By Jessi Hempel, senior writer
Aza Raskin is following in the footsteps of his father, Jef Raskin
FORTUNE -- Aza Raskin wants to do for health care what Apple did for personal computing in the late 1970s. In Raskin's case, the analogy hits especially close to home. Raskin's father was Jef Raskin, the computer-interface guru who designed and named the first Macintosh. "I grew up with the mantra that it's not your fault if you can't understand an interface," says the younger Raskin.
But can a better user interface help Americans stay healthier? Raskin's company, Massive Health, aims to collect and analyze vast amounts of information and present it to consumers in easy-to-use digital applications that help them modify unhealthy habits. In some ways Raskin's vision is a more holistic version of services such as the Nike (NKE) + iPod sport kit, which records a user's runs and provides feedback on how to maximize a workout.
Massive Health's business plan is hardly radical: Dozens of giant companies, including drug distributors, insurers, and hospital chains, are mining their users' data and developing tools to keep people from getting sick. Nonetheless, a handful of savvy financiers, including Netscape founder Marc Andreessen and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, have invested $2.5 million in the five-month-old startup. Part of the appeal is Raskin's pedigree and track record as an entrepreneur. He gave his first speech on designing interfaces when he was just 10 years old, and he dropped out of middle school for a Socratic education with his father. At the University of Chicago Aza studied mathematics and physics, and his thesis focused on dark matter the outer reaches of the universe. Along the way he launched Humanized, a software company that Firefox acquired in 2005, and music-search tool Songza.
It's pretty audacious to think a 27-year-old designer with no medical experience can fix health care, but Raskin's outsider status is an advantage: He looks at health care from a consumer's perspective, not a practitioner's. The result could be a service that's as simple and intuitive to use as, well, an Apple device.
Just as Steve Jobs touted at the iPad 2 launch, tablet computing is pervading every corner of our lives--even the doctor's office
Like its predecessor, the iPad 2 wasn't built specifically for enterprise customers. But that doesn't mean you won't find tablets in the office. Or in the operating room.
The health care industry in particular seems to have taken a liking to the iPad. Tablets are relatively easy MORE
Michal Lev-Ram, writer - Mar 4, 2011 11:39 AM ET
Excerpts from the analysts' notes landed on our desk Tuesday morning
Add these to the reactions of Apple (AAPL) analysts that came in Monday.
BMO's Keith Bachman: "First, we wish Steve the best with his health issues."
Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi: "Once again, Apple has chosen to provide limited -- we would argue inadequate -- disclosure about Steve Jobs' health, which is likely to leave shareholders frustrated, and with more questions than answers."
Merrill Lynch's MORE
Can we really change the subject from Steve Jobs' health to Apple's holiday sales results?
Source: disneywallpaper.net. Copyright: Disney Corp.
Even for reporters who regularly cover Apple (AAPL) and are used to getting manipulated by the company's well-oiled PR machine, this is a headsnap.
One day we're supposed process the news that Steve Jobs is too sick to run world's most valuable technology company. The next we're expected to report -- as MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jan 18, 2011 5:49 AM ET
Smartphones' sleek forms, tactile buttons, and blinking lights add up to a sort of game -- and a perfect catalyst for compulsive behaviors.
If you've got a smartphone, check it. Chances are, it's flashing a light or showing you an icon to signal a new text, e-mail, Facebook message, or even the archaic missed call. And that feels good. Face it, it's a bummer when you pick up your phone after MORE
Shelley DuBois, writer-reporter - Oct 20, 2010 11:32 AM ET
A decade ago, scientists promised a revolution in drug development as they mapped the human genome. What went wrong?
By David Ewing Duncan, contributor
This is science as a biopic: the stars are four regular guys named A, T, C, and G. Like the mop-top Beatles who came from Liverpool nearly 50 years ago, this Fab Four are the superstars of our era, which has been dubbed the Age of Genomics.
Since scientists MORE
Apr 8, 2010 10:28 AM ETBen Baer, Senior Producer - Jul 24, 2009 3:09 PM ET
Steve Jobs' health is in the news -- again. Apple isn't talking -- again. And investors are freaking out -- again.
So now's probably a good time to remind ourselves what we know, and don't know, about the health of Apple's CEO.
In 2003 Jobs learned that he had a malignant tumor in his pancreas -- a large gland behind the stomach that supplies the body with insulin and digestive enzymes. The MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jul 23, 2008 1:34 PM ETEvery morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines. SUBSCRIBE
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