EXCLUSIVES

Open Mac > Open Source Guru Tim O'Reilly Loves His G4!
By Simon Hayes

September 2004

Tim O'Reilly is the founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, thought by many to be the best computer book publisher in the world. O'Reilly books, known for the animals on their covers, occupy a treasured place on the shelves of computer users of all kinds. Tim is an activist for open source and open standards, and an opponent of software patents and other incursions of new intellectual property laws into the public domain.

Simon Hayes: O'Reilly and Apple seem to share many things, both are innovative companies founded on a unique, creative vision. O'Reilly Media was one of the first publishers to jump in with the "Apple Renaissance". Why? (www.oreilly.com)

Tim O'Reilly: Well, we saw the new OS and the new machines, and like a lot of our customers, wanted them for ourselves! And we write about what we use, trusting that our own tastes are a good bellwether for the market. And of course, we do a lot of what I call "watching the alpha geeks" - we watch what the "cool" developers are doing, and follow their interests. Since a lot of cool developers work for O'Reilly, or are long time friends, "our tastes" reflect the tastes of our community.

SH: Many artists, writers, and even movie stars use Apple products. Is this just good marketing on Apple's part, or do you think there is more to it?

TO'R: Because the platform is more interesting?
Market positioning is always a combination of many factors. Yes, Apple markets to these communities, but it's also focused on them in the product features. You could market a Windows® or a Linux® machine to the creative community all you want, and it wouldn't stick, because the product targeting wouldn't match the marketing. In Apple's case, they've focused on the creative community, top to bottom, for as long as they've been in business.

SH: Have you tried the new Mac OS® X Panther (v. 10.3)?

TO'R: Yes, I do use Panther. There's a lot to like, but it's not perfect yet. Overall, though, I find Mac OS® X a big usability improvement on Mac OS® 9. Of course, for us old Unix heads, there's the delight of being able to drop into a shell whenever we want. The early versions of the Mac OS®, back in the 80s, were a usability delight - completely intuitive. But Mac OS® 9 was actually fairly impenetrable if you weren't already part of the Mac® community. I found it much harder to understand and use than, say, Windows® 95 and 98.

As to Panther specifically, I haven't found any of the features a slam-dunk improvement over Jaguar. I really don't want more UI features, at least as they are defined in the 80s paradigm. It's really not the Finder that needs to change.

SH: Where are Apple the most innovative
in your opinion?

TO'R: Support for digital media, and networking (Rendezvous®). In my talks, I point constantly to iTunes® as a model application for the future. Why? It's a paradigmatic exemplar of what Dave Stutz calls "software above the level of a single device", a single integrated application seamlessly spanning a dynamic server back end (the iTunes® Music Store), a PC application, and a handheld device (the iPod®). The only thing they missed is what I call the "architecture of participation" - how do you get user-contributed content into iTunes®? They could do a lot more with that.

iLife®, in general, is the Microsoft Office® of the 00s - "productivity" today means managing digital assets, not office data, and Apple understands that better than anyone.

SH: You have done many great books on Apple products - will you be expanding this program?

TO'R: We have a lot in store for Mac® users and administrators alike, including some really fun books like: Modding Mac OS® X: Extreme Makeovers for Your Mac®; iPod® & iTunes® Hacks; In the Loop with Soundtrack; DVD Studio Pro® 3: In the Studio; Final Cut Pro®: In the Studio; and Managing & Using Mac OS® X Server.

We have a dedicated group of Mac® editors here that keep a close eye on the Mac® space. What's more, they're not just industry pundits; they have hands-on, practical experience using the software. That helps to make our books stronger.

SH: It says in your biography you have over 5,000 books. That's quite a few. How do you find the time, and what kind of stuff do you read? TO'R: Well, I don't watch much TV, and I read to wind down in the evening. When I was in college, I put away at least one book a day. Now I'm lucky to do one a week, so the "in" pile keeps growing. So now, I find them, I add them to my shelf, and admire them when I'm trying to decide what to read next.

Some of my favorite books are the bestsellers of bygone eras. For example, from the 1920s pulp fiction like the work of Talbot Mundy, Sax Rohmer, and Earl Biggers (Charlie Chan) - these books unashamedly flaunt "politically incorrect" prejudices, ignorance about other countries and cultures, and historical bias, reminding us just how much our society has changed. But they also show an immense idealism at their best, showing us that what is good in each of us also abides. Did the Old West ever exist but in Zane Grey's imagination, and then his followers in film? From the forties, someone like John Marquand, whose wartime novels give you a real sense of American culture at the time.

SH: What's your favorite part of running your business?

TO'R: Creating opportunities for people and ideas to flourish. And I feel very good that some of my activism has led to real change in the industry. For example, I helped raise awareness of the danger of software patents. All of these things make me feel pretty good. But in the end, I suppose what feels best is that I've made a difference in the lives of hundreds of employees, and millions of customers. I can't tell you how many people write to tell us that they owe their career to what they learned in our books.

Making the world a better place is pretty much the only thing that's worth anyone's time.