Larry Tesler: Computer scientist behind cut, copy and paste dies aged 74

[elfenix 34,332]

Quote

Larry Tesler: Computer scientist behind cut, copy and paste dies aged 74

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51567695

[Brisketexan 105,328]

Sounds like God hit him with the old Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,921]

He got cut from here and pasted up/down there

[Prepuce of Doom 21,103]

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Larry Tesler: Computer scientist behind cut, copy and paste dies aged 74

20 February 2020

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Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionLarry Tesler, pictured at the PC Forum in 1989, worked to make computers more accessible

Larry Tesler, an icon of early computing, has died at the age of 74.

Mr Tesler started working in Silicon Valley in the early 1960s, at a time when computers were inaccessible to the vast majority of people.

It was thanks to his innovations - which included the "cut", "copy" and "paste" commands - that the personal computer became simple to learn and use.

Xerox, where Mr Tesler spent part of his career, paid tribute to him.

"The inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more, was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler," the company tweeted. "Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas."

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Mr Tesler was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1945, and studied at Stanford University in California.

Larry Tesler: The Silicon Valley history man

After graduating, he specialised in user interface design - that is, making computer systems more user-friendly.

He worked for a number of major tech firms during his long career. He started at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Parc), before Steve Jobs poached him for Apple, where he spent 17 years and rose to chief scientist.

After leaving Apple he set up an education start-up, and worked for brief periods at Amazon and Yahoo.

Media captionIn 2012, Larry Tesler spoke with the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones

In 2012, he told the BBC of Silicon Valley: "There's almost a rite of passage - after you've made some money, you don't just retire, you spend your time funding other companies.

"There's a very strong element of excitement, of being able to share what you've learned with the next generation."

'A counterculture vision'

Possibly Mr Tesler's most famous innovation, the cut and paste command, was reportedly based on the old method of editing in which people would physically cut portions of printed text and glue them elsewhere.

The command was incorporated in Apple's software on the Lisa computer in 1983, and the original Macintosh that was released the following year.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionMr Tesler, pictured in 1991, was an avowed opponent of computer "modes"

One of Mr Tesler's firmest beliefs was that computer systems should stop using "modes", which were common in software design at the time.

Modes allow users to switch between functions on software and apps but make computers both time-consuming and complicated.

So strong was this belief that Mr Tesler's website was called "nomodes.com", his Twitter handle was "@nomodes", and even his car's registration plate was "No Modes".

Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum said Mr Tesler "combined computer science training with a counterculture vision that computers should be for everyone".

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[Felix 607]

I see what you did there.

[Clintonaldo 2,576]

18 minutes ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

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Larry Tesler: Computer scientist behind cut, copy and paste dies aged 74

20 February 2020

Share this with Facebook

 

Share this with WhatsApp

 

Share this with Messenger

 

Share this with Twitter

 

Share

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionLarry Tesler, pictured at the PC Forum in 1989, worked to make computers more accessible

Larry Tesler, an icon of early computing, has died at the age of 74.

Mr Tesler started working in Silicon Valley in the early 1960s, at a time when computers were inaccessible to the vast majority of people.

It was thanks to his innovations - which included the "cut", "copy" and "paste" commands - that the personal computer became simple to learn and use.

Xerox, where Mr Tesler spent part of his career, paid tribute to him.

"The inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more, was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler," the company tweeted. "Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas."

ADVERTISEMENT

Mr Tesler was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1945, and studied at Stanford University in California.

Larry Tesler: The Silicon Valley history man

After graduating, he specialised in user interface design - that is, making computer systems more user-friendly.

He worked for a number of major tech firms during his long career. He started at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Parc), before Steve Jobs poached him for Apple, where he spent 17 years and rose to chief scientist.

After leaving Apple he set up an education start-up, and worked for brief periods at Amazon and Yahoo.

Media captionIn 2012, Larry Tesler spoke with the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones

In 2012, he told the BBC of Silicon Valley: "There's almost a rite of passage - after you've made some money, you don't just retire, you spend your time funding other companies.

"There's a very strong element of excitement, of being able to share what you've learned with the next generation."

'A counterculture vision'

Possibly Mr Tesler's most famous innovation, the cut and paste command, was reportedly based on the old method of editing in which people would physically cut portions of printed text and glue them elsewhere.

The command was incorporated in Apple's software on the Lisa computer in 1983, and the original Macintosh that was released the following year.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionMr Tesler, pictured in 1991, was an avowed opponent of computer "modes"

One of Mr Tesler's firmest beliefs was that computer systems should stop using "modes", which were common in software design at the time.

Modes allow users to switch between functions on software and apps but make computers both time-consuming and complicated.

So strong was this belief that Mr Tesler's website was called "nomodes.com", his Twitter handle was "@nomodes", and even his car's registration plate was "No Modes".

Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum said Mr Tesler "combined computer science training with a counterculture vision that computers should be for everyone".

Related Topics

Computing

Apple

Software

Obituaries

Share this story About sharing

Email

Facebook

Messenger

Twitter

Pinterest

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

More on this story

Larry Tesler: The Silicon Valley history man

6 January 2012

Farewell from Dave Lee - the BBC's man in Silicon Valley

21 December 2019

US & Canada

Rivals pile on Bloomberg in fiery debate

20 February 2020

Full article Rivals pile on Bloomberg in fiery debate

Warren's fiery performance lights up social media

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From the sectionUS & Canada

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Trump's pick for acting spy chief raises eyebrows

20 February 2020

 

From the sectionUS & Canada

Full article Trump's pick for acting spy chief raises eyebrows

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Features

VIDEO

Walking through Beijing's near-empty streets

 

How a stolen safe changed a burglar's life

 

VIDEO

Seeing double: The Indian town filled with twins

 

'My husband and I have 90 minutes alone together a week'

 

In pictures: The battle of the oranges

 

Acid attack survivor: 'There are more good people than bad'

 

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That’s some nice longcattin you did there. 

[BabaYaga 15,318]

[HornOnTheBayou 8,946]

Thoughts and prayers to his family
Thoughts and prayers to his family
Thoughts and prayers to his family
Thoughts and prayers to his family
Thoughts and prayers to his family
Thoughts and prayers to his family
Thoughts and prayers to his family

Edited February 20, 2020 by HornOnTheBayou

[Armybrat 40,904]

Well, I can hardly wait for the asshole who came up with “404 Page Not Found” to meet his Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,523]

He was cut but never pasted...

[Fudge Nuggets 19,221]

Random sidebar, but allegedly "to paste" in Russia means to give a facial.  And I'm not talking about one of them fancy facials you get in the spa, but the good old fashioned man goo right between the eyes kind of facial.

[Pato del Muerto 52,596]

Wonder if xerox people from that era ever wonder what if, since they basically invented the Mac as far as user interface goes. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Pato del Muerto

[EuroHorn 3,268]

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,921]

7 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Wonder if xerox people from that era ever wonder what if, since they basically invented the Mac as far as user interface goes. 

If I’m not mistaken they sued Apple over the theft of the user interface

[TwiceHorn 31,535]

8 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

If I’m not mistaken they sued Apple over the theft of the user interface

They did.  In 1989.  Mostly on a copyright infringement theory (software code is a lot like text, so copyright).  But it was held that copyright did not extend to the "non-literal" elements of the software (if the code wasn't the same, then no-go).  Also barred by the three year statute of limitations.

When the PARC GUI was developed, it was not thought that software could be patented, even though user interfaces are not software, strictly speaking.

GUI elements are patented routinely today, by Apple among others.

[Deej 76,913]

7 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Random sidebar, but allegedly "to paste" in Russia means to give a facial.  And I'm not talking about one of them fancy facials you get in the spa, but the good old fashioned man goo right between the eyes kind of facial.

Found that out the hard way, did you?

[TwiceHorn 31,535]

7 hours ago, EuroHorn said:

That gif makes me think of the Stephen King short story "Word Processor of the Gods."

[Poolflood 845]

On 2/20/2020 at 11:24 AM, Brisketexan said:

Sounds like God hit him with the old Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

More like God hit Ctrl-x on him

[Fudge Nuggets 19,221]

47 minutes ago, Deej said:

Found that out the hard way, did you?

I seen some shit dude.  Man I have seen some shit.

[0xdeadbeef 1,652]

In all it's Xerox glory.