On february 19, 1981, jef raskin, creator of the macintosh project, sent a memo to apple ceo mike scott. Frank ling talks to him about how the project got started, his perspectives on current operating systems, and his current work. Raskin eventually came up with a rallying cry the macintosh mac, for short project, which he named after his favorite type of apple raskin articles 1. The practice of simplicity this unique guide to interactive system design reflects the experience and vision of jef raskin, the creator of the apple macintosh. Jef raskin, my father, below helped develop the macintosh, and i was recently looking at some of his old documents and came across his. He wanted to name the computer after his favorite type of apple, the mcintosh, but the spelling was changed to macintosh for legal reasons as the original was the same spelling as that used by mcintosh laboratory, inc. Mar 05, 2020 jef raskin, american computer scientist born march 9, 1943, new york, n. Jef raskin, one of the men credited with creating the apple macintosh, died of pancreatic cancer on saturday at the age of 61. Theres no doubt that jef was the creator of the macintosh project at apple, and that his articulate vision of an exceptionally easy to use, low cost, high volume appliance computer got the ball rolling, and remained near the heart of the. Because, if youre working on a project and youd like to manage it well, you have to have things documented. He created the initial macintosh vision of an easy to use appliance computer, and hired the initial development that made it happen. Notes on the book the humane interface by jef raskin summary.
The death of jef raskin marks the passing of an technology industry legend who led the design of the first macintosh computer for apple computer and who also clashed with rival steve jobs. March 9, 1943 february 26, 2005 was an american humancomputer interface expert best known for conceiving and starting the macintosh project at apple in the late 1970s. Jef raskins book, the humane interface, is the single best human interface design book that i have read. Then steve jobs read the book of macintosh and promptly came in and took his computer away from him.
Raskin mostly busied himself with the book of macintosh, a sort of aspirational bible hardly more practical than kays original dream of the dynabook. Mar 14, 2020 jef raskin was an american humancomputer interface expert bestknown for starting the macintosh humwne for apple computer in the late s. He created the macintosh project at apple in 1979, naming it after his favorite apple. Jef raskin s article computers by the millions, which examines the. Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead. Joining berkeley groks is jef raskin jr who started the apple macintosh project.
Jeff raskin, widely considered the father of the macintosh computer, has died. Jef raskin, a computer technology pioneer who started the team that created the macintosh computer, died saturday at his home in pacifica, calif. The humane interface is a gourmet dish from a master chef. In slaughterhouse 5, vonneguts protagonist, pilgrim, is in a hospital ward adjacent to a writer discussing a book hes working on about the bombing of dresden in world war ii. The untold story of how my dad helped invent the first mac. Jef raskin died of cancer on saturday february 26th after being sick for several months. Heres a selection of smaller but nevertheless very practical enhancements. A computer shall not harm your work or, through inaction, allow your work to come to harm. Jef raskin s book, the humane interface, is the single best human interface design book that i have read. This unique guide to interactive system design reflects the experience and vision of.
Most of his ideas for the new machine were collected in a set of papers he called the book of macintosh. The company brought the swyftcard to market, which is a firmware card for the apple ii. A family statement said he had recently been diagnosed with. Feb 28, 2005 jef raskin, a computer technology pioneer who started the team that created the macintosh computer, died saturday at his home in pacifica, calif. Jef raskin founded the macintosh project at apple, which led to the development of the apple mac and the popularisarion of the graphical userinterface. The practice of simplicity this unique guide to interactive system design reflects the experience and vision of. The design and history of the canon cat is a fascinating story which this paper attempts to tell. Jefs contributions to the development of simple, intelligible, humane computing environments didnt end with the mac. Father of the mac dead at 61 exapple employee made computers easier to use, san jose mercury news, mary ann ostrom 28 february 2005. Steve jobs, jef raskin, and the humane interface chicago.
Ranging from compatibility with the latest os x release to improved memory management and a host of interface improvements. As he says, he came up with the mac due to his belief that to reach a larger marketplace, future computers had to be designed from the user interface out bonnet 1. This raises a question about the origins of the book of macintosh. Jef could not abide steve jobs taking over the project, so he left the team by mid1981, and the company.
Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead the. In 1982, jef raskin founded the company information appliance, inc. While i am a healthcare preofessional and not a computer geek, the principles of design that raskin discusses could well be applied to the design of the systems that i use to document patient care and to manage clinical data. Jef raskin was an american humancomputer interface expert bestknown for starting the macintosh humwne for apple computer in the late s. To present you raskin 2, our engineering team has implemented a total of just over 250 new features, fixes and optimizations. Visit for stories chronicling the birth of the computer jef named after his favorite varietal but misspelled in order to avoid confusion. Dr bob these are two articles i have received via email or on a newsgroup i dont recall from jef raskin on the history of the macintosh. Jef raskins article computers by the millions, which examines the. Jef s leadership on the macintosh project and the cannon cat design gave him the kind of credibility and clarity that only experience bring. A bristling raskin responded with a sarcastic memo to jobs, replicated in the excellent book apple. This included selecting the name of his favorite apple, writing the mission document the book of macintosh, securing office space, and. Jef raskin, an eclectic gadgeteer, who began the design of the cat during his work on the first macintosh project at apple computer in 1979. Jef raskin, american computer scientist born march 9, 1943, new york, n. I can not find a copy of bruce horns original email.
Jefs leadership on the macintosh project and the cannon cat design gave him the kind of credibility and clarity that only experience bring. In it, he listed his many complaints about working with steve jobs. Jef raskin on the book of macintosh stanford university. Well forever be in debt to jef raskin and steve jobs for changing our world for the better. For those who dont know, he is the father of the macintosh, one of the. For those who dont know, he is the father of the macintosh, one of. How jef raskin started the macintosh project mac history. Jef raskin was known as the father of the macintosh for his early work designing what became apple computer inc. This unique guide to interactive system design reflects the experience and vision of jef raskin, the creator of the apple macintosh.
Jefs leadership on the macintosh project and the cannon. Raskin, however, demonstrates that many current interface paradigms are dead ends, and that to make computers. Steve jobs, jef raskin, and the humane interface on steve jobs, the man behind apple. Articles from jef raskin about the history of the macintosh. Jef raskin was an american humancomputer interface expert best known. Bud tribble, steve jobs, joanna hoffman, jef raskin, rod holt. Jakob nielsen, nielsen norman group author of designing web usability.
A wonderful spirit and renaissance man, who inspired me and many others. Innovator behind macintosh computer, obituary, washington post, ap 2 march 2005. He had been diagnosed recently with pancreatic cancer. Jef raskin, the lead designer of the first macintosh computer and a pioneer in the development of user interfaces, died saturday at age 61. For the majority of computer users today, the graphical user interface is the primary method of interface, though before apples macintosh took the stage in 1984, that wasnt the case. As the creator of the macintosh project, and the guy who named it macintosh after his beloved mcintosh apples, i can firmly say that pot had nothing to do with it, raskin said in an email. Other books may show how to use todays widgets and interface ideas effectively. Share jef raskin quotations about computers and design.
The book that explains why you really hate computers. Raskin is best known for starting the macintosh project at apple in the late seventies, though his later career as. Raskin is best known for starting the macintosh project at apple in the late seventies, though his later career as an. Raskin was a philosophical guy who could be both playful and ponderous, writes walter isaacson in his book steve jobs. When driving, the users focus is on getting from point a to point b not on moving levers and hitting peddles.
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