Dr. Clarence Ellis: The Developer Who Helped Us Collaborate

It’s not easy to learn how to use computers when you can’t actually touch them. But that’s how Dr. Clarence Ellis started his career of invention—which would ultimately lead to reimagining how we all worked with computers and each other.

Martez Mott describes the “Mother of all Demos” that would inspire a generation of builders. Gary Nutt recounts working with Dr. Clarence Ellis at Xerox PARC, and the atmosphere at the coveted research lab. Chengzheng Sun and Paul Curzon explain how Operational Transformation—the project to which Dr. Ellis devoted so much time and effort—laid the foundation for the collaborative tools many of us use every day. And Delilah DeMers shares how humble her father was, and how he loved teaching people that technology can be a force for good.

“Mother of All Demos” clip courtesy of SRI International. 

To learn more about Operational Transformation, you can check out this FAQ written by Chengzheng Sun. 

If you want to read up on some of our research on Dr. Clarence Ellis, you can check out all our bonus material over at redhat.com/commandlineheroes. 

Follow along with the episode transcript.