Jeff Raskin, widely considered the father of the Macintosh computer, has died. Visit folklore.org for stories chronicling the birth of the computer Jef named after his favorite varietal (but misspelled in order to avoid confusion). Jef's contributions to the development of simple, intelligible, "humane" computing environments didn't end with the Mac; learn more here and here.
posted by killdevil on Feb 27, 2005 - 20 comments

Who was Ellen Raskin? Even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably read her Newbery Award-winning YA novel The Westing Game. You might even have her illustrated edition of A Child's Christmas in Wales, which she printed on her own as a sample to show publishers when trying to jump-start a freelance career. She listed some of her influences as "Blake, Conrad, Hawthorne, James, Nabokov, Piero della Francesca, Calude Lorrain, Gaugin, Matisse, Fantasia, baseball, hockey, zoos, medicine, and Spain." [more inside]
posted by redshoes3 on Aug 30, 2002 - 13 comments