Jef Raskin Talks Skins

gwernol writes "Jef Raskin, one of the original Mac design team and a distinguished figure in the world of user interface design has given an interesting interview over on OS Opinion. He talks about the tradeoff between interface consistency and customizability, and particularly the impact of skinnable applications on usability. Interesting reading, including some harsh words for "guru UI designers" like Steve Jobs..."

Comments

Hmm...

[Waffle Iron]

In our group's machines, I strongly encourage everybody to leave all the settings at the default, or if somebody makes a strong case (strong does not mean "I like it") for a particular change, we all make it. That way we can move from machine to machine without going berserk or even feeling a little ill at ease.

In our group, I strongly encourage everyone to keep their fscking mitts off of my machine. That way nobody gets hurt.

Thinking outside the Jef...

[souja]

Yeah when you are so full of yourself, it gets hard to think about alternate solutions...

I think the adoption of fully skinnable GUI that is built into the OS is the way to go. When that happens, the OS will be able to allow the customizations to follow the USER instead of staying with the MACHINE -- like the limited way login preferences are currenly used.

That way your Britney Spears themed desktop will appear no matter what computer you log into in your workgroup.

Problem solved. Everybody's happy.

Funny Stuff!

[Anonymous Coward]

Jef: I remember one client of mine who boasted about his customizable desktop and how he never had to reboot his software. I set the system font to red and the background to red. You couldn't see a thing. He spent a few minutes trying to find and open the now-invisible menus that would let him change one of the colors.

He had to reboot. His system was good in that it automatically saved the user preferences, so it came up red on red. He had not only to reboot, but to reload the software, losing all his demo data.

Ha ha, Jef! That sure was a good trick you played on him! I'll bet he'll never argue with a "GUI expert" again (or even let him into the room). I'll bet you get lots of loyal clients with lessons like that!

I remember one client of mine who boasted that his computer was really fast and reliable. I chucked the whole lot out his fourth story window: cost him $4K to get it replaced. Sure was fast on the way down, but I guess the reliability wasn't quite what he expected when it hit bottom.

Another time, a friend was boasting about how customizable his Linux box was, so I showed him how lame a customizable OS is by removing his kernel and most of his utilities...but that's a story for another day.

Rock on, Jef! And remember, everyone: if you let users set their desktop wallpaper, it will make them spectacularly less productive, and at that point the enemies of freedom have already won. It's user choice vs. freedom, folks, and heaven help us all if you aren't willing to sacrifice your petty preferences in defense of our liberty!

User Interface Consistency

[guttentag]

Isn't it interesting that Jef preaches against the evils of inconsistency, yet he spells his first name in a manner that is inconsistent with the common spelling?

Jakob Nielsen would say the spelling hurts the usability of Jef's name because it goes against our conditioning. Everywhere he goes, he must bear the burden of correcting people who misspell his name.

I'd say Jef is either quite angry with his parents' creative streak or there's something inconsistent about his behavior.

Quick Summary Of Raskin's comments

[Anonymous Coward]

"Blah blah blah blah

Even if a user interface sucks, as long as its consistent, its a better interface.

Besides which, you are an amateur, I am a professional, therefore your opinion is pretty much worthless.

And anyway, Microsoft sucks"

I think that sums up Jef's "intelligent" comments.