Gaia's Stepdaughters

From Backus, Turing to Woz and Gates, nerds worship and adore many. I myself prefer conventional demi-gods like Gandi, Mill or Russell. Jeff Raskin is one of the few nerds I adore. After reading "The Humane Interface", I realised Raskin was ahead of his time. His real legacy is in his message: "understanding the needs of the user". His vision of the computer as a cheap appliance for the masses was originally put forward in an essay "Computers by the Millions" sometime in the late 70's. Raskin would later design and build the information applicance and the canon cat. But it is for his contributions to the Apple Macintosh project that he will be best remembered for.

"Raskin also had other interests. He conducted the San Francisco Chamber Opera Society and played three instruments. His artwork was displayed at New York's Museum of Modern Art. He received a patent for airplane wing construction. He was an accomplished archer, target shooter and an occasional race car driver." -- from [Wikipedia - Jeff Raskin]