Saturday, March 15, 2003
Ten Questions with Waldo Jaquith of nancies.org
Nancies.org is widely considered to be the online resource for fans of the Dave Matthews Band. In 2000, VH1 awarded nancies.org the award for "Coolest Fan Web Site", with good reason. Its front page regularly has news, interviews, and columns covering my favorite band. The nancies.org discussion boards boast over 25,000 members and well over a million posts. And more often than not, you can find nancies.org staff member Waldo Jaquith bragging about his Macs as he moderates the boards.
According to the nancies.org information page, "Waldo does most of the programming, maintains the news section, dabbles in design, PR, helps run the boards, does the business side of things, pays the bills...a little bit of everything." And yes, Waldo really is his name.
Waldo recently took the time to give us an interview about nancies.org, what role Macs play in the site's operations, and his thoughts about Macs in general.
1. Which Macs do you have in your arsenal?
My main Mac has been my Powermac G3 (a Pismo named "Woot"), which I've used as a desktop/laptop since I got it in late 2000. A week into March, I got an iBook 700 ("Kiki Aru") and a Powermac G4 (Mirrored Door, named "Kabumpo"), and I intend to sell my Woot and have two systems to do what it used to do double-duty for. I also use my iMac (Bondi, Rev. A) on a regular basis, which is running Yellow Dog Linux, and even take out my old Duo 280c on occasion.
2. Are you a "Switcher", or have you been a Mac user all along?
I was an ardent Mac hater and DOS/Unix lover until Windows 95 came out and Microsoft started forcing the end of DOS development. In the fall of 1996, my friend Peter Griesar convinced me to buy his Duo 280c, saying that if I didn't like it, he'd buy it back. A couple of weeks later, I was sold. You could say that I was a switcher before switching was cool.
3. What role do Macs play in the day-to-day function of nancies.org?
A great deal. A good chunk of the nancies.org team uses Macs as our primary OS for design, coding, and the day-to-day work.
I personally do all of the business associated with nancies.org, so I use QuickBooks and Excel (though I can ditch that for OpenOffice in a week or so, if that project stays on schedule) on that end. For design, I own the whole Adobe suite, and the portions of the design that I'm responsible for are maintained in ImageReady and Photoshop, with some work done in Illustrator. Finally, all of the coding is done in BBEdit (the full, registered version; 6.5). I'm a vi guy historically, but I switched to BBEdit a few years ago and never looked back.
I run Apache, PHP and MySQL on the desktop, which I use to work on nancies.org in an alpha-testing environment. This real-world simulation makes it possible to confidently switch upgrade the code knowing full well that it will work in the field right off the bat.
4. Why do you choose Macs? What can you do with them that you couldn't do, or couldn't do as easily, or as successfully, if you were using PC's?
I don't even know how to answer that. I have never owned a Windows desktop machine, just DOS, and I don't even know what I could or couldn't do with them. From keeping current with trends, I know that it's a whole heck of a lot less than what I can do with my Macs, and that's all that's of concern to me. The question is sort of like asking "Why do you choose not to kill people?" It's just *wrong*. I haven't *tried* killing people, but I feel confident that it's best not to.
In the interest of full disclosure, I've been dual-desktop since 1994 -- I have several Linux systems, too, running both as servers and as desktop systems.
5. I read the other day that the iPod accounts for 27% of all digital music player sales on a monetary basis. Did you think that Apple would be able to make that much of an impact in the music world that quickly? Do you have an iPod? If so, what do you think of it?
I thought that the iPod would be a flash in the pan. MP3 players hadn't really penetrated the market at all at the time that the iPod came out. MP3 players were almost all based on flash memory, and so they held a couple of hours of audio, at most, so they just weren't viable methods of listening to music. Apple was the first to make the hard drive-based approach viable, and the first to get beyond the "hey, it's an MP3 player, what more do you want?" phenomenon that plagues new technology, often preventing meaningful UI from happening. Apple intends to announce their new music service any day now, too, so I suspect that they're about to make even more of an impact on the music world. Admittedly, I think *that* will just be a flash in the pan, too, but I've been wrong before. :)
I got an iPod late last summer. Just the 5GB model, which is quite sufficient for me. The iPod is a marvel of design, and a beautiful device. Prior to owning my iPod, I would not often be found listening to music while away from my computer. I don't own a car, just a motorcycle, so it's not like I'm listening to CDs or the radio while on the go. Now, though, I keep my iPod tucked into a jacket pocket or my backpack whenever I head out and, if the mood strikes me, just about any sort of music that I want is right there with me. I always have a little soundtrack to accompany my life, should I see fit. If I could only get a laugh track to go with it, I'd be in good shape.
6. What are your most vital software applications? Apple has stated that it intends to release a slew of new software this year. What software would you most like to see Apple come out with next?
My basics are BBEdit, an SSH client, a decent browser, a good e-mail client. Everything else is gravy. I have iCal, iTunes and Terminal open at pretty much all times. I like Mail.app, but I've been using Pine for so many years that I use it about half of the time.
The #1 thing that I want to see Apple release in the way of software is an updated version of AppleWorks. It's never been great, just passable. If they could skew AppleWorks in the direction of Safari, in terms of the core engine and the connections with the software libre community, I think that they'd have a real winner on their hands. A close second is X11 that's integrated with OS X, such that I can download GIMP, install it like any other Mac application, and run it from my Applications folder, all without ever realizing or caring that it's running from within X11. When that happens, it's only a matter of time until somebody gets WINE or a related project or product to run nicely on OS X under X11, and then Macs will be able to run Apple, BSD, and Windows programs side-by-side without difficulty.
7. Are you beta-testing Safari along with the rest of us? What do you think of it so far?
I downloaded Safari the day that came out, and it's been my primary browser ever since. I miss the tabbed interface from Camino (nee Chimera), along with some of the features built into that, but its KDE roots are strong, and tabs should be in the next release, so I'll get over it. I like that Safari is quite simple thus far. I hope that it doesn't end up like Mozilla, bloated beyond all worth, but that wouldn't be Apple's style.
8. What will your next Mac be?
I just *bought* my next Macs last week. :)
9. Rumor has it that all five members of the Dave Matthews Band are ardent Mac users. Can you verify or expand on this?
I can confirm that Stefan Lessard -- the band's bassist -- and Leroi Moore -- their saxophonist -- are big into their Macs. I know both to have and regularly use Powerbooks, though I don't know what else they have. I don't know what the other members (Boyd Tinsley, Dave Matthews, or Carter Beauford) use, I'm afraid.
10. I'd really like to get front-row tickets for the Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds concert at Radio City Music Hall next week. You can make this happen, right? ;)
And that's *exactly* why I avoid IM -- that's all that anybody ever wants to ask me! :)
Nancies.org is widely considered to be the online resource for fans of the Dave Matthews Band. In 2000, VH1 awarded nancies.org the award for "Coolest Fan Web Site", with good reason. Its front page regularly has news, interviews, and columns covering my favorite band. The nancies.org discussion boards boast over 25,000 members and well over a million posts. And more often than not, you can find nancies.org staff member Waldo Jaquith bragging about his Macs as he moderates the boards.
According to the nancies.org information page, "Waldo does most of the programming, maintains the news section, dabbles in design, PR, helps run the boards, does the business side of things, pays the bills...a little bit of everything." And yes, Waldo really is his name.
Waldo recently took the time to give us an interview about nancies.org, what role Macs play in the site's operations, and his thoughts about Macs in general.
1. Which Macs do you have in your arsenal?
My main Mac has been my Powermac G3 (a Pismo named "Woot"), which I've used as a desktop/laptop since I got it in late 2000. A week into March, I got an iBook 700 ("Kiki Aru") and a Powermac G4 (Mirrored Door, named "Kabumpo"), and I intend to sell my Woot and have two systems to do what it used to do double-duty for. I also use my iMac (Bondi, Rev. A) on a regular basis, which is running Yellow Dog Linux, and even take out my old Duo 280c on occasion.
2. Are you a "Switcher", or have you been a Mac user all along?
I was an ardent Mac hater and DOS/Unix lover until Windows 95 came out and Microsoft started forcing the end of DOS development. In the fall of 1996, my friend Peter Griesar convinced me to buy his Duo 280c, saying that if I didn't like it, he'd buy it back. A couple of weeks later, I was sold. You could say that I was a switcher before switching was cool.
3. What role do Macs play in the day-to-day function of nancies.org?
A great deal. A good chunk of the nancies.org team uses Macs as our primary OS for design, coding, and the day-to-day work.
I personally do all of the business associated with nancies.org, so I use QuickBooks and Excel (though I can ditch that for OpenOffice in a week or so, if that project stays on schedule) on that end. For design, I own the whole Adobe suite, and the portions of the design that I'm responsible for are maintained in ImageReady and Photoshop, with some work done in Illustrator. Finally, all of the coding is done in BBEdit (the full, registered version; 6.5). I'm a vi guy historically, but I switched to BBEdit a few years ago and never looked back.
I run Apache, PHP and MySQL on the desktop, which I use to work on nancies.org in an alpha-testing environment. This real-world simulation makes it possible to confidently switch upgrade the code knowing full well that it will work in the field right off the bat.
4. Why do you choose Macs? What can you do with them that you couldn't do, or couldn't do as easily, or as successfully, if you were using PC's?
I don't even know how to answer that. I have never owned a Windows desktop machine, just DOS, and I don't even know what I could or couldn't do with them. From keeping current with trends, I know that it's a whole heck of a lot less than what I can do with my Macs, and that's all that's of concern to me. The question is sort of like asking "Why do you choose not to kill people?" It's just *wrong*. I haven't *tried* killing people, but I feel confident that it's best not to.
In the interest of full disclosure, I've been dual-desktop since 1994 -- I have several Linux systems, too, running both as servers and as desktop systems.
5. I read the other day that the iPod accounts for 27% of all digital music player sales on a monetary basis. Did you think that Apple would be able to make that much of an impact in the music world that quickly? Do you have an iPod? If so, what do you think of it?
I thought that the iPod would be a flash in the pan. MP3 players hadn't really penetrated the market at all at the time that the iPod came out. MP3 players were almost all based on flash memory, and so they held a couple of hours of audio, at most, so they just weren't viable methods of listening to music. Apple was the first to make the hard drive-based approach viable, and the first to get beyond the "hey, it's an MP3 player, what more do you want?" phenomenon that plagues new technology, often preventing meaningful UI from happening. Apple intends to announce their new music service any day now, too, so I suspect that they're about to make even more of an impact on the music world. Admittedly, I think *that* will just be a flash in the pan, too, but I've been wrong before. :)
I got an iPod late last summer. Just the 5GB model, which is quite sufficient for me. The iPod is a marvel of design, and a beautiful device. Prior to owning my iPod, I would not often be found listening to music while away from my computer. I don't own a car, just a motorcycle, so it's not like I'm listening to CDs or the radio while on the go. Now, though, I keep my iPod tucked into a jacket pocket or my backpack whenever I head out and, if the mood strikes me, just about any sort of music that I want is right there with me. I always have a little soundtrack to accompany my life, should I see fit. If I could only get a laugh track to go with it, I'd be in good shape.
6. What are your most vital software applications? Apple has stated that it intends to release a slew of new software this year. What software would you most like to see Apple come out with next?
My basics are BBEdit, an SSH client, a decent browser, a good e-mail client. Everything else is gravy. I have iCal, iTunes and Terminal open at pretty much all times. I like Mail.app, but I've been using Pine for so many years that I use it about half of the time.
The #1 thing that I want to see Apple release in the way of software is an updated version of AppleWorks. It's never been great, just passable. If they could skew AppleWorks in the direction of Safari, in terms of the core engine and the connections with the software libre community, I think that they'd have a real winner on their hands. A close second is X11 that's integrated with OS X, such that I can download GIMP, install it like any other Mac application, and run it from my Applications folder, all without ever realizing or caring that it's running from within X11. When that happens, it's only a matter of time until somebody gets WINE or a related project or product to run nicely on OS X under X11, and then Macs will be able to run Apple, BSD, and Windows programs side-by-side without difficulty.
7. Are you beta-testing Safari along with the rest of us? What do you think of it so far?
I downloaded Safari the day that came out, and it's been my primary browser ever since. I miss the tabbed interface from Camino (nee Chimera), along with some of the features built into that, but its KDE roots are strong, and tabs should be in the next release, so I'll get over it. I like that Safari is quite simple thus far. I hope that it doesn't end up like Mozilla, bloated beyond all worth, but that wouldn't be Apple's style.
8. What will your next Mac be?
I just *bought* my next Macs last week. :)
9. Rumor has it that all five members of the Dave Matthews Band are ardent Mac users. Can you verify or expand on this?
I can confirm that Stefan Lessard -- the band's bassist -- and Leroi Moore -- their saxophonist -- are big into their Macs. I know both to have and regularly use Powerbooks, though I don't know what else they have. I don't know what the other members (Boyd Tinsley, Dave Matthews, or Carter Beauford) use, I'm afraid.
10. I'd really like to get front-row tickets for the Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds concert at Radio City Music Hall next week. You can make this happen, right? ;)
And that's *exactly* why I avoid IM -- that's all that anybody ever wants to ask me! :)
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