Now there is little difference, except packaging, between a Mac and a Windows machine. Not no difference, but at home we have- along with six Macs (one for everybody plus my travelling iBook)- three PCs and one Linux box, and I can move from one to the other without having to think about it much. What used to be a night-and-day difference in usability has become a small increment in Apple's favor (or favour for you Brits).
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Platform differences have narrowed significantly, allowing users to switch seamlessly. Raskin notes the gap in usability has become small.
- In plain terms
- Platform differences have narrowed, making switching between them easier.
- What can you take from it?
- Embrace interoperability as platform differences shrink.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does platform matter less now?
- What features still differentiate OS?
Another view
Ecosystem lock-in still creates significant barriers for some users.
More from Jef Raskin
An interface is humane if it is responsive to human needs and considerate of human frailties.
Permalink to quote #11 I've moved on, grown and learned in the years since then, and am designing interfaces that make the Mac's GUI feel as clumsy to use as the Mac made the old DOS…
Permalink to quote #13 A computer shall not waste your time or require you to do more work than is strictly necessary.
Permalink to quote #10
Related quotes
From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.
Grace HopperGrace Hopper quote #1 Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining.
Jef RaskinJef Raskin quote #1 Remember, just because Microsoft can do something, doesn't mean you can. Microsoft makes their own gravity. Normal rules don't apply to them.
Joel SpolskyJoel Spolsky quote #1