Abstract :
It has been 61 years since the 1945 Memex article, and
so much has changed since then that we might well wonder
whether the article is still worth looking at. It certainly
inspired some of the leading figures in information
technology, but now it seems to be cited either for things
it did not really say, or because everything it proposed
has been pretty much accomplished, albeit with alternate
technology. If we take another look at the Memex
description, though, there are a few key ideas that can
still be goals in terms of an easy-to-use personal collection
that is a supplement to one’s own memory. Perhaps
in today’s terms, the device would be a combination of
the iPod design and a tablet computer. As such, it could
function as a handy information pod, with certain Memex
features, serving as an extended personal memory.
