Jef Raskin

computer easy use text graphics Steve Jobs

"What I proposed was a computer that would be easy to use, mix text and graphics, and sell for about $1,000. Steve Jobs said that it was a crazy idea, that it would never sell, and we didn't want anything like it. He tried to shoot the project down."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

computer waste time require work necessary

"A computer shall not waste your time or require you to do more work than is strictly necessary."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

interface product customer

"As far as the customer is concerned, the interface is the product."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

convenience results user want

"What users want is convenience and results."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

user interface beginner expert

"A well-designed and humane interface does not have to be split into beginner and expert subsystems."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

computer harm work inaction

"A computer shall not harm your work or, through inaction, allow your work to come to harm."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

user box care inside done

"Users do not care about what is inside the box, as long as the box does what they need done."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

interface humane responsive needs frailties

"An interface is humane if it is responsive to human needs and considerate of human frailties."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

computer waste time require work necessary

"A computer shall not waste your time or require you to do more work than is strictly necessary."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

advance terminology clear creativity

"If our field is 'to advance', we must - without displacing creativity and aesthetics - make sure our terminology is clear."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

music study Macintosh

"If I had not studied music, there would be no Macintosh computers today."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

product task interface implement desugn

"Once the product's task is known, design the interface first; then implement to the interface design."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

computer servant oppress

"Right now, computers, which are supposed to be our servant, are oppressing us."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

focus computer task memory complexity bureaucracy

"By choosing to focus on computers rather than the tasks we wanted done, we inherited much of the baggage that had accumulated around earlier generations of computers. It is more a matter of style and operating systems that need elaborate user interfaces to support huge application programs. These structures demand ever larger memories and complex peripherals. It's as if we had asked for a bit of part-time help and were given a bureaucracy."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

CPU quest bloated software application operating system

"The quest for CPU power has been largely defeated by bloated software in applications and operating systems."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

Apple develop accretion mac Windows Microsoft

"Apple now does development by accretion, and there is only a little difference between using a Mac and a Windows machine."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

definition operating system hassle application

"My definition of an operating system: What you have to hassle with before you get to hassle with the application."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

modeless car gas brake pedal interchange

"Picture yourself driving your car. Let’s say that every Thursday the gas pedal and the brake pedal are interchanged. It would drive you up the wall, or through it. You couldn’t live with it. Yet our computers change things around all the time by using 'modes'. A system should be 'modeless'. The same user action should always have the same effect."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

computer box run software

"my definition of a computer is 'a box for running software'".

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

message right stick principle practicality

"The messages were clear. One was: figure out what is right and then stick to your guns. Another: principle is more important than practicality. These were two of the beliefs that propelled the Macintosh as it came into being. I was not uncomfortable defying common wisdom."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

randomness universe accident design

"Too often we mistake the randomness of the universe as our own accomplishment when things go our way. Still more often we take that same randomness, when it goes against us, and regard it as punishment for our sins. In a complex world it is often impossible to tell accident from design."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)

Turing machine computer nature limitations

"It is widely believed that what computers can and cannot do is limited by what Turing machines can do. Turing machines are a mathematical invention of Alan Turing, and have proved invaluable in understanding the nature and limitations of algorithms. However, many philosophers have assumed that the limitations of Turing machines apply to computers. This is incorrect."

—Jef Raskin (1943-2005)