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Mac Folklore Radio FAQ

  1. Your website address is too confusing!
  2. Is there a section of the FAQ where you thank people?
  3. Are you the same Derek Warren that wrote a crazed keyboard review a while ago?
  4. Do you really respond to listener mail?
  5. You're ripping off Andy Hertzfeld's book! I'm telling!
  6. Is this a word-for-word reading of the original text?
  7. When is Story XYZ being released?
  8. Where can I download the whole book?
  9. Are you making any money from this?
  10. Who's paying for your bandwidth?
  11. I love your voice! Can I hire you to do some narration or voiceover work?
  12. I hate the way you read.
  13. What are you going to do after you finish recording the book?
  14. Where can I get more Mac history tidbits?

Your website address is too confusing!

Yes, sorry about that! You can now find the show at www.macfolkloreradio.com, thanks to a generous donation. Unfortunately, I had no money to spare so buying a domain didn't work out at first.

Is there a section of the FAQ where you thank people?

Why, yes there is. I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me, but most of all...

Are you the same Derek Warren that wrote a crazed keyboard review a while ago?

The very same. I have a few more input device reviews in the works.

Do you really respond to listener mail?

Every last message, if you leave a valid address in the comments or write me directly. I love getting feedback from people.

You're ripping off Andy Hertzfeld's book! I'm telling!

The project is based on the text at folklore.org, which is under the Creative Commons license. If you don't know much about the Creative Commons license, I'd encourage you to watch these entertaining clips that explain everything you need to know. If the Creative Commons licenses haven't touched your life or your work, they will soon. On top of that, I did contact Andy about whether or not he liked the idea before I started despite the generous license, and I'm not making a cent from this.

Is this a word-for-word reading of the original text?

Almost. If I catch typos, grammatical errors, or really awkward passages, I'll improvise a bit. I try to change as little as possible while not getting tongue-tied or abusing listeners. There are some stories that I've left out altogether because they were rather redundant (Nybbles), while others aren't really suitable for audio to begin with (Busy Being Born).

When is Story XYZ being released?

I don't know. I follow the order of the stories fairly closely, and there's a story released around every week or so.

Where can I download the whole book?

I wanted to get the project rolling as quickly as possible, so I recorded half a dozen stories and launched the site. Things are being recorded story by story by just me, and it takes anywhere from two to ten hours to rehearse, record and edit each story. At the rate I'm going, I should finish the book by the end of 2006 or early 2007. Eventually there will be larger book "chapters" available for download.

Are you making any money from this?

Not a cent.

[Update, September 2008]... although we welcome donations to the Parkinson Society of British Columbia.

Who's paying for your bandwidth?

Some friends and I run our own Internet services, so we're very lucky. MFR pushed 25GB the day the press release went out.

I love your voice! Can I get you to do some narration or voiceover work?

Absolutely, depending on how much time we're talking about. Please contact me via e-mail (derek@trideja.com) and we'll talk. I'm looking for networking and fun demo opportunities rather than money for the foreseeable future.

I hate the way you read.

Hey, that's not a question! (Sorry I made you stick around and listen...) Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome. I want you to enjoy this too.

What are you going to do after you finish recording the book?

I welcome your ideas, hopefully along with written assent that I have the right to actually record it under the CC license. There are lots of other Mac tales being retold around Usenet, the web and Mac old-timers, so I'm willing to record anything that's worth retelling if you'd like to submit something. One thing I've considered reading include the tale of the Brazilian Unitron Mac512 clone, but that's all I've got so far. Oh, and the Brief History of ClarisWorks!

Where can I get more Mac history tidbits?

There are lots of very tasty Computer Chronicles episodes at archive.org. I've filtered through and picked out the reasonably good to must-see episodes. As with a lot of things in life, the earlier you go back, the more interesting things get.