EXCLUSIVES

Ted Landau > Mac Expert

Words by Ric Getter
February 2005

A couple of friends and I are the kind of people that folks come to when they’re having problems with their Mac. When we get stumped, we frequently confer and more often than not, our first suggestion is, “Have you checked MacFixit?” That site was launched (under the name of the “Sad Mac Update Site”) in 1996 by a professor of biological psychology who had become fascinated by the little computer that could do so much. The site has grown into a meeting ground and forum for Mac users at all levels, the focal point of a thriving community of enthusiasts. He’s continued on to become one of the preeminent authorities and one of the most popular authors and columnists in the world of Macintosh troubleshooting. His most recent title is
Ted Landau’s Mac OS Help Line.

MD: You’re obviously pretty fond of the Mac. As a writer and Webmaster, what brought about your interest in the problems it has?

Ted: I guess it was the convergence of two interests. First, I have been fascinated with computers from as long back as I can recall: from working with an HP programmable calculator to writing my first BASIC program on a Teletype machine. Second, I love solving puzzles. Troubleshooting is solving puzzles about computers. What could be better? Troubleshooting also leads to a deeper understanding of how the OS and the computer works, which I also enjoy.

MD: Your original career as a professor of biological psychology is a bit far a field from your current notoriety as a Mac author and pundit. Have you ever drawn any parallels between the two interests?

TL: Not too much. One parallel is that biological psychology is about trying to understand the underlying mechanisms that determine who we are and how we behave. Troubleshooting computers is the more or less the same idea, except computers are the subjects instead of people. It’s problem solving again.
Beyond that, it was simply that I needed to know how to use computers in order to do data analysis in my research. That’s how I first came to use computers. But my interest in computers quickly expanded beyond anything I needed to know for my research.

MD: What do you think is the most brilliant feature of Panther? What do you think is the worst or most insipid? TL: Fast User Switching is probably my favorite new feature in Panther. It’s great for troubleshooting even if you are the only user of your Mac. You can create a separate account that you just use to test for problems - and switch to it without having to log out. Expose is also very cool. And I enjoy using iChat AV with my iSight camera.

The most insipid? I would have to go with FileVault. There are so many cautions involved in using it, I sometimes think my data is more at risk if I use it than if I don’t. I also dislike how Panther moved Login Items to the Accounts pane and renamed them Startup Items. I liked the way it worked in Jaguar better.

MD: Mac-focused user forums like MacFixit are not at all uncommon on the web these days. When PC users have problems to talk about, they don’t have nearly as many places to turn. Why do you think that is?

TL: I believe the reason for this is that many more Mac users than PC users have a personal interest in learning about and working with their computer.

For most PC users, their computer is like a microwave oven: they are glad they have it and they use it to accomplish various tasks; but they would never think of going to a online forum to ask questions about it, or join a user group, or anything like that.

Mac users, in contrast, more often think of their Mac like a sports car: sure it can get you to the grocery store, but that’s not the main reason you get a sports car instead of a Ford Escort. You enjoy using it. And learning more about it is part of the fun.

MD: What do you think are the three (or five) most useful utilities for untangling a messed-up Mac (OS X)?

TL: First off, I would want to have a utility such as Xray or FileXaminer, for dealing with permissions and attributes in ways that go beyond what you can do with OS X’s Get Info windows. Second, I would want a utility such as Cocktail or Xupport - for dealing with the assortment of fixes they can provide - especially for clearing caches. And for printing, I would want Printer Setup Repair. I also regularly use Pacifist, Pseudo, InVisibles, and BBEdit. And I use DiskWarrior when trouble strikes. As for utilities included with Mac OS X, I obviously depend on Disk Utility. After that, I use Activity Monitor and Property List Editor the most.

MD: Aside from Help Line, of course, what other volumes are essential references for the power user? TL: If you really want to learn all the details of the Unix component of Mac OS X, Mac OS X Unleashed is great. However, if you are new to Unix, you would probably want a more basic Unix book before tackling Unleashed. By the way, I don’t think you need to know this much Unix to be a Mac OS X “power user,” but it can’t hurt. I also like Dan Frakes’ Mac OS X Power Tools. And David Pogue’s book [Mac OS X The Missing Manual], even though it is described as a general book suitable for beginners, has a lot of depth to it.

MD: If Steve Jobs handed you control of Apple for the next five years, where would you take the company? What would you do differently and what would you keep the same.

TL: Golly, Steve has done such a great job, it would be arrogant for me to assume I could do any better.However, I must say that I had an idea pretty similar to the iTunes Music Store well before it was released; I would have suggested that to Steve if he had asked.

However, let me make two more general suggestions for Apple’s long-term planning:

Apple should carefully think about whether it wants to be primarily a hardware company vs. a software company. Today, it is still primarily a hardware company - using its software to sell its hardware. However, there always seems to be an opportunity to license its software more widely - at the expense of hardware sales. I am not advocating a particular position here. Rather, I am suggesting that Apple should spend some time carefully considering this dilemma (if they aren’t already doing so) - and then pursue one course or the other and stick with it. Right now, they sometimes seem to be straddling the fence, as with the iPod and iTunes.

Similarly, Apple should decide on a long-term strategy regarding their desired market share. When the “switcher” ad campaign first came out, they talked about getting their market share back up to 10%. Clearly, that has not happened. That makes the campaign appear to be a failure. At the same time, Apple continues to be very profitable at its current market share. And I see no reason why this cannot continue. Apple could work to aggressively defend its current market share (and maybe grow it a bit) while remaining profitable - giving up on the 10% dream. Or it could pursue an all-out strategy to gain market share as its primary goal. I don’t think it can do both - at least not successfully. Too often, it isn’t clear to the outside community which path Apple has chosen -- although Apple now appears to be tilting toward the “profitable at a smaller share” approach.