Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I read this book hoping for some insight into good design. I expected a pragmatic, psychology based perspective on users and technical design. Instead, I found the equivalent of a time- motion study on user interaction with technology. That's not a bad thing. Raskin sites some interesting studies on how people are able to work with various input devices. However, I found his negative tone put me off. Everytime he sited a study, he also complained about what was wrong with it. He thinks his designs ideas are superior to many of these, but he sited few scientific studies that backed up his claims.Raskin constantly praises one of his earlier projects, the Canon Cat. If it was so wonderful, why weren't more of those ideas emulated in future designs? I'm sure there are some valid reasons, but I think his designs are not quite as wonderful as he seems to think they are. On a different note, I think some of the writing must have been done a while back. Many of the problems considered date much farther back than the year 2000 publication date. Where some of those problems still exist today, many have been solved or inproved by current software. If you're looking for a good book on the psychology of good design, I'd recommend Norman's, "The Design of Everyday Things." If you would like more practical software design tips, "Designing From Both Sides of the Screen" is pretty good...especially the first half, which has lots of fun examples.
Rating: 
Summary: The practical advice is buried in self-indulgent theory
Review: There are many good insights in the book, but plan on heavy slugging through psychology and philosophy. You'd think a book on UI design would include better techniques for knowledge transfer than page after page of complex prose. If you're looking to expand your mind, buy this. If you're seeking a good UI design tutorial or reference, skip it.
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