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21/05/2002 Interview with Elisabeth Liddell- creator of FoxPop.
How many people work on FoxPop and (on average) how many hours are spent working on the site each week?
I am the web-master, and do all the assembly and maintenance of the site, which has over 1,500 web pages, and about 200 MB of data. I work with my husband Mike and a small Editorial Board of 7 regular helpers, who have been a part of FoxPop since the very beginning (almost 4 years ago now). In addition there are about 12 regular, senior contributors who can be relied on to send in articles and reviews from time to time. But all have regular jobs, and lives, and sometimes they need to take a break for several months at a time. So it comes down to myself and Mike and a changing group of contributors each month. Between us we probably spend at least 30 hours per week on FoxPop. The part that I enjoy most is working with the PDAs themselves, reviewing machines, software etc. So I try to keep some reviewing going. We try to make the experience of FoxPop rather like a paper magazine, with each new 'edition' having a full complement of articles and reviews - rather than the somewhat scrappy experience of having an article uploaded every day or two, and a main page that is a jumble of random bits and pieces! But it is also helpful to have time to assemble, and prepare the linking cover pages etc. - it cuts the basic administrative load a little. We have moved to a monthly upload recently - with a target of about 20 new articles, reviews and features in each upload.
You are one of the few sites who look at various PDA's- why is that?
Well - we decided early on that there are two very good reasons for covering as many platforms as we reasonably can: 1. It makes sense to know the 'opposition'. A lot of very devoted followers of one PDA platform know nothing about other Oses - and that means that they can only talk from a position of ignorance and probably of prejudice too. 2. Once we started looking at other Oses, we quickly discovered that there are strengths and weaknesses in all the Oses. And we realised that there was a lot to learn from them - things that EPOC could usefully learn from Palm, things that CE could learn from EPOC - and so on. And we found that we were in a better position to comment on developments in one OS when we had reference points in others. I think that our decision has paid off rather well - we get a lot of requests for advice from people and businesses who need to make decisions about using mobile computing, and need good independent advice on which platform to opt for, before looking at particular machines!
What's your personal favourite PDA and what do you currently use?
I am a big fan of the Windows powered OS, and currently use a Jornada 568 Pocket PC 2002 - and I also have an old and trusty MobilePro 770 with the HPC Pro OS, and an iPAQ 3660 with the upgrade OS. I also keep two EPOC machines in action, a Revo and a 5mx. FoxPop also has an iPAQ now with the Linux OS installed on it. So I have quite a 'stable' of machines on the go, and all get used for reviews.
If you could add one (yet to be invented) feature to a PDA what would it be?
This has to be the Holy Grail of getting machines to talk to each other! When you work with more than one OS you really get to see the problems that are caused by so many different OSes. Each OS demands desktop software, and file conversion etc. Working with several synchronisation programs on one PC can be tough. And almost all PDAs come with IR ports - so when will I be able to swap files directly between them?
What is your favourite PDA program and why?
Well - it is difficult to select just one program. I would rather highlight one kind of program - the eText reader - there are various specific programs according to the platform you use. There are a growing number like TomeRaider, Acrobat PDF and the Palm/Peanut readers that span most PDA platforms. But the eText reader is such a wonderful idea - to be able to load up a huge range of reference books, novels, poetry etc. and have such a wealth of reading quite literally in the palm of your hand. And there are so many resources that make books freely available online, like Project Gutenberg. It is such a delight!
Do you feel that Psion could have been more successful had they made a stronger marketing effort in the States early on?
Looking at the PDA sector today you can see just how hard, cutthroat and merciless it is! Personally I think that Psion could have become a world player, and I think they were inward looking and complacent. They could have been the real challenger to Palm long before the Pocket PC came along. They had a bad habit (I think it is a very British habit) of expecting the customer to come to them rather than taking the product to the customer. They undervalued marketing and advertising. And this is true within the UK and Europe - not just in the USA. Part of the problem was undoubtedly the lack of finances to tackle the USA (they just weren't a big enough firm) but part of it was a lack of vision. And they have paid the price!
Who do you think will become dominant - Pocket PC, Palm Powered or another platform?
I guess if you are talking 'real-politik' then Microsoft have more money to throw at the sector than anyone else! And they have a formidable reputation for coming from behind, learning from their competitors, and eventually delivering a winning solution. So if I were asked to place a bet I would (reluctantly) select Pocket PC. But personally I would like to see a thriving sector with good, healthy competition between 3 or 4 strong contenders. That way we as consumers get the benefit of new ideas and developments.
What's your favourite film and why?
Oh my! Just one? I guess it would have to be Citizen Kane - as Orson Welles was such a visual and technical genius. He was pushing at the boundaries of the possible, and most of his films can put current films to shame (despite all the special effects). I find there are more memorable visual moments in a Welles film than almost any other filmmaker. Can I squeeze in a second? 'Don't Look Now' - a visual delight (in colour) with such skilful and pleasing cross-cutting - and a cracking good story too!
Will FoxPop have any significant developments in the near future?
We try to look at the way things are moving in the PDA and mobile computing sector, and aim to cover those developments. The larger PDAs have been progressively pushed out by the ultra-slim and lightweight laptops (I am writing this on a Sony Vaio SR - smaller than my last HPC Pro!) so we have expanded to cover them. PDAs and mobile phones are inevitably going to coalesce - so we have started to cover them (the Nokia 9210 is the standard-bearer for the EPOC platform too). And we have dipped a toe into the Linux scene. At any one moment there will be a shifting emphasis, as one PDA sector may be all action and another sector quite quiet. Currently the mobile phone/PDA machines are coming on-stream - with slip-on additions to your existing PDAs, and new Bluetooth machines. I guess we will be taking a close look at developments - if we can!
What are your hopes and dreams for FoxPop?
FoxPop has already outlasted many other websites that started up in 1997! And from the very beginning we have allowed it to grow and change - so we are not too tied into forward planning. The website is essentially a 'hobby' site - in that we follow what interests us, and what we can. There are now so many commercial websites out there - and we cannot compete with them. They have funds, and advertising arrangements with major manufacturers - we fund ourselves and remain independent. It costs a lot to run the site, and keep it going - and the web gets more commercial every month!
Thanks to Elisabeth for taking the time to do the interview- I have used FoxPop for years and can heartily recommend it, it's one of those sites that would take you forever to explore and the content is very well written to boot. FoxPop is here.