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23/04/2002 Interview with Craig Froehle- President of MemoWare
When did memoware start and would it be correct it's been more successful than could have been imagined?
MemoWare has been around since September of 1996, although it was originally called the "Pilot MemoWareHouse" back when it was just a simple collection of a few handy text documents that I kept in my Pilot 5000's MemoPad application. Frankly, I never had any intention of it being around very long -- I figured I'd just keep this collection, adding whatever folks sent me to it, until somebody came along and really made a "good" collection site for pre-formatted PDA documents. The fact that nobody ever really stepped up to the plate and did that required me to keep the site up and running, which I did primarily because it seemed like a lot of folks found it useful. It wasn't until I had around 1,000 documents that I thought, "Wow, this is getting kinda huge." By the time MemoWare surpassed 10,000 documents, it had pretty much dawned on me that the site had become somewhat of an institution -- as far as I know, it's the oldest continuously operated website that caters to Palm OS and other PDA owners.
How many hits does the site get each day?
If by "hits" you mean user sessions, then it currently ranges from around 12,000 on a busy day to about half that on the weekends. In late April, MemoWare should be welcoming its 10 millionth user session (since I started keeping track back in 1997) -- we should be making an announcement when the server logs indicate we've hit that remarkable milestone.
What PDA do you currently use and why?
My PDA usage actually involves three devices. First, my HandEra 330 does all of my PDA-based "heavy lifting" (spreadsheets, games, etc.) and day-to-day PIM stuff. I have a Treo 180 that is primarily a phone, but also serves as a nice backup device (I use WeSync to maintain duplicate PIM data on both it and the 330). Finally, I use a couple of Pocket PCs for wireless email/web browsing around my house -- they work quite well on my 802.11b network, but I haven't found them to be up to par for my daily PIM needs.
How many people are involved with the running of the site?
Prior to MemoWare being acquired by Handmark, MemoWare was essentially a one-man site. I spent much of my spare time maintaining the site, answering questions from users, and generally trying to help build up interest in PDA content in the user/developer community. Now that MemoWare is part of Handmark, it also enjoys the attention of several technical staff who handle most of the maintenance and server issues.
Do you know what your most downloaded document is and if so which one is it?
There is no consistent top download, but a few are usually in the top dozen or so most requested documents each month. These include a full dictionary (with thesaurus) and the complete Webster's Encyclopedia, both in TomeRaider format, as well as one or more versions of the Bible, a drug reference database for physicians, a mixed drink recipe database, Mike Rohde's Palm Tipsheet e-newsletter, and Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War.' Really, it's an eclectic mix that represents the diverse nature of today's PDA community.
Can anyone submit a book/document for inclusion?
Yep. As long as it follows US copyright laws and doesn't already exist in MemoWare's collection in the same format, then it's very likely that it will get posted.
What's your favourite book and why?
Hmmm...I don't really have one favorite book. The book I've read the most times, if that's a suitable proxy, is Douglas Adams' "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Perhaps coming in a close second would be William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' -- truly a visionary work in many ways, and one I think should be considered a must-read by everybody involved in IT.
Where do you see the PDA industry going in the next year?
The next 12 months doesn't seem too difficult to predict, as not a whole lot will change in that short a period. I personally don't think any of the major PDA operating systems (Palm OS, Windows CE, and Symbian) will be going away. We'll likely see continued improvements in blending PDA-like devices with phone-like devices. As Palm OS 5 becomes available, I expect that we'll also find more variety in terms of physical specifications and higher degrees of specialization. For example, Sony has done some amazing things in the personal entertainment device area, and more processor power opens up new doors in that area. I expect that either existing PDA makers or newcomers will come out with some interesting niche or hybrid devices as well. Basically, it seems likely that this time next year, we'll find ourselves with many more choices in the stores rather than fewer, and that is a very good thing, in my opinion.
If you could add one (yet to be invented) feature to a PDA what would it be?
Hmmm....that's a tough one. I usually don't think about the future of PDAs in terms of "features." What interests me the most is how usage patterns and the human-machine interface is changing and improving. I think that getting information into and out of PDAs is currently far too tedious and/or frustrating. While this isn't a specific "feature," I would love to see some better methods of getting the PDA to accumulate more data on a semi-automated basis, be that wirelessly, as a parasite to the personal computer, or other means. I also think that voice-based interaction (e.g. voice-recognition data entry and retrieval) will prove to be very useful in some situations (certainly not all).
How many hours a week do you personally spend working on memoware?
I'd say probably 10-12 hours per week on average working on the site itself or working on things related to MemoWare. Of course, I also spend time as an active member of the PDA community (user groups, online forums, etc.). I don't even want to consider what the _grand_ total is each week (my wife claims I spend too much time on the computer and I don't need to give her any additional justification .
Thanks to Craig for taking the time to do the interview- if you are after a document to carry with you on your PDA chances are that MemoWare has it- a very impressive collection. The site is here.