Apple is running a series of articles entitled “Why Mac” on their higher education site. In Why Mac for Computer Science, they feature 37signals, creators of the popular Ruby on Rails framwork, as well as web applications including Basecamp and Backpack. Included in the feature is a short video, spotlighting both Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.
I’ve got a lot of respect for 37signals and their philosophy of less software. They stay true to their vision and have the discipline to say no to marginal features. This keeps their software lightweight, free from the bloat that can easily drag down an application.
Apple is an large corporation from the dawn of the personal computer era, in constrast to 37signals, a small company leading in the new age of web applications. However, both companies share the same passion for simple, beautiful interfaces that are easy for people to use.
A quote from the video:
We like to execute on the basics, beautifully.
Jason Fried
