|
Writer of original Mac development doc talks OS X
March 10, 2004 - 13:44 EST
by Dennis Sellers - Caroline Rose, the primary author and editor of the original Mac developer documentation, is no longer an Apple employee, but is still a big Mac fan. In spite of writing about technical things for a living, she says she's no "geek/technophile" and admits that she had to be "dragged kicking and screaming" to Mac OS X.
"But now I'm a delighted Panther user," Rose told MacMinute. "I think Apple's doing a great job of making these inevitable transitions relatively painless, if not altogether enjoyable. I'd already seen much of this same software in action back when I was at NeXT, and I'm very pleased with its translation to the Mac."
Currently working as a technical writer and editor, she was editor of develop, Apple's late, lamented (and award-winning) technical journal for developers. Rose once managed NeXT's publications group, writing and editing several NeXT manuals. Her experience also includes: writing reference documentation for Mac OS X developers; creating style guides and editing technical content about software development for numerous companies, including Rational Software (now IBM) and Nokia; co-authoring new editions of the PDF Reference and PostScript Language Reference books for Adobe; and penning the WriteNow for Macintosh user manual.
Rose is "happily self-employed," and has been since Apple's technical journal and its entire team was canned as part of the massive layoffs in 1997. She mainly does editing or writing of developer documentation, but will soon start editing Mac user-oriented "ebooks" that will be published by TidBITS. Creating editorial style guides is one of her specialties. Her clients have included large companies like Adobe, IBM, Nokia, and yes, even Apple, as well as some lesser-known, smaller companies.
"But I enjoy it all," Rose says. "I especially liked working on some Inside Mac-like documentation for Apple last year; it's always exciting when I have the opportunity to do Mac-related work again. I'm currently writing some developer documentation related to a new standard called BPEL. I'm happy there's enough cross-compatibility that I can work for clients who exclusively use Windows, even though I use a Mac; I figure if that ever changes, I'll have to retire!"
Though she successfully made the upgrade to Mac OS X, she knows many Mac users haven't and wishes Apple would spend some extra effort to assist such folks.
"I know many people who are freaked out, and positively stymied, at the thought of upgrading from Mac OS 9," Rose says. "They're getting disgusted with their increasingly buggy, underpowered OS 9 systems, and many are considering simply buying a new computer -- which could very well end up being a Windows box. The Mac stemmed from the concept of being a toaster-like appliance for the average Joe or Jane, and it can certainly be so out of the box, but I'm afraid that upgrading often ends up leaving the average person in the dust. (Toasters don't need upgrading, and are a lot cheaper to replace!)"
She also encourages Apple to put more effort into end-user support in general, even if the economics of doing so doesn't completely work out in the short term. Grateful users become loyal users, which pays off in the long run, she says.
"Let me talk to a human being (without spending tons of money) when I hit a snag, and I'll love you forever," Rose told MacMinute. "Some small companies that do that have won my undying loyalty, and I don't see why it wouldn't also work well for Apple. I can remember some decisions that were made in the old Mac days that seemed financially wise to the bean counters at the time but were short sighted -- history that's best not repeated. In my opinion, Apple's future direction shouldn't be so much about the technology as about the people who will be using it, including the non-geeks."
She's happy that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has helped revive the company and set out in new directions that keep it healthy. Rose feels that the Mac alone isn't enough for the company's long-term success.
"I'm not savvy or foresightful enough to say where I think Apple should or will be in five or 10 years, but I think that for the Mac to survive they'll really have to stay on their toes," she says. "The dominance of Windows scares me; it will take a lot to stop that momentum."
Though Rose is too happy with her self-employed status to ever consider returning to Apple, she wouldn't mind more contract work from the company, such as developer documentation. She still has friends at Apple and, being a resident of Palo Alto, California, still bumps into Jobs around town occasionally. Whether or not she ever does any work for Apple again, however, she will continue to use the company's products.
"Currently, I have a G4, nothing fancy, but I'll always use a Mac!" Rose says.
(This is another in our series of interviews with people influential in the development of the Mac over the past 20 years. Other stories with some of the original Mac team include:
[ Email this story ]
Today on MacMinute...
MacMinute update from the Flack family
Pro Applications Update 2008-01
Burger Shop now available
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.4.1 update posted
MacBook Air Bluetooth Firmware Update 1.0 posted
Deals: Toon Boom Storyboard' 32% off today only
Equinux enhances The Tube 2.6 with new EPG engine
iPresentee releases new add-ons for Keynote
Deals: Cheetah3D 47% off today only
Creaceed ships Morph Age Regular/Pro 4.0
New iPhone cases now available from DLO
Stairways Software releases Keyboard Maestro 3.0
Deals: Sandvox 39% off today only
New Adobe TV Programming comes online
Apple releases numerous updates
Deals: NetShade 48% off today only
Apple ships Final Cut Server
Grantwood Ships tuneband for iPod nano, Nike+ Compatible
GarageGames releases TGEA 1.7 for advanced 3d game development
Deals: MacJournal 37% off today only
|
