Xanadu

Last Updated: April 25, 2013

Definition - What does Xanadu mean?

Xanadu is a hypertext/hypermedia project first conceptualized by Ted Nelson. Although originally conceived in the 1960s, Xanadu was still in development when it was eclipsed by Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web in the 1990s. Nelson introduced the term hypertext. As a result, Xanadu is considered an important part of Internet history, as well as an inspriation for what future networks may be like.

Techopedia explains Xanadu

Xanadu differs from the Web in many important ways, including: Two-way linking, allowing the user to track an original source as well as see content derived from that source Three-dimensional browsing (Xanaduspace) displaying a graphical line between hypertextual links A system of micro-payments that are paid to the rights holder whos content is copied Versioning of content to allow side-by-side comparison Project Xanadu released XanaduSpace 1.0 in 2007 as a prototype ofan eventual system, but Xanadu's broad ambitions have yet to be properly realized, whereas the World Wide Web is already out there and growing. That said, many of the features originally set out for Xanadu have been incorporated into the Web. This incorporation may continue as the Web evovles Xanadu owes its name to the mystical land of Xanadu from the poem “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Coleridge.