AndyHertzfeld
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Woz, Kottke, Hertzfeld discuss the 'Jobs' movie
John Vink, who was an Apple engineer between 1996 and 2012, managed to grab three of the people portrayed in the 2013 movie Jobs for a long discussion about the movie and Steve Jobs. It's an episode of John Wants Answers with Daniel Kottke, Andy Hertzfeld and Steve Wozniak. Kottke was a friend of Jobs from Reed College who traveled to India with the Apple co-founder, and later became an early Apple employee and Macintosh team member. Hertzfeld wrote much of the original Macintosh operating system software and later went on to co-found three companies, and Wozniak needs no introduction. The team tells some fascinating stories about Apple and Jobs, and it's well worth your time to watch the video for an Apple history lesson. [via The Mac Observer]
Andy Hertzfeld unhappy with Mac Pro update
Andy Hertzfeld, original Macintosh co-creator turned Google engineer, blasted Apple for its Mac Pro update. Hertzfeld said he was deeply disappointed "with the meagre (sic), lame update that was silently bequeathed to the Mac Pro today." Apple didn't touch on the Mac Pro during the keynote and later listed the computer with a "New" label on its store. A quick check of specs revealed only a small processor bump and RAM upgrade, with no updates to other features like Thunderbolt or USB 3.0. Hertzfeld says this improvement is "inconsequential" and adds "the only thing that's still high-end about it is the bloated price." He ends his rant by accusing Apple of "dropping the ball" on their high-end Macs and disappointing their "most loyal customers." [Via Engadget]
Mac Pro refresh irks Andy Hertzfeld, Apple confirms revisions 'likely' in 2013 (update)
Along with the introduction of new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro computers, Apple yesterday introduced a new swath of Mac Pro desktops. The introduction was a quiet one for sure, and WWDC attendees of Tim Cook's keynote were none the wiser. It's hard to fault Apple for the decision, as the upgrade was modest at best, but that's exactly what has most upset Andy Hertzfeld, one of the Mac's original designers. Now an employee of Google, Hertzfeld directed harsh criticism at Apple. The following is an excerpt from his Google+ profile: "The specs for the "new" Mac Pro had hardly changed, except for a tiny, inconsequential processor clock bump. Still no Thunderbolt, still no USB 3.0, no SATA III or RAM speed improvements -- it seems like it's stuck in time in 2010. The only thing that's still high-end about it is the bloated price." Yesterday's speed bump to the Mac Pro might've come as a disappointment to many power users, but we're given reason to believe that a more substantial upgrade is on the horizon. While it's somewhat uncharacteristic of Apple to comment on unreleased products, company representatives have confirmed to both David Pogue and Forbes that a new Mac Pro and iMac "will likely be released in 2013." Naturally, the wording intentionally leaves the possibility that we may see refreshes come a bit earlier -- and we'll certainly cross our fingers -- but for the moment, both systems seem like safe buys for those needing to upgrade their desktop Macs. For those willing to wait, however, we'd like to believe that Apple has a few tricks up its sleeve for 2013. Update: Apple has since circled back to Forbes to clarify that only the Mac Pro is targeted for an update in 2013. As for the iMac, we're merely left to hope that an Ivy Bridge refresh is already in the pipeline.
Andy Hertzfeld, 'former Macintosh wizard,' designed the Google+ Project
Google+ looks... a little different. Almost as if it didn't even come from Google. And those drag-and-drop circles? Luscious. Turns out, there's a reason for everything, and he goes by Andy Hertzfeld. According to an investigative piece put up by Wired, Andy's actually credited as being the "original Mac guy," responsible for software and user interface design while working for Apple between 1979 and 1984. He picked up a new role at Goog in 2005, but according to the report, "he had previously felt constrained because its design standards didn't allow for individual creativity." That all changed with Emerald Sea, a diddy that would eventually become known as the search giant's most ambitious foray yet into the wide world of social networking. It's bruited that Andy was given the freedom to go wild whilst designing Google+, and it shows -- the interface throughout is about as intuitive as one could ever hope. 'Course, it takes more than good design to seal a project, but there's no doubt that this is one heck of a start. The rest of the story? Tucked away in that source link, just south of here.
Google+ design credited to original Macintosh team member Andy Hertzfeld
You may have heard about Google+, the hot new sharing product from Google that went official today, and it sounds cool (sounds cool, but remember how cool Wave and Buzz sounded? Let's just say we're reserving excitement so far). But one exciting thing about the new project is how cool and smooth it looks, and TechCrunch has noted the reason for that look, based on Steven Levy's reporting: it's designed in part by Andy Hertzfeld, one of the members of the original Macintosh team back in the 1980s. Hertzfeld now works for Google, and supposedly he was let free to exercise his creative influence as he liked on the new Google+ system, creating something for the folks in Mountain View that looks like it might have come from the early days of the Cupertino company. Hertzfeld even credits some of his influence at Google to Apple's own resurgence lately, saying that Apple's sky-high relevance in the tech and mobile industry may have "had a little bit to do" with his chance to help create Google+. In other words, when you finally get one of those invites that are starting to float around, and finally log in to the system to see what it is and what it's like, take note of any Macintosh-related influences you might see. Odds are, they're Mr. Hertzfeld's work.
Found Footage: The Story of Macintosh
Denver-area Mac consultant Mike Kimble is no stranger to Apple; he worked at an Apple reseller prior to the introduction of the Mac in 1984, and he's been involved with Macs and other Apple products ever since. Mike recently found several old Apple tapes that were sent to his business back around the Mac intro, and his description of one of them says it all: "I found this VHS cassette while cleaning my office this week. This "Found Footage" comes from a video tape I received from Apple back in 1984 when the original 128K Mac was introduced. It was part of the authorized dealer training videos given to each store to help them become familiar with the Macintosh. You will see a very young Burrell Smith, Andy Hertzfeld, Phil Gibbons, Mitch Kapor, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. You really get a good feel for how proud and excited these people were for the creation of something special. Little did they know how much they were about to change the world..." My personal favorite scene is the one where Bill Gates is sitting with a 128K Mac on his desk. The video is divided into two parts; the second can be viewed by clicking the "read more" link below. Enjoy this trip down memory lane!
Welcome to Macintosh to air on CNBC on January 4th, 2010
If you missed Macworld Expo 2009 in San Francisco last January, then you probably missed the premiere showing of Welcome to Macintosh, an indie documentary that provides an intimate look at Apple's history. It's been shown at different times and places over the past year, and you can also buy it from iTunes, but now you can watch the documentary for free. On Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 9:30 PM ET, CNBC is broadcasting the documentary for the first time on a major network. Welcome to Macintosh features interviews with many of the early forces in Apple history, including Andy Hertzfeld, Guy Kawasaki, and Ron Wayne (often referred to as the "third founder" of Apple and the person who designed the original Apple logo). CNBC seems to be vying for the title of "The Apple Channel," as we reported yesterday that they're airing a special about the app revolution titled "Planet of the Apps: A Handheld Revolution" on January 7th. [via Macworld]
Mac founding-fathers appear at Welcome to Macintosh screening
This year at Macworld 2009, two documentary films about the Mac held screenings. While we didn't have anyone on-site at MacHEADS, a few of us were fortunate enough to attend Thursday night's screening of Welcome to Macintosh. Welcome to Macintosh, a documentary by Josh Rizzo and Rob Baca, chronicles the history of Apple and the Mac, using interviews with the people and the users that were there. Tony Walla contributed a great piece about the film last April, which fills in more background. While the film is amazing (the DVD is available now and it is chock-full of awesome), the discussion after the screening was truly magical. Five of the participants from the film, along with Very Special Guest, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, appeared on-stage and answered questions from the crowd. (See the Woz answer our own Mike Rose's question here) Read on for more historic geekiness...%Gallery-41649%
Found Footage: Andy Hertzfeld at Google
Andy Hertzfeld, the first Mac programmer ever, was recently at Google's New York City offices (which they keep very dark it would seem). He was there to give a talk about his book, Revolution in the Valley (which is based on his website Folklore.org). Oddly enough, the talk found its way onto Google Video (it is embedded in this post, or you can watch it here).The talk is a little over an hour long. Enjoy!
Chandler 0.6: The Experimentally Useable Calendar
iCalendar gives me a bit of a headache each time I go look at it, so it's nice to know that a small team of dedicated open source developers, including Andy Hertzfeld, are developing a Calendar and personal organizer application called Chandler. I've downloaded the 0.6 version, and it looks like the developers definitely have put the right foot forward with this one. If you're a python programmer, they're looking for help. If you want to help with debugging as an end user, they'll take your help too!The user interface is quite pleasant, even if still in the rudimentary phase of development. Calendaring functions include layered data, integration with chat and email, and much more. Check out the Chandler team'sphilosophy and while you're at it, an interview of Andy Hertzfeld at NerdTV (Episode 1 of NerdTV at the bottom of the page).[via Boing Boing]
