Gerry Heidenreich

I can't believe I forgot this book in in my book post... The Humane Interface is one of the best technology books I've ever read.  Jef Raskin used his expertise in cognetics to analyze current interfaces into our current technogies, from the alarm clock to an aircraft cockpit.  He applied his extensive knowledge of the human mind's abilities and limits to the things we use (and for us lucky ones, create) every day.  He took a revolutionary approach, scrapping the ideas of current interfaces like the keyboard & mouse (which are, for the most-part, evolved from their primordial descendants).

Though Jef was known as the “Father of the Macintosh”, The Human Interface centers on the psychological side of interfaces, and is equally biased against current platforms.  Though the book is very technical and hard to read at times, there are gems of information on every single page.  There were nights where I read & re-read a section 5 times over before throwing in the towel & going to sleep.  Usually by morning (after some good sleep), it was crystal clear.  The ideas presented in The Humane Interface are applicable to everything we create, from our most basic classes and interfaces, to the most complex forms and reports.

ZOOMDEMO - A prototype demo of his revolutionary insights can be found [here], it's an 8mb flash file, so give it time to load up. 

I truly believe that Jef's visions could significantly influence all of us, the craftsmen that are building the bridges that span between data and people.

Other Jef Raskin sites:
JefRaskin.com - Jef's official site
JefTheMovie.com
The Raskin Center
Jeff's Influence on the world