User:Laurier Rochon/readingnotes/downwithguis

Jef Raskin > Down with GUIs

I like this short text, but it is way too far into outer-utopian space that I have trouble taking it seriously...

"An operating system, even the saccharine Mac or Windows desktop, is the program you have to hassle with before you get to hassle with the application. It does nothing for you, wastes your time, is unnecessary. Some will ask, "How can you run a computer without an operating system?" But newcomers to computers know the answer. When they first see a desktop they ask a much more intelligent question: "What is all this crap? Why can't I just get about my business?" It takes about 8.2 seconds to make new users feel stupid. Professionals tell them, "That's the way computers work. That's the great GUI which makes computers so easy to use." The clever and correct insight is squashed. But computer interfaces can be designed so that you can just get to work (or play) with no intermediate finagling."