The Story So Far


Interesting Times - The Ted Nelson News Letter, Number Three, October 1994
1960. It occurs to me that the future of humanity is at the interactive computer screen, that the new writing and movies will be interactive and interlinked. It will be united by bridges of transclusion (see below) and we need a world-wide network to deliver it with royalty. I begin.

1960-79. I work on various designs and versions of that software, with special tecnical help from Ridgeway, Daniels and Barus. 1965: terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia." 1967: name "Xanadu."

1979. The Xanadu Group is convened: Nelson, Miller, Gregory, Greene, Hill and King. Design continues through 1981, greatly aided by Drexler.

February, 1988. Autodesk buys the Xanadu project, which has been bundled into XOC, Inc. Nelson gives up the trademark. LATE 1988: the program designed in 1981 is finished (and dubbed 88.1), then set aside, to begin work on a MUCH FINER design-

August, 1992. Autodesk drops the project and gives us carfare. Our heroes find themselves out in the street.


(C) 1994 Theodor Holm Nelson ......................................................Mindful Press