An Interview with Computing Pioneer Alan Kay

I'm a little disappointed that the interview didn't mention COLA/STEPS as I think this is by far the most interesting thing Kay has worked on of recent. Obviously he's been an innovator throughout the history of computing and it makes sense to interview him abotu the overall direction of the industry, but it'd be great to hear about COLA especially as there's very little written about it aimed at a non-academic audience.<p><a href="http://www.vpri.org/vp_wiki/index.php/Main_Page" rel="nofollow">http://www.vpri.org/vp_wiki/index.php/Main_Page</a> is the primary resource about COLA at the moment, if you're curious.

<p><pre><code> Apple with the iPad and iPhone goes even further and does not allow children to download an Etoy made by another child somewhere in the world. </code></pre> Kids can publish native apps if they want to, there are plenty of examples around. But regardless, you can share <i>anything</i> over the web. What about Android? Does it "not allow children to download etoys" too? This is pure vitriol.

Alan Kay is 74, despite the fact that he looks 20 years younger. A couple grad students should follow him around 24/7 with a microphone, a tablet computer, and a digital camera and record any ideas he throws out there. He's like the Phillip K. Dick of computer science. He's shaped much of the perception of the world and his weakest works somehow surface 15-20 years later as tacit assumptions.

I'd say it's not modern computing he's unhappy with, but modern <i>people</i>.

"There was always a “cloud” in the ARPA view of things — this is why we invented the networks we did."<p>All part of the plan.

<p><pre><code> "much of the iPad UI is very poor in a myriad of ways."</code></pre> Why does he say this ?