JefRaskin

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An independent interface and system design consultant, one of the originators of the Apple Macintosh project, until SteveJobs? decided he wanted to head up the project. As a response, he went to Canon and developed the CanonCat. Raskin didn't like the Macintosh and disapproved of MS operating systems even more.

Author of The HumaneInterface (ISBN 0-201-37937-6 (alternate, search)), a book calling into question many conventions used in computer interfaces.

He argued for a much more keyboard-centric UI, incremental searches, abolition of file names (users should use search to find the right file - but what about binaries?), abolition of the distinctions between different apps, an end to menus as we know them (to be replaced by handy text files with all the commands typed in already), and even much less customizability on the part of the user.

Jef Raskin passed away on February 27, 2005. [1]

See also BruceTognazzini, another user interface pundit.

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JefRaskin

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