Andy Hertzfeld, (shown above, sat on the chair with the keyboard) was one of the original designers of the Macintosh and author of the book, Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made, which chronicles the efforts to create the Mac. He currently works at Google as a Software Engineer.

Here are a few excerpts from the interview, to read the rest click here

Int: Was there any feeling on the Apple engineers that any–guilt is probably too strong a word but feeling like you know Xerox had these great ideas. I guess Xerox really let them go to waste but–.

AH: Oh there was nothing like that; Steve Jobs has a good quote. It’s actually a Picasso quote that he often cites; he cited it at one of our retreats which was sort of good artists copy; great artists steal. And what that means is that when you’re passionate about what you’re doing you’ll take ideas from anywhere and with no guilt. You want to make the best possible thing and that was our mentality.

On steve jobs:

Int: Do you think he had more of an influence in terms of keeping the project going and keeping funding and things like that or more of a technical and design inspiration?

AH: Steve made zero technical contributions. He’s not a technical person, so his main contribution was setting the goal, setting a very high goal, and then being really passionate about exceeding the expectations, trying to make every single conceivable aspect of the product as brilliant and creative and wonderful as possible.
So a lot of it was just the driving force and the passion. But Steve also helped in a zillion ways really, and in the organization at Apple at the time of the Macintosh already was more than 1,000 people at the company and there [were] lots of politics.

The Mac kind of competed with both the LISA and the Apple II; it was sort of a computer price like the Apple II that behaved like a LISA. So as you can imagine there were lots of political pressures and the project simply couldn’t have happened at all if it wasn’t for the stature of Steve and the organization to withstand those pressures.

You can also hear the podcast that this interview was transcribed from here

Hooray!

The new expansion cinematic for World of Warcraft has finally been released and here it is! I was lucky to find the Vimeo version which is high definition but as you cannot embed the HD version click here to watch it. It’s seriously worth while.

I have finally decided that because of all the travelling back and forth from london I have been doing, it is time to get a laptop!

So yesterday I called up the Apple store and got myself a Macbook. Should arrive anyday now, and I really can’t wait. I already have an iMac, as you may or may not already be aware, but staying down in London for weeks on end… and at this rate… god knows how long it’s going to take me to get that permanent job of my dreams down there.

Freelancing is fun and varied but I guess what I am after is job security, and a steady stream of money so I can get my own place.

(If anyone is based in London reading this and you’re looking for a Junior Designer feel free to contact me and in the mean time have a look at my portfolio page.)

So I am officially a new improved portable version of myself! Expect more work and more blog posts… and hopefully… a shiny new job!

… and stop blogging!

Click for the full size version, I think I’ve found a new desktop background!!

found on the wonder that is Made in England via ffffound

A poster with an alterable structure to display messages - a visually professional and attention grabbing alternative to messy blackboard writings.

“Pixel It” consists of two layers of paper. Cuts on the white outer layer allow the user to fold parts out and therefore create a “Pixel-Structure” by showing the coloured layer underneath.

Source

The text reads:

“Albums employed text, photographs and graphic design to illustrate how a network of artists created a musical language together.
Without the physical album, online music stores will play a much larger role in teaching new listeners. The digital music era should offer listeners more information not less” - Wayne Bremser

Online music retailers have not yet to take full advantage of mp3s metadata flat liner notes are rarely included, album artwork is unnecessarily small, and the provided info and release dates are often woefully incorrect.

With enough support we can encourage the industry to improve the quality of information provided with its downloads. To commemorate the 5th anniversary of the iTunes music store this April please sign the online petition and refrain from downloading digital music of all forms.

We owe it to the music fans of the future.

Um also, I am aware that this is really out of date! I found it here via ffffound

“A love of letters is the beginning of typographical wisdom”

I found this beautiful video from Sébastien Abes via Vimeo (my website of the moment!) The combination of the music, the colour and the tranquility of the countryside makes me wish I was outside having a picnic under a tree.

Personally, my favourite shot is of the sunbeams on the hillside. Perfection! Click here to see it in HD.