Larry Tesler, the man who invented the 'cut, copy, paste' function on modern computers has reportedly died at the age of 74.
Tesler was born in the Bronx in New York City back in 1945, just a few years after Alan Turing's ENIGMA machine was used by codebreaker as the blueprint for modern computing.
Per BBC News, he turned to the study of computer science as a student at Stanford University in California, and specialized in user interface design - namely the discipline of making computers easier and more user-friendly at a time when few people other than scientists and researchers ever used them.
Tesler began his career at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, before being poached by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1980. It was there that Tesler, who later became Apple's chief scientist in 1993, devised a simple-yet-genius tool for copying text and code.
This vital tool, which is used by millions today, was first integrated into Apple’s software on the Lisa computer in 1983, and then the phenomenally-successful Macintosh in 1984.
He was also an ardent believer that modern computing should ditch modes, which were a commonplace design feature at the time, allowing users to switch between functions on software and apps but slowed down processing.
Announcing his death in a social media post, Xerox wrote: "The inventor of cut/copy and paste, find and replace, and more was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler. Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas. Larry passed away Monday, so please join us in celebrating him."
Take a look at this interview with Bill Gates about how the world will change in the next few years:Meanwhile, the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley tweeted: "Today we also bid farewell to computing visionary Larry Tesler. Tesler created the idea of cut, copy and paste and combined computer science training with a counterculture vision that computers should be for everyone."
