TedNelson

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http://www.xanadu.com.au/ted/

Founder of the XanaduProject. A brilliant, raving lunatic like RichardStallman who cared fervently about people more than computers.

"A user interface should be so simple that a beginner in an emergency can understand it within ten seconds."

He invented these terms:

Ironically, he also can't design a webpage to save his life. The link at the top of this page spawns a separate page each and every time you go to it.

Ted rejects the Web! http://ted.hyperland.com/buyin.txt

Having spent some time with Ted at the last HyperText conference in Nottingham, he's not a lunatic at all, but he's also (to my mind) not particularly interested in technology. I'm not sure that's because he "cares fervently" about people, but he is very interested in self-promotion, and he loves theatre, both literally and figuratively (i.e., being in the limelight). He's one of those very bright people who are full of grand ideas but have difficulty implementing them. Some might say that's because they're ahead of their time, but it's also perhaps because they're disorganized, chaotic thinkers, a kind of irrationality that has its uses when it can be tamed and put to productive use. I see this as one of my own problems, and I've got a overwhelming project in front of me too right now, so I certainly empathise with Ted. -- MurrayAltheim

Actually, I find RMS quite rational most of the time. Ever read transcripts of his speeches? I think there's a difference between zealotry and lunacy. Now Nelson, on the other hand... ;-) -- StephenGilbert

TedNelson

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