be a machine that could store large amounts of information and allow the user to retrieve and process it quickly. The “Dynabook” was supposed to do roughly the same, but it was to possess a number of additional functions, such as painting, creating music, and, importantly, programming, which is not present explicitly in Bush’s conception of “memex”. It is interesting that Bush (n.d.) points out that it would be necessary to create a different device than the tape-based “memex” for performing calculations and mathematical operations (p. 89); on the other hand, Kay and Goldberg (1977) from their point of view (spoken from a later time than Bush’s article was written) state that a digital computer built to do arithmetic computations could be used as any other type of media (p. 393). Also, clearly, the devices described in the articles are different in size and appearance; while Bush’s “memex” occupies a whole desk, Kay and Goldberg’s “Dynabook” was to look like the modern stationary computer at first, while at later stages it was to resemble the modern tablet computer (Bush, n.d., p. 86; Kay & Goldberg, 1977, p. 395, 394).
As we were able to see, the models of the computer, naturally, were becoming more complicated with the passage of time. Both “memex” and “Dynabook” were to possess the essential ability to store, process and retrieve information, but “Dynabook” was to have a number of functions that were considered to be impossible to combine in one device.
References
Bush, V. (n.d.). Memex revisited. Web.
Kay, A., & Goldberg, A. (1977).Personal dynamic media. Web.