The Future of Text Redux

I have written about text in its digital form in the past and I would like to revisit this topic once more. J.C.R. Licklider and Douglas Engelbart were two giants who saw non-numeric possibilities in networked computing well ahead of many others. Vannevar Bush and Ted Nelson are two others who resonated with the idea of machines that assisted in the production and discovery of information. Sir Tim Berners-Lee amplified some of these ideas with the invention of the World Wide Web. Following along this path is Frode Hegland, a protegé of the late Douglas Engelbart, who has developed new tools for the production of and interaction with text. Engelbart's oNLine System (NLS)a was a tour-de-force example of disciplined use of structure to guide the production and consumption of computer-based text.