Dream Machines and Walled Gardens
summary
A 1960s hypertext visionary builds a Jot editor that stores every edit as immutable operations and defines a precise addressing scheme called tumblers, proposes transclusion to reference originals (not copy), designs bidirectional links and versioned documents, and outlines micropayments and public “Sanadū” cafes. A funded implementation team later prototypes zigzag navigation and other features but never ships the full system; the simpler one‑way web wins adoption while the designer’s back‑button idea endures.
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chapters (18)
- 0:00Introduction
- 3:33Childhood books and imagination
- 11:06Harvard and first computers
- 13:57Mother of All Demos frustration
- 17:07Jot editor Burroughs influence
- 20:39Hypertext and Computer Priesthood
- 23:35Computer Lib manifesto secret
- 26:06Dream Machines interactive creativity
- 29:00Xanadu cafes knowledge links
- 31:10Literary Machines bidirectional links
- 34:25Transclusion immutable Xanadu versions
- 38:00Macintosh disappointment Xanadu vision
- 40:05Intertwinglement ZigZag concept
- 42:36Web versus Xanadu
- 44:00Ted Nelson legacy back button
- 45:06If Xanadu shaped the internet
- 50:07Modern implications of Nelson’s vision
- 53:04Xanadu’s unfinished dream today
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