Bob LeVitus
 Bob LeVitus is one of the world's leading authorities on the MacOS. He was editor-in-chief of MACazine, a pioneering Mac publication that was ultimately eaten by Macworld magazine, then killed. He wrote columns for MacUser for 8 years until it too was eaten by Macworld. He was the host of Mac Today, a half-hour television show syndicated in over 100 markets, which aired in late 1992. In his spare time he has created 28 mostly-bestselling books. He currently writes for MacHome, Current Technology, MacCentral, and the Houston Chronicle. |
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| How did you personally get into using the Macintosh family of computers? |
I did the Mac Plus test drive in 1985. That was it. I bought a Mac the next day and have never even considered switching platforms. | |
| Status: | Geek. Definitely geek | |
First Mac:
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Mac Plus ($2,495) with SuperMac DataFrame 20Mb hard disk ($2,000) and Radius Full-Page Display ($2,000). | |
Current Mac:
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Power Macintosh G3/300 RAID with Apple Studio Display, CDR, Jaz, and DAT. | |
| When did you get your first modem? | 1986. | |
| Who did you call first? | My father's company's mainframe. I played Adventure (I think that was what it was called.... "You are standing at a crossroads. To the east is a cave....") Second call was to CompuServe. | |
| Present Occupation: | Writer/Consultant. | |
| Claim to Fame: | Author of 28 books, mostly about Macs. The latest ones are: Macworld Office 98 Bible (IDG Books, 1998); Clarisworks Office For Dummies (IDG Books, 1997); Mac OS 8 For Dummies (IDG Books, 1997); The Official BBEdit Book (Ziff-Davis Press, 1997); Mac OS 7.6 For Dummies (IDG Books, 1997) WebMaster Windows Second Edition: How to Build Your Own World Wide Web Server Without Really Trying (AP Professional, 1997). | |
| Dream Job: | The one I've got. |
| Not So Random Thoughts... | |||
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| Was there ever a time in your life that you had to "Think Differently?" What was the situation and what did you do? | |||
| Yep. I worked for an ad agency and they wouldn't let me use a Mac. I had to decide between my career and the Mac. Guess what I chose? | |||
| How has using the Macintosh computer changed your life? | |||
| I get to do more stuff in less time and worry less about my technology and more about my content. | |||
| What is the weirdest thing in your office right now? | |||
| Large rubber bug (Omar) that sits on my monitor (to remind me that bugs happen). | |||
| My Passions are: | |||
| Fast cars, loud electric guitars, coaching my kids soccer and softball teams. | |||
| If you could have dinner with one person dead or alive who would that person be and what would you ask them? | |||
| Albert Einstein. "What will make me smarter?" | |||
| When I grow up I want to be: | |||
| Not applicable. I'm never going to grow up. | |||
| The question never asked: | |||
| How many holes does it take to fill the Albert Hall? |
| Just The Facts, Please... | ||||
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| Biographical Tidbits: | From 1989 to 1997 he was a contributing editor/columnist for MacUser magazine, writing the Help Folder, Beating the System, Personal Best, and Game Room columns at various times in his illustrious career. (While his first love will always be the Mac, he's also written more than half a dozen popular books for Windows users.) | Education: | Birmingham High School, Van Nuys, CA. BS/Marketing from California State University at Northridge. | |
| Location at Birth: | Chicago, IL | Current Location: | Austin, TX | |
| Where you've been in between: |
Los Angeles, CA and Palo Alto, CA. | Astrological Sign: | Slippery when wet. | |
| Available? | Married with Children. | Chat Nick: | Don't chat much but my handle on BungieNet (MYTH rocks!) is "Wookiee." | |
| Favorite Books: | Murder mysteries and anything by Stephen King. | Favorite Music or Band: | Loud crunchy guitar-based stuff like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, or song-driven pop/rock like Bruce Springsteen, Beatles, and David Garza. | |
| Favorite Food: | Pizza. Definitely. | Cat or Dog Person: | Have a small pack of dogs including two Welsh Springer Spaniels and a Vizsla. | |
| Bob's Personal Web Site | |
| Bob's Professional Web Site | |
| Favorite Web Site: |
Macintouch MacFixit , MacCentral , HotBot Search Engine |
| ""Do as I say not as I do" (usually spoken to my kids)." | |
Created Friday, September 4, 1998; Edited: 1/29/99