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In Line with Owen Linzmayeran Art2u interview |
 Apple Confidential: The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc. by Owen Linzmayer (1999) No Starch Press Buy this book at Amazon.com |
Owen Linzmayer is a writer whose several books include The Macintosh Joker, The Mac Bathroom Reader, and his latest book, Apple Confidential: The Real Story of Apple Computer, Inc., published in 1999 by No Starch Press. This busy freelance consultant and columnist for MacAddict got together with us recently, keyboard to keyboard. We asked him a few things about himself, about Apple Computer and about his new book.
You graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a degree in Business Administration. When and where did you learn about journalism, writing, and computers?
I started writing for computer magazines way back in 1980, after my father bought the family a TRS-80 (Trash-80 to those of us in the know). Being just a teenager with little money, I couldn't afford to buy all the games I wanted, so I thought if I reviewed games, I could get them for free, and get paid to write about them. I submitted a review of a Space Invaders game to Wayne Green's 80-Microcomputing magazine and was paid $25. Hot damn!
Shortly thereafter, David Ahl's Creative Computing magazine moved to my home town, my father rented the back of their warehouse for his mail order business, and I interviewed for a position in the software division, which I got. When Ziff-Davis took over CC, it closed the software division and I moved over to editorial. These were the early, heady days of personal computing and I doubt I will ever have a job I like as much as the one I had at CC.
After Creative Computing, I went to college, where I worked at Nibble magazine part time. After Boston University, I returned to work for Dave Ahl at Atari Explorer until Gary Little offered me a job at A+, the premiere Apple II magazine, located in Foster City. Having always wanted to live in San Francisco, I jumped at the opportunity. Ziff-Davis closed A+ within a year, and I slid over to MacUser magazine for a while. I quit in 1990 to freelance full-time and have been doing it ever since. So that's how I came to waste four years of a management education.
How did you get the inside story on Apple Computer, Inc.?
Lots and lots of research. I read literally everything I could get my hands on that had been written about Apple, then I took the best stories and fleshed them out with personal interviews. The nice thing about writing about recent events is that most of the important players are still alive and willing to talk, if you can only find them.
Why is it important for anyone to know about Apple Computer? What is the target audience for your book?
Apple the company is an American icon. It represents the promise of starting up something great and changing the world with powerful ideas. Sadly, Apple lost its way over the years and my book tries to explain how a company that was filled with so much promise almost self-destructed. My target audience is anyone who knows how to read English <grin>.
Why did you decide to write this book? What was involved in researching the book? Did you find out anything that you couldn't publish?
Apple Confidential is based upon The Mac Bathroom Reader, written at the request of my editor and former MacUser coworker, Steve Lipson. The reason I wrote Apple Confidential is because so much happened to Apple in the four years since The Mac Bathroom Reader was published that an update was needed. I wasn't happy with my previous publisher, so I sought out a new one during Apple's darkest hours. There was practically no interest among the major publishers in a book about Apple because they figured it was going out of business.
Researching the book was a matter of reading all I could locate on Apple, playing detective to track down the sources, confirming stories, eliciting new tales, debunking rumors, sifting through historical papers/archives, etc. The only things I couldn't publish were the boring stories that nobody cares about; all the sensationalistic stuff I uncovered and verified is in the book.
Most graphic designers use Macintosh computers. (The Art2u website is created with a Mac.) Do you foresee a continuing demand for these computers? Can you explain why Mac is popular for design applications?
I think the Mac will remain strong in the graphics arts field for the simple reason that it's a better tool for the task. The Mac was created by a group of people who were in many ways artists themselves, and the attention to fine tuning and details is evident. The Mac was created specifically to be a graphics-based computer, as opposed to Windows which was a cheap copy slapped on top of a text-based DOS. Have you seen the print ads for Microsoft Windows? They show text in screen shots that is so blocky and unattractive it's funny.
Is Apple management on the right track by choking off the licensing of the MacOS? Is the comeback of Steve Jobs a good thing for Apple in the long run?
As for killing off the clones, I was saddened when Apple made that decision as I thought Power Computing seemed to have the spark and drive that made Apple great in its early days. I was also saddened when Apple killed the Newton, but as I said then, I'm for anything Apple needs to do to save itself. Gil Amelio may have made some mistakes while at the helm of Apple, but bringing Steve Jobs back into the fold wasn't one of them (at least not for the company). I was extremely apprehensive about Jobs' return when first announced, but Jobs has obviously learned a lot about business in his years outside of Apple and he's done a remarkable job of putting Apple back on track. You simply can't argue with his success.
You have written several books. What do you have in the works now?
Promoting the living hell out of Apple Confidential <grin> and writing my monthly Ask Us column for MacAddict. I have a few more non-Apple book ideas kicking around, as well as an Internet startup idea (who doesn't?).
©1999 Roxane Gilbert
All Rights Reserved
Owen Ink on Apple Confidential:
"Apple Confidential is Owen W. Linzmayer's latest book, a follow-up to his bestselling The Mac Bathroom Reader. Apple Confidential is a 268-page paperback that chronicles the best and worst of Apple Computer's first two decades. Follow Apple as it grows from upstart media darling, becomes an industry-leading powerhouse, falters under a series of disastrous executive decisions, takes its licks as technology whipping boy, and rebounds to profitability after the return of legendary founder Steve Jobs. Backed by exhaustive research, this book debunks many of the myths and half-truths surrounding Apple, the Macintosh, and its creators. Linzmayer looks into forgotten archives, interviews key players, and tells the real stories behind the hype."
Owen Ink
2227 15th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94116-1824
Comments? .
April 1, 1999
updated September 28, 2004