Software Preservation Group of the Computer History Museum
NLS / Augment Project
Kathe Gust, editor
Last updated 6 November 2006
[The project was active during 2004–2006. Since then, Doug Engelbart passed away, the Bootstrap Institute was replaced by the Doug Englebart Institute, and the members of this project needed to go on to other activities. I've done light editing to preserve this web site as a historical summary of the project. Paul McJones, October 2025.]
Abstract
NLS, or the "oNLine System", was a revolutionary collaboration system designed by Douglas Engelbart and his team in the Augmentation Research Center (ARC) at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) during the 1960s and 1970s. NLS was the first to employ the practical use of hyperlinked documents (hyperdocs), the mouse (co-invented by Engelbart and colleague Bill English), raster-scan video monitors, information organized by relevance, screen windowing, computer presentation, and other modern computer concepts. The ARC team used NLS to collaborate in ways that are just now becoming available with today's Web 2.0 social networking software.
The goal of the NLS project is to preserve NLS, as well as related documentation, videos, schematics, and specialized hardware created for NLS. We plan to prepare and release the full NLS system and related historical material for the benefit of the community, on a not-for-profit basis, towards the end of Q1 2007. We also hope to develop a cyber exhibit on NLS sometime in 2007. Watch this site for updates on progress and future announcements.
Volunteer Opportunities
Releasing NLS and creating a cyber exhibit is a big job, and we need enthusiastic volunteers to be successful. The following are examples of opportunities that are currently available:
- Assembling and organizing NLS release content
- Writing and editing introductory material for the release
- Upgrading, completing, and packaging key support software (C, Java, SmallTalk)
- Verifying ownership and obtaining authorization to use supporting content
- Cataloging new NLS material in several local archives for the release
- Develop overall design concept and proposal for an NLS cyber exhibit
Contents
Acknowledgements
- Douglas Engelbart, Jonathan Cheyer, Jake Feinler, Philip Gust, Ken Harrenstien, Raylene Pak, Peter Yim, Scott Griffin, Lew Platt
Committee Announcements
These resentations on the project were presented at SCC/SPG meetings:
System Clone
- Permission has been received to clone the only existing NLS system in the world from Douglas Engelbart.
- June 2005 - system clone is proceeding. Personal files are being deleted from the clone.
- August 2005 - Clean, working TOPS-20 (v7.0) system, installed. Able to boot the PDP-10 and then start TOPS-20 (no network yet) successfully.
- August 2005 - Attempting to mount the four Augment structures cloned from Dr. Englebart's system.
- August 31, 2005 - "I am now able to start Augment!"
- September 21, 2005 - Augment is running on the stand alone Linux machine and responds to basic commands,
but the networking is not functioning. It seems to be an issue with the TOPS-20 configuration.
- October 2005 - Network is now running on the test machine. Some chunks of source code have been discovered
for the system (written in L-10) and additional source seems to be available for two different clients,
Augterm and VAT.
- January 18, 2006 - Demonstration of the system clone running on Linux and of the version on Doug Engelbart's
machine for the SCC. The demonstration was video taped and should be visible soon on the SCC web site.
Source Code
- April 2005 - Software IP tracked to sale of assets to Boeing Company. Board member Lew Platt has agreed to locate the correct person at Boeing to initiate discussion with museum about the software.
- June 2005 - The committee is in contact with The Boeing Company, last known owner of the software, to negotiate a right to own the software and display a working system at the Museum. We have every expectation of Boeing's cooperation in this endeavor.
- August 2005 - The museum, with the help of Boeing, is still trying to track the assets of the NLS/Augment
system, and gain permissions.
- October 2005 - No additional news on the IP negotiations, but some source code seems to be recoverable from
the system clone. We are not yet certain what is there, and what is not.
November 2005 - The "Augment" US Trademarks, serial number 73256814 and 73647182 are currently listed by the USPTO as "Dead".
One was a service mark filed for "Educational Services-Namely, Classes and Training in Office Automation". It was first filed by Tymeshare Inc. in 1980 and registered on September 28, 1982. First use and first use in commerce was listed as June 22, 1978. Its last listed assignee was MCI Communications corporation. The service mark was cancelled on July 5, 2003.
The other was a goods and services mark for "computer programs for use in providing organizational information management". It was filed by McDonnell Douglas Corporation in 1987 and registered on May 3, 1988. First use and first use in commerce was listed as January 28, 1987. This mark was cancelled on November 7, 1994.
- January 2006 - Work continues on tracing the intellectual property ownership. The committee is in
contact with several former "owners" and hope to have some resolutions soon.
Bibliographies
For an extensive bibliography of papers by Doug Engelbart and his team, see:
Miscellaneous ARC papers
- RFC 1012: A Bibliography of Request for Comments 1 Through 99, J. Reynolds and J. Postel,
June 1987. Online at rfc-editor.org
- RFC 96: An Interactive Network Experiment to Study Modes of Acess the Network Information Center, Richard W. Watson.
February 12, 1971 Online at rfc-editor.org
- RFC 196: A Mail Box Protocol, Richard W. Watson. July 10, 1971.
Online at rfc-editor.org
- RFC 221: A Mail Box Protocol, Version-2, Richard W. Watson. August 25, 1971.
Online at rfc-editor.org
- RFC 237: The Nic's View of Standard Host Names, Richard W. Watson. October 5, 1971.
Online at rfc-editor.org
- RFC 273: More on Standard Host Names, Richard W. Watson. October 18, 1971
Online at rfc-editor.org
- RFC 276: NIC Course, Richard W. Watson. November 8, 1971
Online at rfc-editor.org
- RFC 372: Notes on a Conversation with Bob Kahn on the ICCC, Richard W. Watson. July 12, 1972.
Online at rfc-editor.org
Documentation
To be supplied.
Correspondence and memoranda
To be supplied.
Papers and lecture notes
By NLS-Augment team members
By Others
- Bardini, Thierry. Bootstrapping: Douglas Engelbart, Coevolution, and the Origins of Personal Computing. Stanford University Press, 2000.
- Bardini, Thierry and Michael Friedewald. Chronicle of the Death of a Laboratory: Douglas Engelbart and the Failure of the Knowledge Workshop.History of Technology vol. 23, 2002. PDF at friedewald-family.de
Interviews / Biographies of Douglas C. Engelbart
To be supplied.
Oral Histories
- Douglas Englebart - interviewed by Judy Adams and Henry Lowood and edited by Thierry Bardini. Online at stanford.edu
Photographs / Films
The Doug Engelbart Institute web site has a collection photographs as well as links to other photo sites:
Realia / Artifacts
To be supplied.
Simulators / Emulators
To be supplied.
Related resources
To be supplied.