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About this quote

What does it mean?
Raskin aims to evolve his designs so current systems feel primitive compared to old DOS ones. He seeks continuous improvement in usability.
In plain terms
Aim to make new systems feel advanced compared to old ones.
What can you take from it?
Strive for continuous improvement in usability over time.

Where it applies

  • interface design
  • product updates
  • UX benchmarking

Putting it to work

  • measure usability gains
  • benchmark against competitors
  • iterate designs

Questions to consider

  • How do you measure interface progress?
  • What makes a system feel clumsy?

Another view

Incremental improvements may not always be noticeable to users.

More from Jef Raskin

  1. 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 eve…

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  2. I'm developing cross platform now, and I'm as interested in helping as many people as possible to have a better experience when using computers. Morality deman…

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  3. An interface is humane if it is responsive to human needs and considerate of human frailties.

    Permalink to quote #11

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