Makers

Maker Business: Venturing out…

Maker Business: Venturing out…

Kicking off our Maker Business series is this piece by Jeffrey McGrew, who along with his wife Jillian Northrup, and their trusty CNC machine named Frank, are a two-person (and a bot) design and fabrication juggernaut. From their design-build studio in Oakland, CA, they do custom interior design, furniture, and such artist wonders as the […]

Maker Birthdays:  Douglas Engelbart

Maker Birthdays: Douglas Engelbart

Chances are you have Douglas C. Engelbart to thank for what you’re holding in your hand right now.

I’m talking about your computer mouse, of course.

Dr. Engelbart was born on this date in 1925. In 1967, while working at the prestigious Stanford Research Institute, he applied for a patent on an “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System,” which issued in 1970, although, per his Wikipedia article, he never actually received any royalties on it. He has been widely honored for his contributions to human-computer interface development.

Dr. Engelbart has four children and nine grandchildren, and today he’s 85. Congratulations and happy birthday, sir!