Visionaries, Pioneers, and Benchmark Applications

The history of hypermedia development resists reduction to a simple sequence of statements. Developments occurred in complex interrelations, and in many cases ideas cross-fertilised. Brilliant concepts too dependent on hardware that didn't materialise were abandoned — only to be rediscovered by other researchers. It is far from clear even where to start a history. Some of us may prefer to trace developments back from the present to the past. Others may wish to track all the side branches of failed development, seeking all the interesting whys and wherefores. Obviously this book should be hypertext! Even if, as I have chosen, we keep to a more or less traditional view of “developments”, it is still not easy to tell what name should be pulled out of the hat and placed on a timeline first — Bush, Engelbart, or Nelson, for example. However, several good surveys of hypermedia systems place Vannevar Bush first on the list [Nyce and Kahn, 1991, Conklin, 1987, Nielsen, 1990, Tomek et al., 1991].