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Tag: Jakob Nielsen

Did usability save Apple?

by on Feb.17, 2009, under Apple, Usability

We all know that the Apple brand is ease-of-use. But, usability expert Jakob Nielsen contends that this may very well be why Apple has survived all these years:

During its first decade, the Mac offered clearly superior usability compared to competing personal computer platforms…

The Mac’s miserable marketplace performance seems to pose a strong argument against usability. Why bother, if it doesn’t sell?

The counter-argument is that usability is the only reason Mac survived. Compared to the PC, it was much more expensive, had only a fraction of the specialized applications, and was cursed by Apple’s business-hostile attitude.

So why would anyone pay more for less? Because Macs were easier to use.

Excerpt from Macintosh: 25 Years, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/macintosh.html, viewed February 16, 2009.

It’s an inspirational article for usability, with links to many other interesting articles.

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