Bovidae Interview: The Macalope

Who is the Macalope? Part man, part Mac, part… antelope. A sage Mac commentator who does not hesitate to take on critics for vapid commentary while also holding the feet of the Cupertino Gang to the fire when warranted. The Macalope was gracious enough to grant me an interview while moving his things out of CNET. What’s next for the horny one? Hard to say, but we’ll find out once the CNET cash runs out. In the meantime once he cleans up his old stomping grounds at http://www.macalope.com, you will find him posting again.

Q: Thanks for taking time to answer a few questions. I would like to especially thank you for the Palmolive allusion in a post last month. I had to quickly find a Lifehacker post on monitor cleaning after reading the post title. Have to love the interpipes.
The Macalope has a blanket disclaimer that he is not responsible for spit takes. Please read with caution. And a towel.

Q: One million iPhones and approximately 10 million apps sold the first weekend, the best quarter in company history and the herd (not yours I gather) is asking about Jobs’ health? Have you gored anyone over this?
For the most part the horny one has tried to stay away from the issue of Jobs’ health other than to agree with Michael Gartenberg that it’s no one’s business except his. Some have commented that Jobs should get it straight with the board and the board should issue a statement that they’re satisfied. That’s nice. It will also solve exactly nothing for the squeakiest wheels on this issue, most of whom are not even Apple shareholders and yet won’t be satisfied until they have biopsy results and a free iPod touch.

The old saying goes that the graveyards are full of people who couldn’t be replaced. What Apple owes its shareholders is the confidence that they have a solid succession plan. After all, Jobs’ could be in the best of health and still roll his Mercedes one day. Companies are supposed to plan for these things. But no one has the right to anyone else’s personal medical information.

Q: I cannot give Apple a pass for the MobileMe mess. The only thing Apple didn’t do that weekend was release Snow Leopard. How could Sauron.. I mean Steve… not see this coming? Hubris?
Mmm, not hubris, but pushing too hard (if you’ll pardon the MobileMe/push pun). The 3G iPhone could and really probably should have been rolled out without MobileMe. Forcing users to wait a few weeks is better than making users suffer a few weeks. Slow down, Apple. Where’s the fire?

Q: After reading some of your posts such as “Butterflies are free, so why aren’t iPhone apps?” one has to wonder if you have these people on the payroll. You can tell me. Be honest now.
Those are annual reviews the Macalope would love to conduct. “Todd, in looking over your performance over the past year it seems clear that, well, you suck at your job.” No, if the Macalope had these people on the payroll, they’d all be reassigned to the mail room. Or the boiler room. Or the place they rinse out the sweaty gym socks.

Q: Is it just me or is the red-headed stepchild Apple TV a gaming console lying in wait? Allow app store access and it is a complete media center. I imagine that the situation is like that of handheld game makers looking at the iPhone (and Touch). They must be thinking “Game over.” It seems that Apple made a very cool device and just cannot figure out how to market it.
It seems like a logical next step. The issue is probably mostly one of bandwidth. Apple is physically growing slower than its market presence is. They’re having a hard enough time keeping up with what they’re doing, so while an App Store for the Apple TV seems like a natural, they may just not have the
resources to get it off the ground right now.

Q: Has Breen cut you in for half of the t-shit and hoodie sales of “The Bouffant of Knowledge” merchandising?
The Macalope has seen those and they’re actually being sold by someone else. Neither the esteemed Mr. Breen nor the brown and furry one see a dime of that. Which, no offense to Chris, is probably about what the guy’s made off of them. Who wears that?

Q; Jerry Seinfeld for Microsoft commercials? I guess this means Maury Amsterdam is dead.
The brown and furry one at first did not remember who Maury Amsterdam was
and thought maybe that was a pseudonym for Jerry Seinfeld’s career.

The second ad is mildly amusing and the Macalope appreciates Gates’ willingness to make an ass out of himself. But it’s rather questionable as to where this is going. This is an image ad and is the problem with
Vista one of image, or one of the difficult implementation choices it forces Microsoft’s customers to make? Also, this might work with consumers, but a lot of Microsoft’s problem is getting corporations to
migrate from XP to Vista. Read a newspaper, Microsoft. This isn’t a great time to have to do a big, expensive conversion.

Q: I recently read that you and CNET have parted ways. Tell us where fans can find their seer of all things Mac for the foreseeable future. New digs coming?
Yes, CNET has gone through a lot of changes and the inevitable was finally evitable. It was a good experience (read: they sent checks every month) but kind of an odd fit.

The Macalope is back at his old digs for now (www.macalope.com) and, who knows, you may see him pop up somewhere else in the future. Nothing to announce yet, but he’s got a furry ear to the ground.

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Follow the antlered blogger’s commentary issued from his place at http://www.macalope.com; or follow his tweets via Twitter by following TheMacalope. Please no email from fans of Mr. Amsterdam. Maury was funny.

Podcaster Interview: Tim Verpoorten

Podcaster Interview:
Tim Verpoorten

The Mac ReviewCast

Like many people, I find Tim’s podcast to be quite helpful. Finding useful software is always great, but finding the time to discover titles is another story. The Mac ReviewCast has been going strong for a few years. Combining his own notices of software updates with input from a cast of regulars, the podcast is a weekly update for the shareware/freeware fans who use a Mac.

Q:  Thanks for taking time to answer a few questions. Why undertake the burden of a podcast? Did the podcast grow out of your desire (or is it addiction) to get the next great app?

When I started podcasting in April of 2005, there were not a lot of other podcasters in the field. I heard some of the early ones and it just hit me that I wanted to podcast about Macs. I was a switcher and I fell in love with the software that was available for Mac and I just thought it was unique and very functional and just looked great. So I bought the domain name, macreviewcast.com and started working on my first podcast.

It didn’t take long before I ran into my first problem, I didn’t know a thing about audio production. The idea of recording casually and presenting my podcast in that same type of format was not what I wanted. From listening to other podcasts, I realized that if I was going to do this, I had to learn how to record and edit audio and present a podcast that sounded as professional as I could get it. So I contacted the best in the business, Paul Figgiani from the Point Podcast and he was also doing work with Doug Kaye’s ITC. Paul helped me purchase what I needed for hardware and software and explained over hours of emails and phone calls, how to do proper post production work. To this day he still helps me fine tune my skills and critiques me when I need it.

It took me a good 20 or 30 episodes to finally settle in the format that was comfortable for me, and, at the time, somewhat unique. I was always impressed by the fact that the good Mac developers gave back to the community with freeware apps along with the shareware. The freeware was quality software and I wanted to share it with other Mac listeners. I also found that friends in the Mac community wanted to help with reviews of software and hardware and found it easier to contribute to my podcast then to start one of their own. So I’ve always asked for and shared recorded reviews from listeners. Many have become regulars on the podcast.

Q: Can you talk a bit about your computer background?
I started on PC’s back in the early 1990’s. I loved building them from scratch and ended up learning HTML myself and started building Web sites for local businesses. Then I started hosting Web sites and the next thing I knew, I had a small ISP in town. In 2003 I fell in love with the Mac and became an ardent blogger about Mac software and then in April of 2005 I started the podcast. Since that time I’ve learn to do post production for Audio and Video with the Final Cut Pro Studio apps and I enjoy the process editing as much as I enjoy podcasting itself. Everything I learned about computers was self taught and I think that the most fun you can have with a Mac is to grab a new application and teach yourself how to use it to its fullest.

Q: I would guess you follow Version Tracker. Can you suggest any resources for readers seeking new software?
There are three good sources for Mac software: Versiontracker, MacUpdate.com and the Mac Aggregate Tracker.

Q: Can a Mac user actually work with all freeware in place of shareware and commercial applications?
I think you can. There is so much quality freeware out there today that almost every application that you have on your Mac right now can be substituted with a freeware replacement. As an over all statement, you will find that shareware applications for the Mac will be more unique and imaginative as a whole, but I am finding that if you use commercial software, there is a freeware application that will do the same job. In fact, we will be starting a new segment in the podcast that will look at  freeware replacements for commercial applications on the Mac. For example, replacing Photoshop with freeware, or Word, or iTunes with freeware. Even if you do not want to switch to freeware, I think it’s important for all Mac users out there to know what freeware is available and how to find it.

Plus, I want to make certain that the Mac users out there appreciate all the efforts and hard work that shareware developers put into creating their software and users need to support the developers to keep these great Mac applications coming.

Q: Please name a few apps that you find to be indispensable to your Mac use?
For freeware I love and use, Evernote, Quicksilver, Bean, iStat menus, Perian, Adium, Skype, Meteorologist, Soundsource, and Firefox. For shareware I love SuperDuper, VisualHub, Skitch, Acorn, Transmit, and Marsedit. I have nearly 150 applications in my Application Folder, so as you can tell, I love Mac software.

Q: Do you use app removal software? If so, which ones?
Yes, I use Appzapper. But there is a freeware one that does a good job called Apptrap and then there’s a free one called Application Annihilator. If I don’t use a removal tool, I’ll have plist files all over my Mac.

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To find Tim’s latest podcast, visit his web site <www.macreviewcast.com> or subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Even if subscribed, be sure to check in at his site to view notes from each show.

Podcaster Interview: Victor Cajiao

Victor Cajiao first published the Typical Mac User podcast on New Year’s Day 2006. Two and a half years later and 136 podcasts later, he is still going strong.  On his web site <www.typicalmacuser.com> one can find links to subscribe to this fun podcast is published biweekly and covers Apple news, new products, hardware and  software. As an added bonus he has started releasing short videos from his Flip Mino on the web site, so be sure to check it out!  Lucky for us, Victor was nice enough to take the time to answer a few questions.

Q: What made you decide to do a podcast?

I was switching to the Mac and I wanted to share my experience of learning about Mac, Apple and to do it in a way that I would be a contributor not just a consumer of information. The show allows me to continue to learn and grow while I learn about all things in the Apple community, software, hardware and how “The Cult of Mac” is about people coming together and sharing their knowledge. That fits perfectly into my life and how I can contribute to it.

Q: Despite the name of your podcast, you are not a typical user. Can you tell us a little about your IT background?

Well I was very “Typical” when I started the show, and although I may not be “Typical” today, I still tend to very much relate to the early days of my switching to the Mac and what things baffled me, and what I wanted to learn. My IT background goes back about sixteen years where I have been anything from a systems administrator, a developer of IVR’s and Automatic Call Distributors to a Director of development, QA\QC. This experience in IT, managing and teaching have served me very well in doing the podcast and in delivering a show that I would want to listen to.

Q: With so many episodes completed, do you have any long-term goals for the podcast?

Well to have the willingness to keep on doing it. It’s sometimes difficult because there are so many wonderful Mac related podcasts. I often have to really wonder and reflect as to whether I’m contributing something unique or just repeating what other do. I try to inject my personality and experience to the podcast in order to keep it unique. I’ll keep it going as long as I enjoy it. Of course another goal is to continue to grow sponsorship, as the money I make from the show all goes into new gear, software and all things show related. I have been able to start a business Typical Media Group LLC, because of the podcast, and that allows me to provide consulting services on all sorts of new media related content.

Q: Audience participation is a game-changer. How have the live-streaming programs been for you?

I  recently had to put the live aspect of the show on hiatus while I look for another way to do the live shows. They have been super fulfilling and I miss doing them. There is nothing like two way interaction in new media, I’m so much more interested in what all of you have to say, than hearing my own voice. I will find a different way to do live content again. Perhaps not every week like I did for 18 months, however it’s too much fun to let it go. For now I UStream myself almost every weekend and lately I have been doing some almost daily videos called Victor’s Mino Moments, to keep in touch. I call it that because they are done on a Flip Mino camera in my car while I drive home. I post them on the blog and they have gotten great reaction. I’m such a dork <wink>

Q: After WWDC I see MobileMe as a potential break out service. “Exchange for the rest of us” is a major boost to iPhone sales. What are your thoughts on MobileMe (was .Mac)?

I think if Apple has the proper infrastructure to keep it available then it will be great. I have always been a dot Mac member, however the dot Mac service is not always available. Apple has to make that service completely solid so that it can be yet another gateway for people who don’t use Apple products today (other than the iPhone and iPods). If they can pull off Mobile Me with the ease of use, and dependency that is associated with other Apple products it will be yet another tool in the “Halo Affect” to draw more people into Mac computers and all things Apple.

Typical Mac User Podcast <www.typicalmacuser.com> The latest podcast, TMUP 136: It’s all about MIDI with David Sparks, was released Tuesday, July 1, 2008. To listen, visit the site and either use the web player or, better yet, subscribe in iTunes.