Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/diskmags/0022-3.564/dmg-0139/news.txt/dryden.asc

Text File | 1997-04-16 | 19KB | 390 lines

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*                         ~ THE STEN INTERVIEW ~                         *
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     This is a new series in which we'll be interviewing some of the
enthusiasts who've contributed to the ST scene over the years. We're
hoping to make it as wide-ranging as possible but, to start with, we'll be
concentrating on the authors of widely-used P.D and shareware programmes,
and talking to the P.D libraries who've supported the ST from the very
beginning.

     In the hot chair for this issue is Martyn Dryden, who runs the South
West Software Library.

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                                 ~ DATA ~
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STEN:  How old are you?

MD:  42. I graduated in Electronics, trained as a schoolteacher, and
taught Physics for three years before becoming a technical writer with
Mullard (now Philips Components). I then did various marketing jobs in the
electronics industry, before helping to start up an advertising agency in
1983, where I still work.

STEN:  Where do you live?

MD:  Wimborne, Dorset, with my family:  my wife Barbara who plays a vital
role in the Library, and my daughter Alice who's the reason we keep going.
At the moment, we have no cat, but I think that will change soon.

STEN:  What computer/s did you use before the ST?

MD:  At home, a Sinclair Spectrum 48K.  At work, a VAX 11/780 (not all to
myself), various WP machines, lots of ACT Sirius 1s, and a Tandy Model 100.

Since the ST, at home we have an Atari Lynx, and at work various clones,
a Unix system (not all to myself), and a Mac IIci.  We still have STs at
work, but these days they are mainly used as terminals on the Unix system.

STEN:  What's your current ST set-up?

MD:  The South West Software Library runs on a Mega 4 with SM124 monitor,
20 megabyte SupraDrive plus a Third Coast 65Mbyte unit in a SH204 case, an
H-P DeskJet Plus, and a cheap matrix printer for address labels.  We have
an ATOnce PC emulator in the Mega, too.  We also have a 1040ST with a Sony
colour monitor.

STEN:  What do you mainly use it for?

MD:  Copying disks!  But also, for keeping track of orders, disks, and the
Library's finances, using Data Manager Professional.  For writing, using
WordPerfect. For programming, using Laser C.  Also for trying out lots of
new PD software.

STEN:  What other interests do you have outside of
computing?

MD:  I have a day-job that takes up quite a bit of time, and a family
likewise.  Plus, running a PD library is a job that's never finished.
This means I have very little time for other interests.

I used to try and play the guitar (Fender Strat), but for the past three
years I've had no time to practice.

STEN:  What music do you listen to?

MD:  Frank Zappa: musician, politician, father, and future president of
the USA.

STEN:  What's your ultimate ambition?

MD:  Long, happy, prosperous retirement.


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                        ~ THE INTERVIEW ~
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STEN:  How did you get involved with P.D, and when did you decide to start
the library?

MD:  Well, the credit for starting the Library goes not to me, but to Pete
White, who did so in 1985. Through his work, he had access to programs
from the USA, and he started the library to make them available to soft-
ware-hungry ST users in the UK.

I'd bought one of the first STs, when there wasn't much software around,
and I was trying to use it as an office machine, so I badly needed file
conversion utilities and that kind of thing.  So I was a customer of the
Library.

When I met Pete at an exhibition, we realised that we knew each other.
Six years earlier, he'd been the on-site DEC support person for the VAX
computer at my place of work. In fact he had been responsible for my first
exposure to wordprocessing, and as a writer, this was a revelation to me.
So I owe Pete a lot.

In 1988, Pete changed jobs, and wasn't able to continue with the Library.
I thought it would be a shame if it were to close, and so my wife and I
took it over.  It's become a lot bigger since then, but it's still
basically Pete's creation.

STEN:  Were there many P.D libraries around then?

MD:  There was one called ST-Pip, but it didn't last long for some reason.
Other than that, I think the South West Software Library was the first ST
oriented one.

STEN:  Could you describe a typical 'day in the life' of the South West
Software Library?

MD:  It starts with me going to work!  Meanwhile Barbara opens the post
and keys-in the orders, prints out the sticky labels and receipts, copies
any disks that aren't in stock or have run out, writes to the people who
have an enquiry and those that enclosed the wrong money or forgot to sign
their cheque or whatever, packs up the orders, stamps the envelopes and
takes them to the post. The time this takes depends on how many orders
there are, of course - sometimes half the morning, sometimes the whole
day.

When I get back from work, there's a pile of stuff for me to deal with.
That's basically the technical support:  problems with disks that don't
work or don't seem to work, compatibility enquiries, and questions like
how to get screen dumps to work with a particular printer, or what's the
best programming language.  I also do the marketing, sending disks off to
journalists in the hope of some free publicity, and occasionally even
buying some paid-for advertising space.

Then there's the very great pleasure of receiving new software, trying it
out, and cataloguing it.  I try to write back to people who send us stuff,
although if the tray is stacked with problems, then this might get left
until the weekend.

So that's a typical day - but there are lots of one-off tasks like
arranging for exhibitions, publishing the catalogue, dealing with lawsuits
etc....

STEN:  The early P.D programmes look rather basic now. Do you think that
the quality of programmes has improved over the years?

MD:  Well yes - not just PD programs, but the whole range of ST software
has advanced tremendously, partly because fast and widespread distribution
through the PD scene has encouraged a better understanding of software
design and programming techniques.

STEN:  Is there anything that you look for when choosing discs for the
library?

MD:  I try hard not to look for anything! This is the public domain, not a
commercial publishing operation looking for a saleable product. My feeling
is that if someone was inspired to write it, then someone else will have a
need for it.  My job is to connect the two parties, not approve or
disapprove.

But I can't help liking software that's well designed, does a useful job,
or out-performs commercial products. This enthusiasm probably comes across
in our catalogue.

On very rare occasions I've rejected software that's incompetent or
strongly offensive.

STEN:  There's been a lot of changes in the P.D scene in the last couple
of years and many programmes that would previously have been released as
P.D or shareware are now being licenced exclusively to individual
libraries; do you think that this is a good idea?

MD:  I wouldn't stop anyone from doing that if they wanted to.  But in my
opinion, one disadvantage of this is that it can be confusing, leading to
mistakes and extra work.  For example, if a customer buys such a disk from
a library, they may send it off to other libraries as a swap, not
realising that it's not PD.

STEN:  Can you think of any particular reason why the shareware ideal
hasn't taken off in this country? Is it just that we aren't as honest as
the Americans, or are there other reasons?

MD:  I think the reason Americans register more shareware than we do, is
the same reason white sheep give more wool than black sheep: there are
more of them!

I don't think you can expect shareware registration to succeed when it
involves sending money outside the country. To do so is expensive,
troublesome, and often disappointing.

Shareware works best when there's a real motivating factor for the user -
something to be gained from it by both parties.  Some authors are better
than others at putting across the benefits they're offering.  Also, it's
more appropriate for some programs than others.

STEN:  According to ST Format, Jeff Minter has been receiving 20 - 30
registrations a day for his Llamatron game.  Do you think that his success
could persuade other authors to release their programmes as shareware?

MD:  I certainly hope so.  Indeed, I think there has been an increase
recently in the number of shareware programs released.  Programmers are
more willing to put in the effort of developing a product when they think
there may be some reward.  At the same time, they are less trusting in the
honesty of commercial publishers and the rewards to be gained via that
route.

STEN:  What do you think of the publicity that P.D's had in the last
couple of years? It's certainly helped to get the P.D ideal more widely
known, but has there been any downside to it?

MD:  On the positive side, it's made people aware of software that they
might not otherwise have known about, which must be good.  With shareware,
the magazines are careful to emphasise the need to register, and this has
made people more aware of that too.

On the other hand, it's made the scene a lot more commercial - not so much
with the ST, but in the world of clones where the market is much larger,
and this is spreading to the ST.  In the long term, I'm afraid this means
PD becoming part of the world of big business, with more and more
middlemen all after their profit, prices rising, and non-commercial items
forced out of circulation.

STEN:  What do you think of the two 'P.D review' magazines that've just
appeared?

MD:  So far, I've only seen one of them.  I believe that it was produced
in a hurry to spoil the launch of the other one, and so perhaps it's
unfair to comment.

But I'm going to comment anyway.  It was rubbish - full of mistakes, and
no mention of me!

Publishers like Europress and Future entering the scene is part of the big
business syndrome.  Obviously they aren't in it for the enjoyment. But you
have to realise, they're desperate!  In the knowledge based society that's
around the corner, the print media are dinosaurs. Because of the high cost
of getting ink on to paper, they have to attract a mass audience.  But
that's no longer needed, there are more efficient ways of publishing, like
STEN, that can work with a much smaller audience.

At the moment, it costs about £1200 for a publisher to create a CD master,
and about £300 for a consumer to buy a CD-ROM drive.  Both those figures
are coming down fast - unlike the cost of printing a magazine and shipping
it into the High Street.  I hope that in a couple of years I'll be
publishing my catalogue on CD-ROM.

What I'm saying is that I hope the PD scene, as we know it, survives long
enough to take part in the media revolution of the 21st century.

STEN:  More and more users seem to be describing themselves as P.D
libraries and advertising via the free classifieds.  Our view at STEN is
that 90% of them are only interested in cashing in on the P.D scene and
aren't putting anything back into it.  We'd much rather see five or six
large and well-run libraries than a hundred small ones covering the same
ground..  Would you agree with this? (I think that's what's known as a
loaded question...)

MD:  H'mm, well, I think those that have something to offer will survive,
and the others won't. A large and well-run library has to start somewhere,
and competition makes for a healthy market.  So I can't say I agree 100%.

STEN:  It's widely known that Waddington took you to court over what they
claimed was an infringement of their Scrabble copyright.  I know that this
is still a touchy subject for you, but can you tell us anything about what
happened? Why didn't they take the other libraries to court?

MD:  Er, it was Spear's actually, and they didn't take us to court - they
threatened to do so if we didn't (a) stop distributing STrabble and (b)
pay them compensation for having done so.

Spear's claimed that customers who obtained the program would be misled
into thinking that it was an official Spear's product, and that this would
injure their reputation.

We didn't agree.  First, it was obvious that the program wasn't from
Spear's - the screen and the documentation both said so.  Secondly, the
quality of the program was such that even if customers thought it was from
Spear's, it could do their reputation nothing but good.  We wrote to
customers, asking about this, and they confirmed it.

However, we weren't prepared to go to court.  My experience of British
justice (commercial section) is that the side with the more expensive
lawyer wins the case, and then the loser pays both sides' costs.  Spear's
lawyer was on £150 per hour!  So we paid up.

I certainly wouldn't claim that the program didn't infringe their
copyright.  My point is that probably 60% of PD software infringes
someone's copyright, and most copyright owners would either accept this as
the sincerest form of flattery, or write to PD libraries (as Atari has
recently done) pointing out the infringement and asking them to put
matters right.

As for why we were picked on, it's simple: the program was publicised in a
magazine and we were named as the source.  I don't know what happened with
other libraries, although I imagine they have all dropped the program from
their catalogues.

I believe this was the first case of this kind, and I worked hard to get
some free publicity from it - not just to retrieve something from the
wreck, but also to warn others.  But as a result we received lots of
letters of support from all sorts of people (including competitors), and I
know that many of them also wrote to Spear's expressing, er, the opposite
of support.  So, one way and another, we shouldn't see any more cases like
that.  I certainly hope not.

STEN:  New Computer Excess claimed recently that many P.D libraries and
bulletin boards have been distributing pornographic material that could
corrupt children.  I know that you've got an 'over 18's' section in the
library, so how do you feel about this allegation?

MD:  We started the 'Top Shelf' section so that we could provide full and
fair catalogue descriptions of this type of material without offending
those who find it distasteful.  As I've said before, I don't think it's up
to me to judge what's good and bad:  if it exists, and you want it, then
it's here.

Of course, like everyone else we are subject to the law of the land:  the
Obscene Publications Act forbids us to distribute anything that would tend
to deprave and corrupt a reasonable person into whose hands it might fall.
Unfortunately there is no definition of exactly what this covers, but I'm
sure most people would agree that extreme S&M, and anything involving
children, is beyond the pale.

The stuff in our Top Shelf section is definitely indecent, within the
meaning of the Indecent Displays Act.  That means you mustn't display it
publicly (or, incidentally, send it down a phone line). But to the best of
our knowledge and belief, it isn't obscene, within the meaning of the
Obscene Publications Act.  If it were, then it would be illegal.

The precautions we take against distributing pornography to minors are as
good as those of any mail order supplier, better than those of every
corner shop, and infinitely superior to BBSs. Ultimately though, if under-
18s want to get hold of pornography, then they will do so - I certainly
did.

But that's a long way from being corrupted by it.  Anyone who's likely to
be corrupted this way is very vulnerable indeed, and in need of protection
not just from us, but from the modern world as a whole.

My attitude to the New Computer Express story is that it's a good way to
sell magazines during the silly season.  Popular Computing Weekly, in the
last desperate weeks before it folded, was running that story in every
issue.  Try substituting the word 'newsagent' for 'PD library', and you
realise it's a non-story.

STEN:  Are you happy with the way the P.D scene's developed?

MD:  Not entirely happy with the commercialism, but that's the price of
its success.  It's still the best way for users to get hold of software,
and for programmers to gain experience and exposure.

STEN:  Is there anything that you'd like to see happen in the P.D scene?

MD:  I'd like to see the 'Line' indicator on STWriter's editing screen
work properly ... I'd like to finish the adventure I'm writing using
CAT v2 (disk 1612)... that's about it really, I'm fairly happy with things
as they are.

STEN:  What do you think of STEN? An honest answer now - we can take it!

MD:  OK ... I like disk-zines, I think they're the wave of the future, and
STEN is the best I've seen for the general (serious-ish) reader in terms
of its design and content.

The shell program works well, too.  The 'Contents Page' where you click to
go to any 'page' is such a big advantage over a printed magazine!

To survive and prosper, STEN needs to work as well in mono as it does in
colour - a technical challenge, almost but not quite met.

The proof-reading needs looking at, the writers need to settle down, and
you need to develop an overall style or image, an identity that's
immediately recognisable.  As an advertising person, I'd say that what you
need is branding.  Another aspect of this is a regular (monthly?) issue
date.

Other than that it's great - keep it up!

STEN:  Thanks for sparing the time to answer our questions, Martyn, and
thanks in particular for all the hard work that you put into the library -
there's no doubt about it being run by an enthusiast, for enthusiasts.

MD:  My pleasure - thanks for the space to express myself.


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