NERD TOYS

NERD TOYS

To be grateful to someone, is an emotion that is short lived yet the benefits received from that person may last a life time. Technology is such a benefit. In most cases all that technologist ever want, is acknowledgement and thanks and perhaps some money.  But for many nothing has been forthcoming. It probably all started with Charles Babbage, perpetuated by both Blaise Pascal and Ada Lovelace or even Martin Cooper but thereafter the trail becomes a bit hazy perhaps even suppressed. Anyway be that as it may, its important to give credit where credit is due.

Dr Martin Cooper was in essence the inventor the modern cell phone in 1947 but it wasn't popular then, because hexagonal cells technology wasn't invented until the 70's, however cell phones as we know it today has been popularised by the effort AT&T and Bell Labs. The funny thing is, they have been sitting on this cell phone technology since the early 50's during which time the military were using radiophones.

All I can say now, is a big thanks to them and all those others whose names became obscured in order that others may shine. When we look back at my other two pals, Stevie W. and Stevie J. they didn't wait around for the acknowledgments and the thanks but turned their brainchild into a global giant and in the process became world renown. Bill William G was no different, at one time he was even writing software for the two Stevies as well as for IBM and made a big success of it, he became popular in the process and is now keeping the world at ransom.

Capitalists aside, enter Linus Torvalds, he is the originator of the Unix work-alike kernel upon which Linux is built. He is a true humanitarian, a true technologist because he has placed his would-be-wealth at the disposal of everyone. He is the reason why we have operating systems like, Suse, Mandrake, Red Hat, Debian, Ubuntu and Centos etc...

Tim Berners-Lee is probably one of the least recognisable people in I.T, but he probably deserves more credit than most. This particle physicist is in fact "the Father of the Web", he originated HTML, the basis of all Web pages. Lets all give him a hand or better yet a standing ovation. Less well known to us, are the dudes and dudettes whose names elude us, of Intel Corp and Motorala Corp who invented their respective microprocessors. Three cheers for these brilliant people and for their ideas and microprocessor designs that now dominates the desktop, notebook and mobile scene. Cellphones, computers, digital diaries, satellite receivers, are the result of you.

"Project Chess", is another such case of hidden identities, where the individual's intellectual property becomes that of his or her employer. Project chess was the code name for the "Acorn" computer which later became known as the IBM PC, designed by William Lowe and his twelve man engineering team. A computer system that has changed the way we do business and communicate. A benefit for which all of us should be eternally grateful.

However, identity obscurity was the exclusive domain of the Corporate employer then, and still now and as much as the glory of the invention of the mouse goes to Xerox corporation, a special thanks and a collective salute to its individual inventor, (perhaps Douglas Engelbart). Dude  without your mouse, the graphic user interface may never have materialised. Nothing happens in the foreground when the background is missing. A very special thanks to all the dudes and dudettes who works or worked in the background, contributed to technology but received no acknowledgement nor recognition for their part - THIS ONE IS FOR YOU and the nerd toys of the future.

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