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25/04/2002 Interview with Bryan Nystrom and George Wayland of Natara Software, Inc.
When was Natara formed, where are you based and how many people work for the company?
Natara Software was formed in 1998 in Naperville, IL, which is about 30 miles outside of Chicago.. George and I and one other developer were working together at Seagate Software, and when they decided to close down our site, we decided to go into business together. We've since gone down to just 2 of us. Some people are surprised when they find out that we operate the whole show with just a couple of people.
How long does it take on average to make one of your programs (from start to finish)?
Well, our programs take a bit longer than the average Palm applications from most companies. That's because we are very big believers in desktop connectivity. What that means is, we not only have to design and program the Palm side, we also have to do a fully synchronizing conduit, and most of the time a full featured desktop application. For example, DayNotez, from its start to its first release, probably took around a year. It takes a lot of planning and coordination to do an application that syncs properly and has a lot of nice features.
Which has been your most successful program and which program are you most proud of?
Project@Hand, our Microsoft Project extension which allows project managers to take their project schedules with them is probably our most successful program. It is also our flagship product. DayNotez would have to be the program we are most proud of at the moment. It recently took the "Productivity Application of 2001" award from Handheld Computing Magazine this year. DayNotez really fills a need for a lot of people on both a professional and personal level. It's amazed us as to the numerous ways people find to use it.
Are you able to give us any hints as to future software or developments to your current products?
We are currently working on a major update to our Project@Hand product. Since the release of DayNotez and Bonsai (our outlining software), we have spent a lot of time and attention on those more consumer level products. We decided that this year we would spend some well deserved time getting our business apps up to speed with some of the newer advancements in the Palm technology. Some of those enhancements are being picked up from our DayNotez and Bonsai. We also have a new "project management" oriented application that is partially complete. Not much I can say about that one until it is ready for a first look. And of course, there is always the "secret" consumer apps we are toying with, along with more feature updates to both DayNotez and Bonsai. It's nice that once you get a new product out, you just open the flood gate to all the cool enhancements that your users start to want. Of course, we are careful to weigh the pros and cons off adding new features. We try not to overload with things that don't add value to the majority of our users. Palm apps can become overly complicated to users if you are not careful.
Do you have plans to support any other PDA platform?
We are always keeping an eye on what the other platforms are up to. At this point, there really isn't the market in any other spaces that is large enough to justify George or myself spending much time away from the Palm side of things. As the market changes, we may be more inclined to support those devices. We do have a couple of PocketPCs and a couple of RIM devices setting around the office. They don't get used much by either one of us, and given that we are both major "Gadget Freaks", I think that says something in itself.
What's your favourite music artist and song?
For George: Donald Fagen For myself: Any classical, Pick Floyd, and especially Nine Inch Nails (depends on my mood) But, in the office we share together, when we need to crank up some tunes, we both love to listen to "Squirrel Nut Zippers". We are partial to their song "Suits are Picking Up the Bill".
Where do you see the PDA industry going over the next 2 years?
I think we are going to see more and more wireless capabilities built into these devices. I'm excited about the possibilities of Bluetooth technology. Although it would be nice, I'm not as interested in being able to use my PDA as a phone as I am having the ability to have my PDA talk to my phone, printer, computer, car, etc. Wireless in the way that Palm has implemented the i705 is quite interesting also. This will allow for more "incremental" updates to and from the handheld devices. Currently, if you are out in the field as a project manager, you have to wait until you get back to a workstation or laptop in order to update your project status. Our users want the ability to update those schedules in real time, and having wireless is key to that. I think the major issue at this time is probably the cost of the current wireless options. I hope that will change in the years to come.
What 2 features would you like to see in a future PDA?
Built in Bluetooth and better external memory management.
What's your favourite non-Natara piece of PDA software?
For myself: Palm Reader Pro, Bejeweled, and MegaCalc. I love the ability to carry around books with me, and Palm Reader does an excellent job. Bejeweled is just so darn addicting. MegaCalc, a new kid on the block, has recently become one of my favorites. As a programmer, its nice to have an easy to use calculator that support the kind of calculations that programmers often rely on. It looks great on a color device. They've done a great job with this one. George: Jovian and CityTime. George is really into astronomy, so Jovian is a great Palm application for him. CityTime is also great because we deal with so many people in so many different time zones.
What PDA's do you own and use at the moment?
George is pretty fond of his Sony Clie N610c. Previously he used a IIIc. I currently use a Sony Clie T615c as my personal device, but am also partial to the Visor Prism. I just recently "demoted" the Prism, but is had been my main device for quite some time. The brightness of it's screen just can't be beat. Personally, I would rather play most Palm games on the Prism than the Sony, but the Sony's display is great for those ebooks.
Thanks to Bryan and George for taking the time to do the interview- Natara have not made many programs but the quality of their products is undoubted. Their site is here.