Mother of All Demos reprise

Those with interest in the history of modern computing know this event well. The 'Mother of all demos', done by Douglas Engelbart in 1968.   He drove home in a single demo what might be done with computers, without the user knowing any computer language.  Quite a new idea then.  Later we met and worked with Engelbart.  His later ideas dealt with collaborative, augmented problem solving.  Still a useful idea.
See also:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Engelbart  

Watch this amazing demo of the early desktop computer
In 1968, computers got personal: How the “mother of all demos” changed the world.

By Margaret O'Hara in FastCompany

On a crisp California afternoon in early December 1968, a square-jawed, mild-mannered Stanford researcher named Douglas Engelbart took the stage at San Francisco’s Civic Auditorium and proceeded to blow everyone’s mind about what computers could do. Sitting down at a keyboard, this computer-age Clark Kent calmly showed a rapt audience of computer engineers how the devices they built could be utterly different kinds of machines–ones that were “alive for you all day,” as he put it, immediately responsive to your input, and which didn’t require users to know programming languages in order to operate.


Engelbart typed simple commands. He edited a grocery list. As he worked, he skipped the computer cursor across the screen using a strange wooden box that fit snugly under his palm. With small wheels underneath and a cord dangling from its rear, Engelbart dubbed it a “mouse.” .... "

Value of the AR Demo

Is an AR demo better than the real thing?   with discussion   by Matthew Stern in Retailwire

Trying out a toy in-store can get kids excited about the product. And once kids are interested in a toy, they can be very effective in convincing their parents to buy it. Mattel is now taking this experience into the virtual world with augmented reality (AR) at the shelf.

This fall the brand is introducing an AR app for its Hot Wheels playsets, according to Engadget. The app will allow users to interact with a virtual on-screen version of a playset when they point their device at it on the shelf. Part of the intention behind the tool is to allow customers to get a feel for how the product will work while preventing retailers from using up floor space on toy demos.

While AR can provide an engaging new experience for customers, can it motivate a purchase as effectively as physically playing with a real-world toy?

Mattel is not the first toy company to experiment with on-shelf AR. In 2014, early-adopter Lego rolled out its “In-Store Action” app. The app lets users scan posters in-store to bring up and interact with an on-screen animated Lego figure.   .... "