Jef raskin book of macintosh project

This is an archive of documents, source code, roms, etc for human computer interaction projects of jef raskin. The documents include raskins thoughts on the macintoshs features, cost, design, and use. He studied mathematics and philosophy at the state university of new york at stony brook, and computer science at penn state. Jef raskin project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Jef raskin started the macintosh project at apple in 1979 to pursue his ideas that computer could be easy to use, unlike the apple ii. Jan 03, 2001 if youre attending next weeks macworld expo in san francisco, youll have a chance to meet jef raskin, who started the mac project at apple in 1979. After many years criticizing computers, raskins attempt to build an alternative interface, the archy. 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. In fact, it gave me some ideas for a project i had worked on last year. Raskin, however, demonstrates that many current interface paradigms are dead ends, and that to make computers significantly easier. So its chronologically not possible for that visit to have. March 9, 1943 february 26, 2005 was an american humancomputer interface expert best known for conceiving and starting the.

For something like this you can also see butler lampsons document why alto here at the digibarn. This is an outline for a computer designed for the. For all that the project had been in existence for over eighteen months already, there was very little really to macintosh at the time of the takeover just raskin s voluminous writings and some crude hardware based on an obsolete chip that resoundingly failed to live up to the visions expressed in the book of macintosh. Jef raskin, one of the men credited with creating the apple macintosh, died of pancreatic cancer on saturday at the age of 61. Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead the new. In 1982, jef raskin founded the company information appliance, inc. Jef raskin launched the macintosh project at apple, so he knows from manmachine interfaces. Jef raskin earned a place in computer history as the originator of the macintosh computer, launched by the apple computer corporation in 1984. Most of his ideas for the new machine were collected in a set of papers he called the book of macintosh.

On the surface it was not unlike the dedicated word processors popular in the late 1970s to early 1980s, but it was far more powerful and incorporated many unique ideas for data manipulation. The mac in 2020 would still follow jef raskin s aim of being the simplest computer to use, but it is the apple silicon m1 processor that would be unrecognizably fast. The following analysis will focus on the first apple macintosh introduced in january 1984 constituted a milestone in the history of computers. You can read volumes about jef raskin s team and how the macintosh finally made it to production. Jef raskins book, the humane interface, is the single best human interface. Jobs lobbied for a bigger budget for the project and got it. Appreciation jef raskin, brains behind the userfriendly.

Jef raskin was an american humancomputer interface expert best known for conceiving and starting the macintosh project at apple. Jun 10, 2020 you can read volumes about jef raskin s team and how the macintosh finally made it to production. On february 19, 1981, jef raskin, creator of the macintosh project, sent a memo to apple ceo mike scott. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive. Raskin started the macintosh project in 1979 while working at apple writing computer manuals. My column, measure for measure, offers insights into songwriting, based on my recent book, compose yourself, which was inspired in large part by music lessons with jef raskin, creator of the.

See our histories of the desktop metaphor including xerox and parc back to jef raskin s pages at the digibarn. 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 project long after jef left the company. Feb 28, 2002 dubbed macintosh by raskin, the project ultimately led to the computer we know and love today. Jef raskin, the lead designer of the first macintosh computer and a pioneer in the development of user interfaces, died saturday at age 61. In 2000 he published a book, the humane interface, that is widely assigned at universities. Those books were written after the fact, through the lens of longterm success. Raskins greatest legacies was the macintosh project, which was taken over by mr. You wrote a book recently the humane interface discussing the interface between. Other books may show how to use todays widgets and interface ideas effectively. At first the members had only the basic principles set forth by mr. Collection of documents relating to the early design of the macintosh. Raskin was a philosophical guy who could be both playful and ponderous, writes walter isaacson in his book steve jobs. Raskin was the original creator of the apple macintosh project before steve jobs.

This would be a great goal, but to have the device always on, has ecological and economical downsides that are just not addressed. Propably just because it doesnt cling to what is possible, but what should be possible. So jef proposes for computers not to have any powerswitch and to be instanton on any touch. The fact was that the macintosh project was officially started it had really been started in 1978 it was approved and was a going project before that visit took place. But this note is not to commemorate his life, nor to discuss his boo. Sep 18, 2018 ultimately, a few things killed the original macintosh project. Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead the. The card featured a program package which was also offered on disk as swyftware. He created the initial macintosh vision of an easy to use appliance computer, and hired the initial development that made it happen. Bud tribble, steve jobs, joanna hoffman, jef raskin, rod holt. Anecdotes about the development of apples original macintosh, and the people who made it 12 stories real artists ship. Just by being project leader, and being someone who seems to write a lot, i ended up writing a lot of it. Page 1 of 1 jef raskin, one of the men credited with creating the apple macintosh, died of pancreatic cancer on saturday at the age of 61.

First, raskin and jobs were both abrasive people with big egos, and raskin had circumvented jobs rather than convincing him in. Feb 01, 2012 in 1982, jef raskin founded the company information appliance, inc. The book presents breakthrough solutions for navigation, error management, and mo. Jef raskin originator of the apple macintosh project j5012 airfoil max thickness 12% at 34. Jef raskin, computer technology pioneer who started team that created. Even after leaving apple in 1982, raskin continued to push for a friendlier user interface. In it, he listed his many complaints about working with steve jobs. The company brought the swyftcard to market, which is a firmware card for the apple ii. Jef raskin, a remarkable person, died recently 26 feb.

Before joining apple he taught computer science at the university of california, san diego. Raskin, a former college professor, had a keen interest in human factors and ergonomics. Figute 3 jef raskin s macintosh case signature figure 4 jef raskin in 1984 note. Raskin is often referred to as the father of the macintosh. But what does it look like when a research project turns into a marketable product that isnt backed by a silicon valley stamp of approval, or the kind of resources. In those first four chapters, raskinthe inventor of the macintoshoffers what i think is a terrific introduction to the basics of interface design, cognetics and the quantification of interfaces.

Jobs to guide them, as well as the example set by the lisa. Jef was writing his book of macintosh during much of 1979 and all of 1980, articulating his vision in ever finer detail. But this note is not to commemorate his life, nor to discuss his book the. Raskin, the founder of the macintosh project, wants a computer thats. 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. How jef raskin started the macintosh project mac history. Raskin was currently at work on a project called archy, where he hoped to put many of the ideas. It took some months, and i had to write a variety of planning documents, which eventually became the foundation of the book of macintosh, but eventually the project got approved. I lapped it up, despite raskins occasionally convoluted writing style. Theres no doubt that jef was the creator of the macintosh p. They published a lot, which was a great help to the rest of the world. The macintosh project apple computer network 1979 in mid to late 1979, jef raskin wrote the following version of his concept for the macintosh project at apple. He had been diagnosed recently with pancreatic cancer.

Published in 2000, the book is a critique of computer interfaces including the macs. I wished apple would have published a little bit more. For this excerpt see the macintosh project apple computer network by jef raskin fall 1979. Mar 01, 2005 jef raskin was known as the father of the macintosh for his early work designing what became apple computer inc. Jeffrey youngs book steve jobs, published in 1988, is one of a number that not only share the. Mar 03, 2005 after a series of clashes with steve jobs, who gradually wrested control of the project from him, raskin quit apple in the summer of 1981, three years before the macintosh eventually launched. Now hes written a book that explains in detail how to distinguish good interfaces from bad ones. Jef could not abide steve jobs taking over the project, so he left the team by mid1981, and the company by early 1982. Feb 26, 2005 jef raskin was the apple computers human computer interface expert who had a large role in creating the macintosh.

Jef raskin was apple computers thirtyfirst employee, its manager of publications, and manager of the macintosh project from 1979 to 1982. I always liked david, and there were a number of reasons for including his piece. In the humane interface, jef raskin the legendary, controversial creator of the original apple macintosh project shows that there is another path. The macintosh project began in 1979 when jef raskin, an apple employee, envisioned an easytouse, lowcost computer for the average consumer. He attended the state university of new york where he earned bachelors degrees in mathematics. For reference also see the genesis and history of the macintosh project by jef raskin 1981. For one, it supported my view of word processing text editing. Jef could not abide steve jobs taking over the project, so he left the team by mid1981, and the company. Genesis and history of the macintosh project stanford university. Oct 21, 2004 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. Feb 28, 2005 jef raskin, the computer interface expert who launched the macintosh project for apple computer, died saturday at age 61. He later created the canon cat computer, and published a best selling book about user interface. Burrells 6809based prototype came alive in the early part of 1980, but then he went off to work on the low cost apple ii project.

David alzofon columnist american songwriter magazine. Joining us is jef raskin jr who started the apple macintosh project. Jef raskin, catalog to macintosh documents 28 september 14 october 1980 in the macintosh project. All of the figures within this paper were scanned using the thunderscan scanner.

Macintosh wikipedia at the same time that the lisa was becoming a gui machine in 1979, jef raskin started the macintosh project. Jef raskin, 61, developer of apple macintosh, is dead. Visit the image gallery 14 images or view recent comments. 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. I am editing this on a portable, batterypowered, macintosh power book 180. The decision on what form the macintosh would take was left largely to the design group. Theres no doubt that jef was the creator of the macintosh project at apple. This unique guide to interactive system design reflects the experience and vision of jef raskin, the creator of the apple macintosh. I never intended the book of macintosh to be a book by me.