Lambda the Ultimate

It is with deep sadness that I have learned of the passing of one of the greatest minds of our age.

On February 26th, 2005 Jef Raskin died leaving behind a loving family and a legacy of creativity that will serve as an endowment from which we shall all continue to benefit in the years ahead.

Jef is perhaps best know as the Father of the Macintosh, although his work has long since moved beyond it with the founding of The Raskin Center for Humane Interfaces which is developing a quite novel alternative to today's desktop systems.

Readers of Lambda the Ultimate will find his observations on "More Humane Programming Language Environments" in his magna opus, The Humane Interface to be of particular interest.

I only knew Jef briefly, having met him at MacWorld Boston last summer. He was truly a visionary and his writing and email correspondence contained many valuable pointers and insights that shall serve as an inspiration in my personal research and in the ongoing work of The Institute for End User Computing, Inc. for years to come.

All of us at The IEUC wish Jef's family comfort in this difficult time and we wish The Raskin Center for Humane Interfaces a glowing future.