Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/diskmags/3565-4.665/dmg-3609/news.txt/jakebain.asc

Text File | 1993-02-17 | 19KB | 385 lines

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                    ∙  THE STEN INTERVIEW RETURNS   ∙
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       The  famous  STEN interviews have returned.   This is a  series  in
which  we talk to some of the 'movers and shapers' in the  ST  world,  and
ask what they think of the ways in which the scene has developed.

       In the hot seat for this issue is Jake Bain of Caledonia PDL



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                                ∙  DATA  ∙
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STEN:  How old are you?

JB:    36

STEN:  Where do you live?

JB:    Inverness, capital of the Scottish Highlands.

STEN:  What work do you do?

JB:    Full-time Manager & Sole proprietor of Caledonia PDL.

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

JB:    An  Atari 65xe which was bought for my son,  and taken over by  me.
It  really  fired  my interest in computers - a  very  under-rated  little
machine!

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

JB:    A 3 year-old STE upgraded to 4 Meg, and a 520 STFM with a single-
sided drive,  soon to be replaced.   Until recently I had an Atari
Portfolio, but a customer begged me to sell it to him, so I did.   I also
have a Phillips CM8833 MK II colour monitor,  an Atari SM124  mono monitor
second drive,  LC20 mono printer and a Canon BJ 10EX.

STEN:  What do you mainly use it for?

JB:    To run the business 90% of the time,  but I play the odd game  from
time to time,  like anyone else,  and I'm always messing around with  new
and  interesting PD software that comes my way.   Mostly utilities  -  I'm
a tinkerer I suppose, although I do like checking out the better demos.

STEN:  What's your favourite productivity software?

JB:    Double  Sentry  Elite  from  Finansoft.   It's  the  best  accounts
programme available for the ST and I use it for the library.  There are so
many  other  PD and Shareware titles worthy of mention that I  can  hardly
list them all here.

STEN:  What are your favourite games?

JB:    I  love driving games in particular,  and 'Vroom' is the best  I've
seen.   The flight sim 'Knights of the Sky' is excellent too - easier than
the usual stuff.   I like games like 'Fantasy Island Dizzy',  but I  don't
care  for  platform games or shoot-em-ups.   Anything that's  different  I
like,  but  I wish the software houses would hurry up and develop for  the
STE.   'Lobotomy Invaders' is the only game so far that utilises the power
of the STE.

STEN:  What are your favourite PD or Shareware programmes?

JB:    '1st  Word'  for word processing,  'Fastcopy  3'  for  duplicating,
'Cheetah'  for file copying.   'Superboot' is a cracking  boot-up  utility
that I use a lot.   Brian Campbell's database,  although the PD version is
restricted,  is  the  best address book database you can get,  but  for  a
powerfull,  feature-packed and truly amazing shareware database, you can't
beat  'Fastbase'  by  Andrew Brown.   On the  games  side,  Jeff  Minter's
'Llamatron'  hasn't been beaten yet,  but the Budgie game 'Cyberstorm'  is
probably on a par with it.  Another Budgie game, 'Match It', has got to be
the best puzzle-type game,  although there are loads of them in the PD.  I
could go on and on, but I won't - so there!

STEN:  What do you like about the ST scene?

JB:    The cameraderie between ST owners,  and the way we usally all stick
together to defend the machine's shortcomings impressed me from the start.
Just  why Atari should instill this kind of loyalty escapes me.   Most  of
all,  I  reckon  it's  the best all-round  home  computer,  and  the  most
powerful and versatile at the price.

STEN:  What do you dislike about it?

JB:    I  have  never  understood  Atari's lack  of  customer  and  dealer
support.   Everyone knows they are the most unapproachable company around.
The  lack of software support,  especially for the STE.   The ST  and  STE
have  some  of the best programmers available,  and their  work  is  often
under-rated and ignored by the big software houses.   My only other  gripe
is the way Atari keep changing the TOS,  making so much software incompat-
ible,  although I know the programmers are often to blame.  If this is the
case, then surely Atari could do something about it!

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

JB:    Not  that many really,  but I do play the odd game of pool,  and  I
like  watching  TV and drinking (too much usually!) and having  sex  (when
sober).

STEN:  What music do you listen to?

JB:    'The  Colour of Spring' by Talk Talk, 'Accidentally on  Purpose' by
Gillan and Glover,  'Rain Dogs' by Tom Waits,  'Robbie Robertson' - Robbie
Robertson,  'Mellisa Etheridge' - Mellisa Etheridge.  Loads more, but I'll
stop there.

       I won't listen to anything by Stock Aitken and Wankerman - oops!  -
Waterman, UB bloody 40, or any of that lousy (c)rap.

STEN:  How would you describe youself?

JB:    Well, I'm 36 years old, as i've said, but I've always been about 19
really.  I'm 5'10" tall and ridiculously good-looking!  Oh, and I'm modest
to a fault too!   I was a motorcycle nut for some years in my late  teens,
but I think I've grown out of it now.   I don't have a bike any more,  but
I've just bought a Ford Orion, so I'm not without wheels.

       I  was a construction worker for most of my life,  and was  trained
and  qualified  as a scaffolder,  then worked in the oil industry  for  10
years before I was made redundant.  I was re-employed by the same firm for
a short while and made redundant again.   While I was unemployed I  bought
my STE, and I've never looked back.

STEN:  What's your ultimate ambition?

JB:    To win a fortune on the pools, (or the national lottery?) retire to
Rio de Janiero,  and spend my twilight years loafing on the beach watching
all  those  luscious  bathing  beauties  gambolling  in  the  surf,  (wife
permitting of course).


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                           ∙  THE INTERVIEW  ∙
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STEN:  Why did you start the library?

JB:    I  was  fed-up with the poor service I was getting from  'some'  PD
libraries and,  urged on by friends, I started Caledonia.  I like to think
that I provide a fast,  friendly and efficient service,  and my  customers
seem to endorse that.  I couldn't go back to working for someone else now;
there's  a certain freedom involved in being self-employed,  and I  get  a
buzz out of helping people and providing a service that meets their needs.

STEN:  How long have you been running it?

JB:    Caledonia came into being in November 1990,  and I've been  running
it single-handedly ever since.   Angie, my wife helps a lot though, and my
son helps with some of the mailing.

STEN:  Is the library the main part of your business?

JB:    Yes,  I  do of course sell hardware and peripheral items,  but  the
main  part  is  the library.   It's very important to me  to  be  able  to
maintain  the library,  and I have to try to make money in other  ways  to
ensure its survival,  because of the overheads which are a lot higher than
most folk believe.

STEN:  What's a typical 'day in the life' of Caledonia PDL?

JB:    Well,  It's not always the same daily routine,  but I start  around
7:30 am,  on a typical day, and get stuck into the first mail delivery.  I
usually  manage  to  have  that cleared and despatched  by  11am  if  it's
moderately busy,  although telephone orders and enquiries hold me up to  a
degree.   By that time I have the second delivery to contend with, which I
try  to get out by 1:00 pm.   It's not always possible of  course,  but  I
normally manage.

       I  generally  stop for something resembling lunch between  1:00  pm
and  2:00 pm,  but the telephone still keeps me  busy.   During  lunch,  I
often take the chance to go through the non-orders and business mail,  and
usually find a quiet moment to update the catalogue by mid-afternoon,  but
I  usually  have to wait until evening for that task.   We  still  receive
telephone orders in the evenings,  (often as late as 11:00 pm or later) so
I'm  kept busy most of the time.

       Some  days are not so hectic,   and I can find time to catch up  on
things  which I hadn't time for other days.   Even when I try to relax  in
the evenings,  I always seem to find something else to do, but I generally
try  to  make  sure that I don't push myself too  hard.   Despite  how  it
sounds,  I  do manage to play the odd game or mess around with the  latest
programs. So there you have it,not all fun but that's the way I prefer it.

STEN:  What  are your most popular discs?   Are some areas of the  library
more popular than others?

JB:    I've  found  that the most popular disks are generally  those  that
have  had some exposure in the press,  but there are some 'regulars'  that
get  ordered more than others.   Mostly though,  it's the flavour  of  the
month from reviews or advertising,  so you can push the best to an extent.
Sadly,  many small programs are missed by reviewers,  and often these  can
become  invaluable programs to the user.   The most popular areas of  this
library are definitely Utilities and Desktop Publishing,  though Games and
Demos come a close second.   I consider the library to be mainly utilities
and applications based but of course we cover everything.

STEN:  We  know that you stock the 'Ripped Off' demo series,  but what  do
you think of demos in general?

JB:    Yeah,  the "Ripped-Off" disks created a lot of interest,  and  they
are great value for demo collectors,  considering the number of demos that
these  guys manage to squeeze onto one disk.   In general I like to  check
out new demos,  and the megademos which are put together so cleverly  with
main menus and so on,  do impress me,  but there's a lot of crap  too.   I
like  to  see  the coders creating new and interesting  effects  not  seen
before,  but  sadly  there's  only so far you can  push  the  machine  and
there's  not much left that can be done even on the STE.   Still,  I  know
these demo coders are greedily awaiting the arrival of the Falcon,  and if
it ever does materialise, we're going to see some stunning stuff.

STEN:  You  once  said  that you'd like to see more  demo  coders  writing
games.  Has this happened?

JB:    That's  right!   I mean,  these guys are probably some of the  most
talented  programmers on the ST scene,  and they have the ability  so  why
not.   Some,  like  my  old mate 'Oberje' of the  Fingerbobs  are  already
converting  and creating commercial games for the big  software  concerns.
What really impresses me is when you see excellent quality games appearing
in  megadems  like the two which were on 'Syntax Terror' by  Delta  Force!
You know then, that these lads can do it, and in most cases they do.

STEN:  Let's change the subject now.   What do you think of the  Shareware
idea?   It obviously isn't enough to rely on users' honesty, but are there
any other ways that it could be made to work?

JB:    Absolutely!   Users'  honesty  is practically a waste of  time  and
energy  when it comes to writing shareware.   Some users  are  honest,  or
impressed  enough with a program,  to pay the registration,  but  if  they
have  the full program and enough documentation to get by  on,  why  would
the majority pay the extra?

       An  excellent implementation recently,  was the game  'Grandad  and
the  quest  for  the holey vest' by Ian Scott.   Ian gave  the  user  just
enough  of  the  game  to give a fair feel of the  game,  and  then  at  a
specified  point in the game the user was asked for a  six-digit  security
code  to be entered.   The only way to acquire the code,  was to send  Ian
the £5.00 registration, and I'm delighted to say it worked well.

       Other  ways to encourage users to register have worked well  as  in
the  case  of  the  products by Rufus  Developments  -  ie  'HP  Chrome/BJ
Chrome'.   A  constantly  nagging alert box reminding the  user  that  the
program   is  shareware  is  a  fairly  subtle  reminder  of  the   users'
responsibility to the author.

       Naturally,  incentives can be used to woo the potential  supporter,
and to great effect.   In the case of 'HP Chrome',  a printed manual,  and
the  promise  of  free updates and free copy of the  next  product  before
general release.   Ultimately though,  the program HAS to be GOOD in order
to  encourage any support.   I mean,  all the incentives in the world  are
not going to make you part with yer hard earned if the product is crap!


STEN:  Do  you  know  of any Shareware programmers  who've  had  a
worthwhile  return for their efforts?

JB:    Yep!  Ian Scott whom I've mentioned reports that he has made enough
from registrations of 'Grandad' to encourage him to write a follow-up game
AND a sequel to Grandad.

       Kevin Munro who wrote 'The Financier' has already made enough  from
his first shareware venture that he is now working on 'Financier II'!

       Andrew  Brown  of 'Fastbase' fame and others has long  been  making
substancial  returns from his shareware efforts,  and then  there's  Rufus
Developments  whose  programs and incentives are sure to bring  in  enough
rewards.

       Edinburgh  based  'Sinister Developments' have  just  released  the
second  of their Shareware games,  'Centipede',  and if the quality of  it
and the previous game,  'Asteroids',  are anything to go by,  they deserve
all the encouragement the shareware-buying ST community can muster.

STEN:  The PD scene has become more commercial in the last couple of years
- what do you think of that?

JB:    Yeah,  it sounds like a contradiction in terms really,  but I  know
what you mean.   I think it's a good thing both for the libraries and  the
consumers,  because it means both parties can benefit from wider access to
affordable software.   Also, the quality of the PD and Shareware available
has improved with most being on a par with 'commercial' software.   The PD
scene may appear to be more commercial,  but I think that's because  there
has been more exposure in the press in the last two years or  so.   That's
had  the effect of more interest being shown in PD by  the  computer-using
public.

STEN:  What  did you think of the 'Shareware Shopper' and 'Public  Domain'
magazines?   Do you think that there's a role for a *good* PD magazine?

JB:    I personally didn't think much of them, and privately predicted the
demise of both after the first couple of issues.   'Public Domain' was the
better of the two, and showed some promise for a time, but as predicted it
died a quick and painless death.

       The less said about 'Shareware Shopper' the better,  but  basically
they WERE doing what PD libraries have been accused of,  (unfairly) in the
past - making a profit from something that is basically free.   They  also
caused  a lot of problems for certain  libraries,  perhaps  inadvertantly,
and  gave a generally bad impression of the whole scene.

       If  the  more commercial-based concerns like  'Format'  and  'User'
eventually  abandon  the  ST,  a *good* PD magazine  could  be  a  welcome
addition to the scene,  but as it stands at the moment I'd say an emphatic
No!

STEN:  Keeping  to the magazine theme for a while,  what do you  think  of
the current disczines?   In particular,  what do you think of  STEN?   (An
honest answer now, Jake - we can take it!)

JB:    For  a  while there,  the sheer number of diskzines  appearing  was
too  ridiculous  to even hope that something good could come  of  it  all.
'Cult' type mags like 'Maggie' became more and more tacky and peurile, and
didn't even desrve  mention.

       I personally have always preferred the enthusiast-based  magazines,
and  STEN fits that bill.  It's not to everybody's taste,  but  you  can't
please  all of the people etc,  etc.   I think there's plenty of room  for
disczines in the PD scene,  and the better ones like ST News and STEN will
always be a welcome read.   Area-specific disk mags like the  programmers'
one,  'HP  Source',  could  catch on,  but some areas of  computing  don't
really  lend  themselves  to the disk  mag  format.   After  much  careful
consideration,  (honest!)  I reckon STEN comes out on top,  no  kidding  I
really mean it. (Can they keep it up though, I wonder?)

STEN:  What do you think of the other PD libraries?

JB:    Personally I have a healthy respect for most other good  libraries.
I  have built up a mutually satisfying rapport with Mike Goodman over  the
past  year,  and  had a great relationship with Martyn Dryden of  the  now
sadly defunct SWSL,  and still have.   I abhor the tactics of  'cut-price'
cowboys who really have no right to call themselves libraries,  (they know
who they are!) and who offer absolutely no service whatsoever, and have no
respect  for  their customers.   I have had several of  my  own  customers
complain  about  these 'libraries' concerning both the  quality  of  their
disks  and  the lack of service.  Those are the libraries that I  have  no
time  or respect for.   Apart from them,  I guess it's a case of live  and
let live.

STEN:  If  there was any way in which you could alter the PD  scene,  what
would you do?

JB:    Hmmm,  that's a hard one!   I think I'd like to be able to rid  the
scene  of those 'cut-price' libraries I've just mentioned,  and  generally
ensure a better system of service and support for the end user.   It would
be  nice  to know that there was some way in which  the  better  libraries
could ensure a common high standard.   Other than that I think things  are
fairly  satisfactory  as  they  are,  but there's  always  some  room  for
improvement.  Any suggestions?

STEN:  Are there any recent PD discs that you'd really recommend?

JB:    I've  mentioned some earlier,  like the game 'Centipede' (Disk  GM-
145).  On  the demo side,  the STE ONLY demo 'Grotesque' (Disk STE-46)  is
the best ever STE ONLY disk I've seen this year.   The nicest utility I've
had  lately is 'Monotari',  a mono only personal accounts  program,  (Disk
AU-207).   There's  loads  more I could recommend,  but I  don't  want  to
advertise blatantly!   Mind you readers of STEN who apply for a  'Prestige
Discount Card' from Caledonia,  (Just £15.00) could find out more  through
our  exclusive 'PD World' newsletter/reviews page.   Or maybe  they  could
just 'phone [phone] for more info?

STEN:  Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions,  Jake,  and all
the best for 1993!

JB:    Thank you!  Same time next year?

STEN:  See ya then!




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