Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> Mercury rejects the Desktop Metaphor and App Ecosystems as fundamentally inhumane.

Inhumane is a strange word choice, to say the least. It’s neat to think about the possibilities of future UX, but to suggest the current system is cruel just sounds ridiculous.




It is a direct reference to Jef Raskin's work, which he called the Humane Interface.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Humane_Interface

He is namechecked right there in the story as a pointer. You're on the WWW. If you don't recognise the name, the idea is that you Google it and find out. That's how this stuff works. It's not 1993; you don't need to try to guess what they meant...


i don't think inhumane is intended as cruel, more as "not aligned" with how human are/think/work.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: