The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems

Amazon.com Price: $54.99 (as of 05/05/2019 15:12 PST- Details)

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Deep thinking is rare in this field where most companies are glad to copy designs that were great back in the 1970s. The Humane Interface is a gourmet dish from a master chef. Five mice! –Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman Group Writer of Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity This unique guide to interactive system design reflects the experience and vision of Jef Raskin, the author of the Apple Macintosh. Other books may show how to use todays widgets and interface ideas effectively. Raskin, on the other hand, demonstrates that many current interface paradigms are dead ends, and that to make computers significantly easier to use requires new approaches. He explains how to effect desperately needed changes, offering a wealth of innovative and specific interface ideas for software designers, developers, and product managers. The Apple Macintosh helped to introduce a previous revolution in computer interface design, drawing on the best available technology to establish many of the interface techniques and methods now universal in the computer industry. With this book, Raskin proves again both his farsightedness and his practicality. He also demonstrates how design ideas must be bui
“The book that explains why you in reality hate computers.”

I’ve admired Jef Raskin for years. For those who don’t know, he is the “Father of the Macintosh,” some of the original geniuses who guided the Mac in the early days. But, more than a pc scientist, Raskin is a cognitive psychologist. He studies how the brain works with special emphasis on how that relates to us the use of computers. His magnum opus was the Canon Cat, which was an excellent and well-thought-out little computer.

In The Humane Interface, Raskin goes into detail describing how computers can be made easier to understand and use. Ever want to know why you in reality don’t like Windows? The answer is in this book. In truth, there’s so much in this book that makes sense, I in reality want to send a copy to every employee at Microsoft.

I loved reading this book and nodding my head in rabid agreement. Raskin states, “There has never been any technical reason for a pc to take quite a lot of seconds to begin operation when it is turned on.” So why then does Windows (or Linux!) take so darn long to start up? The PalmPilot is on instantly, as is your cell phone. But for some reason, we tolerate the computer taking a few eons to start. (And until consumers complain about it, things won’t change.)

Computers can be easy to use, and the people who design them and design software need to read this book. Do you ever get the impression that the person who designed a piece of software must have come from the same company that designed the front panel on your VCR? Why should you have to double-click anything? What does Ctrl+D mean one thing in one program and a completely different thing in another? And what’s the point of the Yes/No confirmation if the user is in the habit of clicking Yes without thinking about it? Raskin neatly probes all these areas.

At the same time as I admire everything Raskin has to say, the book is pretty heavy on the psychology end. Myself, I enjoy cognitive psychology (especially books by Raskin’s cohort Donald Norman), though some may find that part of the book boring. Even so, Raskin builds and backs his argument in a most eloquent and scientific manner. Especially if you design software or need to teach or train people to use computers, this book deserves a spot on your shelf. –Dan Gookin

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