Jef raskin march 9, 1943 february 26, 2005 was an american humancomputer interface expert best known for conceiving and starting the macintosh project for apple in the late 1970s. On september 27, 1979, steve jobs and mac creator jef raskin clashed over. Although raskin did not come up with the software design that apple was eventually to use for its macintosh, he is credited for naming the. So steve decided he would take over jef raskins macintosh project one of apples from history 2010 at palm beach community college. He created the initial macintosh vision of an easy to use appliance computer, and hired the initial development that made it happen. He had been diagnosed recently with pancreatic cancer. Jef did not want to incorporate what became the two most definitive aspects of macintosh technology the motorola 68000 microprocessor and the mouse pointing device. Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead.
Jef raskin, who died in 2005, wasnt always precise in his telling of how the macintosh came to be but in either spring or september of 1979, he was talking with apple chairman mike markkula. This unique guide to user interface design reflects the experience and vision of jef raskin, a highly regarded designer, perhaps best known for his creation of the apple macintosh project. I never intended the book of macintosh to be a book by me. Most of his ideas for the new machine were collected in a set of papers he called the book of macintosh. Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead the.
The company brought the swyftcard to market, which is a firmware card for the apple ii. Jef raskin, creator of the macintosh project, sends a memo to apple ceo mike scott, listing his many complaints about working with steve jobs. Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead the new. The machine that changed the world the first humanfriendly computer, the mac, turns 20. Well forever be in debt to jef raskin and steve jobs for changing our world for the better. As it turns out, macintosh is named after the mcintosh apple variety and it was proposed by jef raskin, the man who was in charge of the macintosh project. Bud tribble, steve jobs, joanna hoffman, jef raskin, rod holt. Jef raskin project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The humane interface is a gourmet dish from a master chef. Jef raskin, computer technology pioneer who started team that created. Jakob nielsen, nielsen norman group author of designing web usability. Sep 23, 2009 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. Now veteran technology writer and newsweek senior editor steven levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. 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.
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. New directions for designing interactive systems at. From the collection, a scannedin computerrelated document. Jef raskin was an american humancomputer interface expert best known for conceiving and starting the macintosh project at apple. Raskin, instead, proposes creating an easytouse personal computer. Id like to talk about the macintosh project before steve jobs. Mar 29, 2000 in the humane interface, jef raskin the legendary, controversial creator of the original apple macintosh project shows that there is another path. Jef could not abide steve jobs taking over the project, so he left the team by mid1981, and the company by early 1982. 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 is one of the most important people in personal computers, to this day. Raskin had studied computer science, taught music and visual arts, conducted a chamber opera company, and organized guerrilla theater. She began on the macintosh project in october 1980 as part of raskins initial team of burrell smith, bud tribble, and brian howard. A family statement said he had recently been diagnosed with.
The macintosh project was begun in 1979 by jef raskin, an apple employee who envisioned an easytouse, lowcost computer for the average consumer. Appreciation jef raskin, brains behind the userfriendly macintosh early apple developer wanted computers built for people, not just for programs jef raskin. Other books may show how to use todays widgets and interface ideas effectively. Genealogy profile for jef f raskin jef f raskin 1943 2005 genealogy genealogy for jef f raskin 1943 2005 family tree on geni, with over 190 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. It is important to hold to these limitations in order to keep the project. Jef raskin founded the macintosh project at apple, which led to the development of the apple mac and the popularisarion of the graphical userinterface. 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. Raskin, the founder of the macintosh project, wants a computer thats going to be affordable to everyone. Raskin was currently at work on a project called archy, where he hoped to put many of the ideas expressed in his book into software. 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. Jef had an idea of a much more focused machine in mind, not really a generalpurpose computer. This raises a question about the origins of the book of macintosh.
Timeline 1978 apple begins gamemachine project, codenamed annie. My understanding is that jef raskin left apple very early on in the evolution of what became the macintosh, and the project deviated very far from his original design goals. He later created the canon cat computer, and published a best selling book about user interface. Computing pioneer jef raskin died on saturday of pancreatic cancer. 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. Raskin is best known for starting the macintosh project at apple in the late seventies, though his later career as an. 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. In it, he listed his many complaints about working with. He later created the canon cat computer, and published a best selling book. Raskin was a philosophical guy who could be both playful and ponderous, writes walter isaacson in his book steve jobs. Articles from jef raskin about the history of the macintosh. His role on the macintosh was the initiator of the project, so it wouldnt be here if it werent for him.
Raskin selection from macintosh bible, 8th edition, the book. This unique guide to interactive system design reflects the experience and vision of jef raskin, the creator of the apple macintosh. Jef raskin originator of the apple macintosh project j5012 airfoil max thickness 12% at 34. Raskin had differing visions of what the macintosh should be. I can not find a copy of bruce horns original email. Nov 17, 2008 jef raskin, a remarkable person, died recently 26 feb. In 1982, jef raskin founded the company information appliance, inc.
Raskin is credited with significantly advancing the design of user interfaces. Jef raskin died of cancer on saturday february 26th after being sick for several months. This month my mac magazine is proud to present an interview done with jef raskin, considered by many mac enthusiasts to be the father of the mac. The cause was pancreatic cancer, said his wife, linda blum. Jef raskin article about jef raskin by the free dictionary.
How jef raskin started the macintosh project mac history. Because, if youre working on a project and youd like to manage it well, you have to have things documented. Making technology work simpler, he was at the heart of that from the first days at apple. 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. He took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions presented by both tim and russ. Apple launched macintosh on january 24, 1984 and changed. I first met him when he was a professor at the university of california, san diego ucsd in the early 1970s, and although his degree was in music, he was a professor of art, doing computer science, and art, and m. Macintosh systems did, however, find a successful market in education and desktop publishing, and kept apple as the secondlargest pc manufacturer for the next decade. Jef raskin, the lead designer of the first macintosh computer and a pioneer in the development of user interfaces, died saturday at age 61. Jef raskins book, the humane interface, is the single best human interface design book that i have read. Jef raskins book, the humane interface, is the single best human interface. Jef could not abide steve jobs taking over the project, so he left the team by.
Sep 06, 2010 i do have an impression that there were lingering bad vibes between raskin and jobs after the macintosh was born. Jef raskin, developer of macintosh computer, dead at 61. It helped catalyze a total change in the way computers were used, said jef raskin, the former. Raskin explains why todays interface techniques lead straight to a dead end, and offers breakthrough ideas for building systems users will understand and love. Mar 01, 2005 appreciation jef raskin, brains behind the userfriendly macintosh early apple developer wanted computers built for people, not just for programs jef raskin was known as the father of the. He created the macintosh project at apple in 1979, naming it after his favorite apple. Friction between raskin and jobs led to raskin s departure in the early 1980s, his son, aza raskin, said monday. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, insanely great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. Just by being project leader, and being someone who seems to write a lot, i ended up writing a lot of it. The macintosh project began in 1979 when jef raskin, an apple employee, envisioned an easytouse, lowcost computer for the average consumer.
Raskin, the founder of the macintosh project, wants a computer thats going to. Jef raskin, my father, below helped develop the macintosh, and i was. 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. Markkula then charged jef raskin with the secret annie project. A wonderful spirit and renaissance man, who inspired me and many others.
Jef raskin, one of the men credited with creating the apple macintosh, died of pancreatic cancer on saturday at the age of 61. If you like this quiz please give us a thumbs up and we will make sure to keep them co. Raskin was the original creator of the apple macintosh project before steve jobs. On february 19, 1981, jef raskin, creator of the macintosh project, sent a memo to apple ceo mike scott. In an experiment you have the experimental animals and the controls, and you sacrifice both.
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