Renowned computer scientist Alan Kay to join HP

SAN FRANCISCO: Alan Kay, one of the founders of famed Silicon Valley research lab Xerox PARC and a computer-industry pioneer, is joining Hewlett-Packard Co.'s research lab, the printer and computer maker said on Tuesday. Kay, who was at computer maker Apple Computer Inc. from 1984 to 1996, comes to HP from The Walt Disney Co., where he was working on digital media projects from 1996 to 2001, when his five-year contract ended.

Kay, 62, said in an interview he almost came to HP after his stint at Xerox PARC in the late 1970s. Yet HP is a far different and larger company now. Earlier this year, it closed its $19 billion merger acquisition of Compaq Computer, and now, under Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, is aiming to become a one-stop source for customers' technology needs.

"Hewlett-Packard is very interested in a wide range of systems and that overlaps quite a bit with my own interests and they're also looking for new markets," Kay said. "My MO (modus operandi) has been to start with end users, usually children, and try and think about the kinds of experiences that would help them to grow in different ways."

Kay, who is a computer scientist, said he will continue his association with Viewpoints Research Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Glendale, California, that he helped found to improve general education as well as the understanding of complex systems.

Kay believes that, for example, it should be possible to teach children as young as 5 years old to create simple computer programs using a set of software authoring tools known as "Squeak, which relies heavily on images, rather than words.

Kay declined to be specific about what he will be working on at HP, but said his work would build upon his current and recent interests of developing advanced software. HP is staking its future on the belief that customers want will to get all their technology needs from nearly one supplier, and that, increasingly, computer systems will be based on widely available standards that will be connected and expanded upon in a modular fashion.

In the late 1960s, Kay participated in the design of ARPAnet, the forerunner of the Internet. He also helped to create the Dynabook, an early version of today's laptops, with a flat screen, stylus, wireless network and local storage. He was also chief scientist at video game pioneer Atari from 1981 to 1984, where he set up Atari research labs around the United States.

© Reuters