He coined the terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia," and long predicted the universal knowledge repository we now know as the World Wide Web. So why hasn't Ted Nelson gained the recognition due one of the pioneers of the Information Age? Rather than being celebrated by the digerati, Nelson, currently a visiting professor of environmental information at Japan's Keio University, is an exile from an American technology community that has largely shunned him.

His situation may have something to do with his constant, merciless critique of the state of computing, vexing just about everyone in the industry. That many of his perfectionist's complaints are on target makes his words even more stinging. But it could also be the fact that in a 38-year epic quest to create Xanadu, his ultimate electronic publishing system, he has never managed to actually release a piece of software. Until now.