Ever since first reading "As We May Think" at the beginning of Com Arts 346, I've been interested in the concept of the memex. It's very interesting to me to see how technology is thought of before its time. The memex, while essentially a desk, was a precursor to internet technology that follows. It just didn't pan out like Vannevar Bush thought. The memex used mechanical processes such as electromechanical controls, levers, microfilm cameras and microfilm reels. In today's world, the concept of the internet is a network of wires across the world with signals constantly bouncing back and forth with incredulous speed. There are not levers. There are not little microfilm reels being sent in the tubes under the ocean. While Bush did create the ideas for hypertext and mass information storage, his idea for a device, while theoretical, never made it into fruition. I think, however, that technological advances often take this path of the unexpected. Who would have thought that phones like this would eventually turn into smartphones with advanced computing technology? Someone may have thought of an idea, but any prototype they tried to develop most likely looked like that technology of the time, large and tan-colored. Nobody would expect the sleek five inch by two inch supercomputers we have today.
While searching for the memex on Google, I found some interesting results. First, I found a video of an animation of a memex and how it would have worked. The animation was from a program made for the 50th anniversary of Bush's article. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the original program anywhere on the web. Secondly, I found a site where a man is trying to build, according to the page, "a memex that looks and acts like it was built in 1945 according to Vannevar Bush's specifications." I don't know how long the project has been in production, but it would be cool to see the finished project.
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