We're saddened to learn of the passing of Jef Raskin,
a multi-talented pioneer in computers and interface design who is best
known for originating the Macintosh project at Apple. He died on
Saturday.
While the Macintosh was ultimately the result of contributions and
vision from the large team that evolved, Raskin set out its original
design goals as that team's first member, named the 'McIntosh' for his
favorite apple variety, and originated interface concepts like "click
and drag." He continued to teach and innovate in interface design up to
his death; he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. (See the press release from the family.)
Jef Raskin joined Apple as employee number 31 the month I was born. You can read some great anecdotes
about his character at Andy Hertzfeld's Folklore.org. After Apple, he
went on to continue to develop new ideas in interfaces, culminating in
the Raskin Center for Humane Interfaces project which will continue in his absence. A Web-based movie project will document his life.
Here at createdigitalmusic, we're honored by Mr. Raskin's contributions
on a number of levels. One of his greatest loves was music, as a
composer and orchestral soloist, and his unique creativity and spirit
is inseperable from the Macintosh and other computers we know today.
(You can learn about the importance of music to him, as well as see him
playing the recorder, at the movie site.) His vision of a low-cost
computer for the masses that was easy to use
was a major part of making computers accessible for creative
expression, at the very heart of our hopes about computers for music
and other arts. He continued to aggressively push for new change, as a
professor and writer, developing new paradigms for user interfaces long
after the acceptance of the GUI. As we look for new innovations in
interfaces for music, it's moving to note this pioneer who wasn't
afraid to rile others up with new ideas. Condolences to the family and
on behalf of computer users everywhere, Jef, we'll miss you.