Jef Raskin, Apple employee #31, founded the Macintosh project that pioneered the graphical user interface before leaving in 1981 when Steve Jobs took over. Raskin designed the Mac to be graphical from the start, countering misconceptions that he preferred text interfaces. His vision focused on creating "appliance-like" computers that would be invisible to users, allowing them to concentrate on tasks rather than the computing process.

After leaving Apple, Raskin developed the Canon Cat, famously mis-marketed by the company, and later created The Humane Environment (THE). His current project aims to make computers so intuitive they disappear from conscious thought. Raskin criticized modern Macs for becoming complex, noting that Apple now develops by "accretion" with third-party manuals nearly reaching 1000 pages.

Raskin believed the quest for CPU power was largely defeated by bloated software, with programmers writing inefficient code expecting future hardware to compensate. While he acknowledged progress in application richness, he argued that unnecessary complexity impedes utility for many users. His enduring vision remains computers that serve human needs rather than requiring users to adapt to technical constraints.