Much like Vannevar Bush, J.C.R. Licklider's contribution to the development of the Internet consists of ideas not inventions. He foresaw the need for networked computers with easy user interfaces. His ideas foretold of graphical computing, point-and-click interfaces, digital libraries, e-commerce, online banking, and software that would exist on a network and migrate to wherever it was needed. He has been called, "Computing's Johnny Appleseed," a well-deserved nickname for a man who planted the seeds of computing in the digital age.
References[]
- M. Mitchell Waldrop (2001) The Dream Machine : J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal ISBN 0-670-89976-3 is an extensive biography of J.C.R. Licklider.
- Man-Computer Symbiosis paper, JCR Licklider, March 1960.
- Augmenting Human Intellect paper, Douglas Engelbart, October 1962.
- Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider, Libraries of the Future. Cambridge, MA.: 1965.
- The Computer as a Communication Device - This also includes a .pdf version of the Man-Computer Symbiosis paper.
- Computer Networks: The Heralds of Resource Sharing video documentary, 1972. Licklider explains online resource sharing, about 10 minutes into the documentary, and reappears throughout.
- From World Brain to the World Wide Web, Lecture at Gresham College, 9 November 2006
- Seeding Networks: the Federal Role, Larry Press, Communications of the ACM, pp 11-18, Vol 39., No. 10, October, 1996. A survey of U. S. government funded research and development preceding and including the National Science Foundation backbone and international connections programs.
- Before the Altair -- The History of Personal Computing, Larry Press, Communications of the ACM, September, 1993, vol 36, no 9, pp 27-33. A survey of research and development leading to the personal computer including Licklider's contributions.