Search Headquarters : Computers : History : Pioneers : Kay, Alan

Alan Kay
Biography, photographs, and references for one of the foreground characters of the personal computer revolution.
http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/GASCH.KAY.HTML

Alan Kay
Growing article, with links to related topics. Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay

ArtMuseum.net: Alan Kay | Interface 1972
Biography about Kay's views on interfaces, a few references, old PARC picture.
http://www.artmuseum.net/w2vr/timeline/Kay.html

The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Invent It: It Is Not Just Smalltalk
Brief interview, covers history, art, education; System Design Frontier, Frontier Channels.
http://www.hwswworld.com/uploaddownload/interview/alan_kay_interview.php

Board-of-Directors: Alan Kay
Brief biography, photograph. Diamond Management & Technology Consultants.
http://diamondconsultants.com/publicsite/people/team/?topic=board-of-directors&name=alan-kay

Building Your Own Dynamic Language is Fun and Easy
Abstract, slide show, references, from First Steps on the Road to Reinventing Computing, by Ian Piumarta, Viewpoints Research Institute. Stanford EE Computer Systems Colloquium, 2007 Feb 14.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee380/Abstracts/070214.html

Education in the Digital Age
Alan Kay talk, in streaming video.
http://video.csupomona.edu/streaming/tae/eda_index.html

Engelbart's Unfinished Revolution: Alan Kay
Brief biography, old picture.
http://unrev.stanford.edu/presenters/alan_kay/alan_kay.html

From Dynabook to Squeak: A Study in Survivals
Part of a historical research project, tracing the evolution of Alan Kay's Dynabook vision over 3+ decades; many links.
http://thinkubator.ccsp.sfu.ca/Dynabook/

Making COLAs with Pepsi and Coke
Describes new way to build programming languages, systems, environments, applications. By Ian Piumarta, Viewpoints Research Institute. [PDF]
http://piumarta.com/papers/colas-whitepaper.pdf

The Most Important Idea in Computer Science
Many quotes, Lisp emphasis. Bill Clementson's Weblog.
http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060224.html

mprove: Alan Kay Bibliography
A list of references to articles by Alan Kay. Excerpts of his master's and Ph.D. thesis.
http://www.mprove.de/diplom/referencesKay.html

MUF Mastery: Alan Kay
Brief biography with perceptive editorial comments.
http://laurel.actlab.utexas.edu/~cynbe/muq/muf3_19.html

Predicting The Future
By Alan C. Kay; essay on how things get invented, and how to do better. [Stanford Engineering]
http://www.ecotopia.com/webpress/futures.htm

Report on OOPSLA97
Summaries of Alan Kay keynote talk, Squeak Birds of a Feather (BOF) meeting, Squeak paper talk. By Mark Guzdial.
http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/fac/mark.guzdial/squeak/oopsla.html

Smalltalk.org: Alan Kay
Brief information on Xerox PARC, Kay quotes, Steve Jobs impression, a few links.
http://www.smalltalk.org/alankay.html

Squeak Wiki: Alan Kay
Brief biography, old picture, some links, contact information.
http://wiki.squeak.org/squeak/378

Steps Toward the Reinvention of Programming
A compact and practical model of personal computing as a self-exploratorium. Proposal to US National Science Foundation, NSF, granted 31 August 2006. [PDF]
http://irbseminars.intel-research.net/AlanKayNSF.pdf

Watch What I Do
A Forward by Kay, from a book on programming by demonstration.
http://www.acypher.com/wwid/FrontMatter/

Alan Kay: The PC Must be Revamped, Now
PCs should help people learn, not merely perform tasks, the prize-winning computer scientist says. CIO Insight. (February 14, 2007)
http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Expert-Voices/Alan-Kay-The-PC-Must-Be-Revamped151Now/

Steps Toward the Reinvention of Programming
Brief citation, many forum comments. Lambda the Ultimate. (February 2, 2007)
http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/2021/

Teaching with Technology: The Secrets of Their Success
Five lessons on using technology to engage students, recharge teachers, and in some cases, change the world. [THE Journal] (June, 2006)
http://www.thejournal.com/articles/18654/

Alan Kay: Is Computer Science an Oxymoron?
Summary of Kay talk, photograph series. Windley's Technometria. (February 23, 2006)
http://www.windley.com/archives/2006/02/alan_kay_is_com.shtml

Alan Kay: The 100 Dollar Laptop and Powerful Ideas
Summary of Kay talk, photograph series. Windley's Technometria. (February 23, 2006)
http://www.windley.com/archives/2006/02/alan_kay_the_10.shtml

HP Converting Storied Garage into Recycling Center
Story about HP firing many researchers, focused on Kay, with many reader comments. Good Morning Silicon Valley. (July 21, 2005)
http://svextra.com/blogs/gmsv/2005/07/hp_converting_s.html

A Conversation with Alan Kay: Big Talk with the Creator of Smalltalk, and Much More
Historical perspective on personal computing, programming languages, from one of the industry’s preeminent pioneers. [ACM Queue] (December, 2004)
http://acmqueue.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=273

Alan Kay on Computing
Brief critique of current state of computing. Fortune. (July 15, 2004)
http://archives.emergic.org/archives/indi/009317.php

Smalltalk with Object-Oriented Programming Pioneer Kay
Interview, on influences, history, rationale; laptops; advice. [SearchWebServices.com] (May 5, 2004)
http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/news/interview/0,289202,sid26_gci962762,00.html

Lisa Rein's Tour of Alan Kay's Etech 2003 Presentation
Covers history, Smalltalk, Squeak, Etoys, late binding, Croquet; Sketchpad, PDP1 Spacewar, Lisp; Ivan Sutherland, Doug Englebart, John McCarthy; in text, photos, audio, video in different resolutions. Open Content, public domain. (May 9, 2003)
http://www.lisarein.com/alankay/tour.html

Daddy, Are We There Yet? A Discussion with Alan Kay
Smalltalk inventor speaks about computing today, and where it's going. [O'Reilly OpenP2P.com] (April 3, 2003)
http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2003/04/03/alan_kay.html

Educom'98: Alan Kay: The Computer 'Revolution' Hasn't Happened Yet
RealVideo webcast from conference by EDUCAUSE nonprofit association with goal to advance higher education by promoting intelligent use of information technology. (October 15, 1998)
http://www.educause.edu/EDUCOM1998/4925#kay

Kay + Hillis
Together, two legendary minds: Alan Kay, Danny Hillis. The result: a fast-forward, neuron-boggling, early-warning scan of the future. [Wired] (January, 1994)
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.01/kay.hillis_pr.html

Tools For Thought: The Birth of the Fantasy Amplifier
By Howard Rheingold. Online copy of well known 1985 book on the invention of modern computing; this chapter on PARC, Alan Kay, Dynabook, Smalltalk, Atari. Newer (c)2000 edition of the book is out, with follow-up interviews. (June, 1985)
http://www.rheingold.com/texts/tft/11.html

SPACEWAR: Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums
Famous Rolling Stone article by Stewart Brand, part of which discusses PARC, Alan Kay, Dynabook, Smalltalk. (December 7, 1972)
http://www.wheels.org/spacewar/stone/rolling_stone.html