Tag: Jakob Nielsen
Did usability save Apple?
by Larry Roth 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:
Excerpt from Macintosh: 25 Years, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/macintosh.html, viewed February 16, 2009.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.
It’s an inspirational article for usability, with links to many other interesting articles.






