Class is in session, folks! Ever hear of a computer scientist named Allan Kay? If you own a laptop, tablet, notebook, Mac book, smartphone or iPad, you should thank this man. That’s because in 1972, Allan Kay came up with the Dynabook.
This was a?vision of a portable computer, one where hardware,?software, programs, monitor, keyboard, and all other services could be carried in one device.?The Dynabook was to be carried everywhere the consumer?went. The Dynabook?was to be an educational tool for children. This device was to be?used ?for maintenance and documentation and presentation. Any of this sound familiar?
Despite this revolutionary act, Kay is hardly impressed. He claims today’s gadgets, with all their technological advancements, have misunderstood, and even betrayed the Dynabook dream. While today’s smartphones, notebooks and tablets have the look Kay envisioned, it lacks the service. For example, his Dyanabook was to supposed to educate children. But how are today’s devices used in schools? They’re often shunned as undesirable. They’re seen as ‘too expensive for the school budget’. Even the ones who do use portable devices, they often?make the parent/student pay.?Kay believes these devices are more harmful?than helpful socially. He says these devices take away the need for reading and writing, which?lapses society into mediocrity.
Why am I?writing about?Allan Kay? First off, we?need to know?where we come from to know where we’ve been. Allan Kay paved the way for the Apple, Droid and the other household names of today. Secondly, Kay teaches us a valuable lesson. Though we’ve come so far, we still have a long way to go. Is the Dynabook dream worth keeping alive, or has it already been fulfilled? If not, then?what other ways can we fulfill Allan Kay’s dream?