Interfaces Quotes

• A computer terminal is not some clunky old television with a typewriter in front of it. It is an interface where the mind and body can connect with the universe and move bits of it about.

  Douglas Adams

  Moving, Technology, Typewriters

  Douglas Adams (2009). “Mostly Harmless”, p.57, Pan Macmillan

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• A well-designed and humane interface does not have to be split into beginner and expert subsystems.

  Jef Raskin

  Simplicity, Design, Experts

  "The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems".

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• A general principle for all user interface design is to go through all of your design elements and remove them one at a time.

  Jakob Nielsen

  Design, Principles, Elements

  Jakob Nielsen (2000). “Designing Web Usability”, New Riders Pub

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• I am only a footnote, but proud of the footnote I have become. My subsequent work on eliciting principles and developing the theory of interface design, so that many people will be able to do what I did is probably also footnote-worthy. In looking back at this turn-of-the-century period, the rise of a worldwide network will be seen as the most significant part of the computer revolution.

  Jef Raskin

  People, Design, Principles

  Interview in "The Guardian", October 21, 2004.

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• First was the mouse. The second was the click wheel. And now, we're going to bring multi-touch to the market. And each of these revolutionary interfaces has made possible a revolutionary product - the Mac, the iPod and now the iPhone.

  Steve Jobs

  Iphone, Ipods, Firsts

  Steve Jobs (0101). “Motivating Thoughts of Steve Jobs”, p.60, Prabhat Prakashan

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• A picture is worth a thousand words. An interface is worth a thousand pictures.

  Ben Shneiderman

  Technology, Design, Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

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• I am suggesting that we recognize that in network and interface research there is something as profound (and potential wild) as Artificial Intelligence.

  Vernor Vinge

  Profound, Research, Artificial Intelligence

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• I have discovered that there are two types of command interfaces in the world of computing: good interfaces and user interfaces.

  Daniel J. Bernstein

  Two, World, User Interface

  "The qmail security guarantee" by Daniel J. Bernstein, cr.yp.to.

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• First, I'd like to see the basic tools such as compilers, debuggers, profilers, database interfaces, GUI builders, CAD tools, and so forth fully support the ISO standard.

  Bjarne Stroustrup

  Support, Tools, Cad

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

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• I think complexity is mostly sort of crummy stuff that is there because it's too expensive to change the interface.

  Jaron Lanier

  Change, Technology, Thinking

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• People who work on the user interface side need to have empathy as a key characteristic. But if you are writing device drivers you don't really need to understand humans so well.

  Andy Hertzfeld

  Writing, Keys, People

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• Once the product's task is known, design the interface first; then implement to the interface design.

  Jef Raskin

  Design, Tasks, Firsts

  Jef Raskin (2000). “The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems”, p.5, Addison-Wesley Professional

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• As far as the customer is concerned, the interface is the product.

  Jef Raskin

  Educational, Design, Experience

  Jef Raskin (2000). “The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems”, p.5, Addison-Wesley Professional

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• One of the problems with computers, particularly for the older people, is they were befuddled by them, and the computers have gotten better. They have gotten easier to use. They have gotten less expensive. The software interfaces have made things a lot more accessible

  Steve Case

  People, Use, Computer

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• In many cases the user interface to a program is the most important part for a commercial company: whether the programs works correctly or not seems to be secondary.

  Linus Torvalds

  Important, Economy, Program

  "Linux's Linus Torvalds Interview". Interview with Hiroo Yamagata, www.drdobbs.com. January 1, 2002.

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

  Jef Raskin

  Needs, Frailty, Considerate

  Jef Raskin (2000). “The Humane Interface: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems”, p.6, Addison-Wesley Professional

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• Since changing interfaces breaks clients you should consider them as immutable once you've published them.

  Erich Gamma

  Clients, Break, Should

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• The librarian isn't a clerk who happens to work in a library. A librarian is a data hound, a guide, a sherpa and a teacher. The librarian is the interface between reams of data and the untrained but motivated user.

  Seth Godin

  Teacher, Data, Clerks

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• A user interface is well-designed when the program behaves exactly how the user thought it would.

  Joel Spolsky

  Program, User Interface, Wells

  "User Interface Design For Programmers". Book by Joel Spolsky, www.joelonsoftware.com. October 24, 2001.

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• Computer science departments have always considered 'user interface' research to be sissy work.

  Nicholas Negroponte

  Research, Computer, User Interface

  "Lifestreams" by Steve G. Steinberg, www.wired.com. February 1, 1997.

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• I came up almost completely through the subsidised theatre. I have never been absolutely at the market interface, where I've got to sell my wares or die - I've always been protected from that.

  Harriet Walter

  Theatre, Protected, Dies

  "Life's looking up, Dame Harriet". Interview with Aida Edemariam, www.theguardian.com. January 15, 2011.

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• Computing has gone from something tiny and specialized to something that affects every walk of life. It doesn't make sense anymore to think of it as just one discipline. I expect to see separate departments of user interface, for example, to start emerging at universities.

  Nathan Myhrvold

  Thinking, Discipline, Tiny

  "Lifestreams" by Steve G.Steinberg, www.wired.com. February 01, 1997.

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• It had long been established in the Civil Worlds that public business was to be transparent, and personal business opaque; but it was as well recognised that the two would always have a turbulent interface, and that the clique, the caucus, and the conspiracy were as ineradicable features of civility as the council or the committee.

  Ken MacLeod

  Two, Long, Opaque

  Ken MacLeod (2012). “Learning The World: A novel of first contact”, p.113, Hachette UK

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• Complexity assertions have to be part of the interface

  Alexander Stepanov

  Complexity, Assertion

  "C Programming". Interview with Al Stevens, collaboration.cmc.ec.gc.ca. 1995.

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• But biology and computer science - life and computation - are related. I am confident that at their interface great discoveries await those who seek them.

  Leonard Adleman

  Discovery, Computer, Biology

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