T
he question of who earned the name "father of the Macintosh" was recently energized by the death of one of its original creators, Jef Raskins. Mr. Raskins died February 26th, 2005, and that sparked a raft of news articles, including one at The Mac Observer, erroneously calling him the father of the Macintosh. Paul Andrews of the Seattle Times has taken up the topic in an editorial called "Macintosh paternity woven in Web."
We call the "father of the Mac" an erroneous title simply because Mr. Raskins would be better called the god-father of the Mac. He left Apple long before the Mac took its final form, even after having named and championed the project for many years, simply because he was unhappy with the way Steve Jobs was taking his project.
This has been debated hotly within geek circles through the ages, however; Mr. Andrews took up the subject after reading Andy Hertzfeldis book Revolution in the Valley (US$16.47 – Amazon) the story, from his perspective, of the creation of the Macintosh.
"In the bookis final chapter," wrote Mr. Andrews, "Hertzfeld thoughtfully addresses the question of Macintosh paternity. After arguing the case for each of a deserving list of candidates, Hertzfeld concludes that the mantle belongs to none other than Steve Jobs, largely because he shepherded the project to the market."
This, according to Mr. Andrews, is pretty much the proof in the pudding, but in the full article, Mr. Andrews explores these issues much further.
The editorial is of note, in part, because of its esoteric nature. It explores a subject in which most people are not in the least bit interested from the confines of a mainstream newspaper. As with all Mac-related articles in such publications, however, it helps get the platform more exposure.
Those interested in the story of the creation of the Macintosh might also find Owen Linzmayeris Apple Confidential 2.0 ($13.57 – Amazon), as well as his column with The Mac Observer called "This Week in Apple History," interesting.