Doug Engelbart, Inventor Of The Computer Mouse, Is Dead At 88

|  By By MICHAEL LIEDTKE 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Doug Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse and developer of early incarnations of email, word processing programs and the Internet, has died at the age of 88.
The Computer History Museum, where Engelbart had been a fellow since 2005, said he died early Wednesday. The museum in Mountain View, California, was notified of the death in an email from his daughter, Christina. The cause of death wasn't immediately known.
Back in the 1950s and '60s, when mainframes took up entire rooms and were fed data on punch cards, Engelbart already was envisioning a world in which people used computers to share ideas about solving problems.
He said his work was all about "augmenting human intellect," but it boiled down to making computers user-friendly. One of the biggest advances was the mouse, which he developed in the 1960s and patented in 1970. At the time, it was a wooden shell covering two metal wheels: an "X-Y position indicator for a display system."
The notion of operating the inside of a computer with a tool on the outside was way ahead of its time. The mouse wasn't commercially available until 1984, with Apple's new Macintosh.
In fact, Engelbart's invention was so early that he and his colleagues didn't profit much from it. The mouse patent had a 17-year life span, and in 1987 the technology fell into the public domain — meaning Engelbart couldn't collect royalties on the mouse when it was in its widest use. At least 1 billion have been sold since the mid-1980s.
Among Engelbart's other key developments in computing, along with his colleagues at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and his own lab, the Augmentation Research Center, was the use of multiple windows. Engelbart's lab also helped develop ARPANet, the government research network that led to the Internet.

Engelbart dazzled the industry at a San Francisco computer conference in 1968. Working from his house with a homemade modem, he used his lab's elaborate new online system to illustrate his ideas to the audience, while his staff linked in from the lab. It was the first public demonstration of the mouse and video teleconferencing, and it prompted a standing ovation.
"Doug pioneered network computing technologies when it was not popular to do so," Sun Microsystems' then-CEO, Scott McNealy, said in 1997.
Even so, the mild-mannered Engelbart gave deference to his colleagues and played down the importance of his inventions, stressing instead his bigger vision of using collaboration over computers to solve the world's problems.
"Many of those firsts came right out of the staff's innovations — even had to be explained to me before I could understand them," he said in a biography written by his daughter. "They deserve more recognition."
In 1997, Englebart won the most lucrative award for American inventors, the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize. Three years later, President Bill Clinton bestowed Engelbart with the National Medal of Technology "for creating the foundations of personal computing."
Douglas Carl Engelbart was born Jan. 30, 1925, and grew up on a small farm near Portland, Oregon. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University, taking two years off during World War II to serve as a Navy electronics and radar technician in the Philippines.
It was there that he read Vannevar Bush's "As We May Think" in a Red Cross library and was inspired by Bush's idea of a machine that would aid human cognition.
After the war, Engelbart worked as an electrical engineer for NASA's predecessor, NACA, at its Ames Laboratory. Restless, and dreaming of computers that could change the world, Engelbart left Ames to pursue his Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley.
He earned his degree in 1955. But after joining the faculty, Engelbart was warned by a colleague that if he kept talking about his "wild ideas" he'd be an acting assistant professor forever. So he left for the research position at Stanford Research Institute, now SRI International.
In 1990, Engelbart started the Bootstrap Institute, which researches ways to advance collaboration on complex problems.
HuffingtonPost

Nigeria Is Now Due For A Revolution ––Speaker Tambuwal

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has said Nigeria is now due for a revolution because of endemic corruption in the country, coupled with the general disaffection of the people with the ruling elite.

OluFamous.Com observed that political offices holders in Nigeria earn much more than what senior officials in the United States take home, yet these leaders keep asking Nigerians to make sacrifices...

Tambuwal said the kind of conditions that exist, leading to revolution in other countries that are now making progress, are now widely evident in Nigeria.

The Honourable Speaker said this in Lagos on Tuesday at the 2013 Distinguished Management Lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) where he was invited as a guest speaker.

Tambuwal said: “The most compelling reasons for revolution throughout the ages were injustice, crushing poverty, marginalisation, rampant corruption, lawlessness, joblessness, and general disaffection with the ruling elite. You will agree with me that these describe conditions in our nation now, to a very large degree.”

“That these conditions exist is well known to all persons in authority but the results of these successive efforts have failed to yield the desired results. This therefore is the justification for the radical change from the present approach to a revolutionary one,” he stressed.

 

Olufamous.com

South Africa Now Visa-Free For Nigerian Passport Holders

Nigeria and South Africa on Tuesday signed an agreement aimed at ending visa acquisition by holders of official and diplomatic passports.
Ministers from both countries have been charged to ensure the effective implementation of the newly signed instruments and the conclusion of outstanding agreements.

Both Presidents, Jacob Zuma and Goodluck Jonathan met in Cape Town, South Africa where various issues were discussed on how to improve on relationship between both countries as they agreed on so many issues aimed at boosting development in the continent.
Beside the visas waiver agreement both countries also signed eight other bilateral agreements which include, cooperation in legal field, oil and gas sectors, power sector development, environment,defence cooperation, women development and empowerment as well as child development.

The bilateral agreements also cover geology, mining, mineral processing and metallurgy and fields of information and communication technology.

For both presidents, stronger ties between both countries is necessary if the continent’s fortune is to be improved.

In his view, President Zuma said, ”we have a duty to take this historic relationship further. Our two countries have already grown very warm bilateral relations structured through the bi-national commission that was officially inaugurated in 1999,”.

The meeting also afforded President Zuma the opportunity to express his joy also the number of South African companies doing businesses in Nigeria, the biggest investment being in the telecommunication sector.

He further noted that it is the intention of South Africa to expand to other sectors such as engineering, construction, banking, oil and the media.

He also advocated for both countries to promote people to people relationship especially through tourism which he said has generated huge Foreign Direct Investment for the country.

“Last year alone, South Africa received a total of 73,282 Nigerian tourists which is an 13.8percent increase from 2011 contributing about 720million Rands to the South African economy within the period.”

In his responding, President Jonathan, described the signing of nine bilateral agreements between the two countries is a major achievement that would enhance the critical role of Nigeria and South Africa in transforming the continent,

The President later addressed joined session of the South African parliament where he re-echoed the need for the two countries to strengthen partnership in growing the continent’s economy.
TON

Pastor Kumuyi Suspends His Son John and His New Wife Over Flamboyant Wedding

The leadership of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry has suspended the son of the General Superintendent of the church and his wife, John and Love Kumuyi from carrying out any activity in the church over their recent controversial wedding in Jamaica.
John Kumuyi and Love wedded in Jamaica on 15 June, 2013 and thousands of members of the church have reacted sharply while condemning the wedding gown worn by the wife and other aspects of the wedding that were at variance with the church’s standard.
She was decked in attires quite different from the acceptable standard set for Deeper Life members by the church.
Love was arrayed in flowing gown with a veil to match, while lots of people said her hair wasn’t natural and that she applied lipstick as part of the make-up.
Also at issue was the hiring of a Limousine which conveyed the couple to their destination after the wedding. And a huge cake was cut during the wedding contrary to the church’s tradition.

Due to the myriad of controversies generated by the wedding on social media, Facebook, especially by members of Deeper Life, the church decided to place the couple on suspension to give them time to pray and seek forgiveness from God for their action.
On Saturday, at Deeper Life’s monthly miracle and revival programme held at the Deeper Life Conference Centre, DLCC, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, John and Love’s suspension from church work was announced to the over 50,000 Deeper Life faithful at the event by Pastor Philip Oluwi, a key leader in the church.
Oluwi, certainly is acting on the instruction from the General Superintendent of the church, Pastor William Kumuyi, to suspend the couple for the embarrassment they brought upon the church during the wedding, emphasizing that the standard of Deeper Life regarding wedding and moderacy had not changed.
“The church, Deeper Life, remains committed to the biblical practice and standard of almost 40 years Christian dressing and still remains and does not compromise on biblical Christian dressing.
Hence, deviation warrants the displeasure and frown of God and the leadership of the church. John and Love are now under discipline,” Oluwi announced to the entire congregation, an action that helped to calm the nerves of many Deeper Life faithful.
Also, the couple has apologised to the church for the embarrassing way the wedding was conducted. The letter was read by Oluwi and re-read severally to church members by the Church’s Secretary, Pastor Jerry Asemota.
The letter addressed to the Church Secretary, with the heading: “Letter of Apology,” expressed the deepest regret of the couple for bringing the church into disrepute.
Naijaurban

Her Imperial Majesty, Patience Jonathan And The Rest Of Us

“If you want to know what God thinks about money (and power), just look at the people He gave it to.” Dorothy Parker – Writer/Poet

It was one of those days you wished you were not a Nigerian. But if you were, you certainly would not fancy having Lagos as a place of residence...

Lest those in the patriotic ilk demand my head on a platter, I suggest them primo interview motorists/ commuters caught in the gridlock. It was a flurry scene; horns hooting ceaselessly as anger grew by the minute. The sun cares less, clutching its pride of place; its light was appreciated but not the heat-awfully unbearable. Street traders had a stupendous day, getting good bargains and making instantaneous sales, the type only dreams are made of.

The young-some underage-hustlers savoured the while, at different times playing with one another; chatting and laughing aloud; luck had smiled on them. For a bit, I forgot I was supposed to be exasperated; taking in lieu a deserved break gazing at the boys. It was a free live entertainment albeit in the harshest of conditions. I was not only the member of audience, as they attracted the attention of many others. Their sight revived the thought of the unending misfortunes of our impoverished youths. In perpetuum, they delve the gains of the much publicized Transformation Agenda. I sympathize with them; graduates are yet employed, much less school dropouts/illiterates.

Save for occasional natural occurrences like rain and ocean surge, which was recorded many years ago, it was the first time I witnessed a sea of people trapped in a traffic jam later confirmed lasted about nine hours (8:30am-5:30pm). One wonders the plight of those who had an emergency situation, appointment or a deadline. A caller on a radio programme narrated how he and colleagues were robbed that night by men who posed as police officers. We should not tag only the days we see or hear of road mishaps, violent disturbances, fire disasters, terror attacks as “black days”, some other days are worthy of such label. It is pathetic that the good people of Lagos who queued patiently, orderly, ignoring the scorching sun to cast their ballots for Mr. President were at the receiving end of the snarl precipitated by his wife, Patience Jonathan. I am sure the reader would have noticed that I did not use the “First Lady” appendage. It was deliberate. If I did, the anger I am may set my immediate environment ablaze; a situation one certainly forbids especially in a country where the fire service is near torpid.

That elected/appointed government officials every now and then deny us right-of-way is more than enough trauma to deal with. Now that their spouses have entered a “We block more roads than our Husband” tournament, the rest of our can as well begin to compose suicide notes. Nowadays, one thing I have observed is that more women are excited when their partners signify interest in elective posts and the reason is not implausible. The influence wives of Their Excellencies wield these days is in no small measure intimidating. You would be swimming in a pool of stupidity, if you took a bet with your life-savings that these emperors are down-to-earth; it will only take a few hours before you say hello to bankruptcy. African women in corridors of power are widely known for their habitual arrogance and luxury tastes.

A shipshape example is Leila Ben Ali, wife of ousted Tunisian president. Dubbed ‘the Imelda Marcos of the Arab world’, the former hairdresser held sway while her husband reigned, importing expensive foods and ice-cream. Obsessed with mansions, fast cars, shopping sprees in Paris and Dubai, she was reported to have fled with gold bullion worth $60m! Evidently, what a man can do… With all sincerity, I am yet to comprehend what Mrs. Jonathan’s sojourn to Lagos was about. We are made to understand it was a “Thank you visit” and launch of her peace advocacy initiative. As not so good as that sounds, let me attempt to put the theme into perspective. In the 2011 presidential elections, her husband got over a million votes in the most populous state of the federation, but the event in query was held at a venue of two thousand (thereabout) capacity.

And in actual sense, about a quarter of the attendees were part of her entourage from Abuja and other states. On that account, it is safe to say she said ‘Thank you’ to around one thousand six hundred people representing 0.1 percent of those whose votes propelled her husband into office. Her handlers and co-travelers should know better. What they organized was nothing but a glorified charade. Before they rejoice too long thinking they took us on a jolly ride, may I inform them that gathering a rented crowd in a refined event centre with the entire media buzz is an affront on Lagosians. I even saw her distribute gifts to paltry handpicked women. Soon they will announce that the items were donated by ‘Committee of Friends’ or an international donor agency.

I laughed in Awori (my native language) when a friend apprised he heard that our overall madam’s visits is scheduled to take place nationwide. Nonsense! At a time we ought to devote time, energy and resources so as to ensure vision 2020-20 is met, some folks are going about having jamboree on state funds! Although Mrs. Jonathan’s intention is commendable, I think her peace campaign is at the moment exigently needed in the north part of the country where blood-letting has continued unabated. I am sure that by now, the people of that divide must be envious of the south-west region as the Lagos stop-by was sequel to the one held at Oyo state two months ago. That too was anything but decent.

During her stay there, overzealous security operatives were at their usual worst. At the entrance of the venue, they once again displayed an obvious lack of crowd control mastery, mistreating high-ranking state officials, invited dignitaries and accredited journalists. What madness! Is this all in the name of protecting the wife of the Commander-in-Chief? My mother too deserves such security as she campaigned for GEJ in our village and he won resoundingly there. It is completely repugnant that scholars and professionals are brazenly assaulted, embarrassed by a set of persons who may not be able to complete a simple sentence and till date no one has taken responsibility or apologized. Like one of my favorites trend on twitter puts it that is “#HowToKnowGodisPunishingYou”.

But we should not stop talking about it. All citizens must be treated fairly. Even in our different religions, the teaching is that everyone is equal in the sight of the Great One above. Anarchy looms the moment a class of people in the society flagrantly subjugate others even in a sovereign nation like ours. We have to realize that power fades and as such we should do unto others what is right. Accountability in governance must be prioritized so that the outside world would seize to pore over us frivolously. Wives of public officials ought to know/be reminded that their major responsibility is taking care of the home front while offering sound advice and support where necessary.

But if they are keen on enjoying the paraphernalia of office attached to their respective husbands, they should endeavour to legalize it by sending a bill to the National Assembly for consideration and then push that it becomes a law. Pending when that happens, they should kindly spare us the executive lawlessness please!

By Wale Odunsi

Olufamous.com

Serena exit leaves Wimbledon in twilight zone

Wimbledon entered the twilight zone on Monday as Serena Williams became the latest high-profile champion to fade into oblivion at a tournament where reputations and star status are counting for nothing.

 Just when it seemed that this year’s grasscourt major had exhausted its quota of shocks with grand slam champions Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka all blotted out of the draw by the second round, along came Sabine Lisicki.

The German, playing a brand of fearless tennis that many dream of but only the brave produce, jettisoned the American holder 6-2 1-6 6-4 to leave Wimbledon gasping in disbelief once again.

Lisicki also struggled to catch her breath.

“I’m still shaking, I’m so happy,” gulped a tearful Lisicki, who fell flat on her stomach in her moment of triumph. “It’s amazing; I love this court so much. It’s unbelievable!”

It certainly was unbelievable because even before the first-week exodus of big names, Williams had been the overwhelming favourite to win a sixth title having triumphed at three of the last four majors.

She walked on court armed with the knowledge that she was on a 34-match winning streak and had suffered only two losses all year.

That record failed to salvage her Wimbledon dreams and her exit left world number four Agnieszka Radwanska as the highest seed and Czech Petra Kvitova as the only former champion still alive in the women’s draw.

 Eighth seed Kvitova dispatched Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6(5)6-3 to set up a last-eight meeting Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

William’s downfall also meant that Sloane Stephens was the only American, man or woman, to reach the quarter-finals.

 The 20-year-old lived up to her billing as the next generation of American tennis by beating Puerto Rican teenager Monica Puig 4-6 7-5 6-1.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Li Na proved that 31-year-olds can still do damage on grass as she narrowly missed out on dishing out the dreaded double bagel during a 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Italian 11th seed Roberta Vinci.

Day seven at Wimbledon is unique as it is the only one of the four grand slams to schedule 16 fourth-round showdowns – both in men and women’s singles – on the same day.

But after a week of seismic shocks decimated the draw and left it shorn of house-hold names, it was a case of guess who for the fans who wandered around the outside courts.

 Lukasz Kubot v Adrian Mannarino on Court 14?

“Oh it’s a couple of nobodies!,” quipped one spectator as he craned his neck to see the names on the on court scoreboard.

Had the fan stuck around to see the match to its conclusion, he would have caught sight of Kubot doing his bizarre can-can victory jig along the service line following his absorbing 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over Frenchman Mannarino.

Kubot and Mannarino were among four players outside the top 100 who had made it to the second Monday at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams

TON

Muhammadu Buhari: A Giant of a Man

Nasir Lawal Danmowa

General Muhammadu Buhari is a
polarizing figure. You either love him or
hate him. But that’s okay. Most statesmen
are polarizing, anyway. In so many ways,
he reminds me of the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo: tough, uncompromising,
visionary, tenacious, honest, and loyal.
His mantra is simple: performance and
accountability. Regrettably these
attributes have not been welcomed in the
Nigeria of the last three decades. And I
would posit that it is because Nigeria was
unappreciative of men like Buhari,
Idiagbon and Awolowo that we’ve found
ourselves in the current social-economic
and political cesspit
Since his forced departure from office,
lesser men have been at the helm of our
national affairs. Any wonder then that
we mistake mediocrity for excellence,
stupidity for intelligence, and cowardice
for bravery? It is a national tragedy to
have shunned men like Buhari who is a
patriot, a nationalist, and an embodiment
of political and personal morality. At the
time General Buhari and his lieutenants
came to power, Nigeria was already
swimming in a cesspool of economic and
social corruption, laziness, dirtiness and
political decadence. The country was in
the hands of the inept and was being run
aground in an ocean of uncertainty. But
and his partners right most of the
wrongs.
We had lost faith in our country, in our
neighbors, in our leaders and in our
humanity. It was a grim, desperate and
depressing time; and a cloud of
hopelessness and dejection was gradually
enveloping the country. Folks, it was a
sad and hopeless era! It was, until Buhari
and his able partner, General Tunde
Idiagbon, rode into town to assure us
that we can do better! And we were until
General Ibrahim Babangida and his
posse threw a wrench in our national
affairs.
Buhari was not a perfect head of state.
He was not a perfect General. He was
human, and he had his flaws. But that’s
okay. He loved his family. He loved his
country. He loved his people. He was
unlike any president - military or civilian
- Nigeria has ever had. Though a military
dictator, he had his ways. There was a
method to his style of governance. What
mattered was Nigeria and Nigerians. His
actions and pronouncements revealed a
man who cared about the soul of our
nation. He cared about our collective
destiny. He cared about history and
posterity. He delivered what he
promised. These, all these, you cannot
say about others.
I vividly remember the Buhari days as
though it was yesterday. It was an era
when people were afraid to demand and
or to take bribes; it was era when you
thought twice before you litter the
streets; it was an era when you took
turns to enter the bus; it was an era
when you sold drugs, engage in
prostitutions and other reprehensible
activities at your own peril; it was an era
when the Western world paid attention
to us; it was an era when it was chic to
be a Nigerian again. Most of all, it was an
era when we knew Nigeria was going to
turn the corner from decadence to
righteousness, from economic stagnation
to economic growth, and from decay to
prosperity. Buhari restored our hope.
But of course, not everybody was happy
for us and for our country and so Buhari
was betrayed, arrested and forced from
office by those with evil machinations.
Truth be told, ordinary Nigerians
betrayed Buhari too! We were
unappreciative of all he did in the very
short period he was in office. We
betrayed him by not standing by him
then; and we betrayed him again during
the last elections by not voting and
electing him into office. Just as we
disappointed the sage (Awolowo) on
three occasions, we disappointed Buhari
on two occasions.
It is my hope therefore that Nigerians
will right the wrongs of the past, restore
my hope in the goodness and sensibility
of Nigerians, and also make it up to a
great man and a great Nigerian who
deserve to be the next executive
president of Nigeria. Buhari is my man.
He should be your man. He should be
our man come 2015.