I just read a short Gaurdian article about OpenXanadu, quote:
Superficially, [OpenXanadu] resembles the web itself, and that’s no coincidence.
At one point, Xanadu had potential to beat Tim Berners Lee to the
invention of the world wide web. But the project carried on slipping,
and the web got there first.
I don’t know much about it and don’t find the demo here very informative or inspiring, but reading hte following did make me wonder about its potential as a document app/platform for SAFE network, particularly the bits about handling document versions without links breaking and about copyright. Briefly mentioned here:
Xanadu’s developer Ted Nelson is the man who coined the term
“hypertext” to describe the clickable links that were created for his
project: the word lives on most prominently as the “ht” in the internet
abbreviation “http”.
At its simplest, Xanadu lets users build documents that seamlessly
embed the sources which they are linking back to, creating, in Nelson’s words,
“an entire form of literature where links do not break as versions
change; where documents may be closely compared side by side and closely
annotated; where it is possible to see the origins of every quotation;
and in which there is a valid copyright system - a literary, legal and
business arrangement - for frictionless, non-negotiated quotation at any
time and in any amount.”
Worth a look for anyone with projects in mind that handle or create documents with references, or perhaps wanting new ideas for referencing and copyright.