WEEK1 Hidden Heroes

I never knew his name, but he is my personal hero, without his work, how could I write a single essay? Larry Tesler, he is known for his achievements at Apple and Xerox. His goal was to make computers more user friendly. He promoted the idea of a “modeless” computing to make the programs easier to use and learn. “Modeless” means that the input is not interpreted differently in each mode, but it always he same.

However, his most influential achievement was the creation of the ctrl+c and ctrl+v commands. The exact date is never stated, but the idea started in 1983. Initially only copying text, now these commands are used daily by almost all computer users. Although simple, the commands facilitate the movement and copying of information at an enormous scale. Whilst it is something that many people oversee, these little innovations have a great impact on how we use computers.

Larry Tesler is an example of somebody who committed their lives work to make the user interface as friendly and widely accessible as possible, ctrl+c and Tesler are not an association everybody has. When talking about technology, names such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, maybe even Steve Wozniak are known, but most of the brilliant ideas that shaped the products we now depend upon, came from men and women we never hear of.


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