Rodney O. Lain - 2000.01.20
This article was originally published on The
iMac.com, a site which no longer exists. It is copyright 2000 by
RAC Enterprises, which also seems to no longer exist. It is thus
reprinted here without permission (which we would gladly obtain if
possible). Links have been retained when possible, but many go to
the Internet Wayback
Machine.
Note: Talk about scary timing. As soon as I'd
published this article early this a.m., I began to receive e-mail
concerning Dr. Crabb's whereabouts. The sad news on his condition
follows the end of this article below. RL
I was going through some of my older columns last night, trying
to archive them on my home page. That's when I noticed a column
that Id written a few months ago, titled "Say it ain't so: Apple to
sell itself to highest bidder?" This column was written in response
to Don Crabb's Internet pontification that Apple was prepping
itself to sell off the family jewels, the crown jewels and anything
else of value.
For the uninitiated, the eminent Don Crabb is arguably the dean
of Mac journalism, having at one time been known to put out a
voluminous amount of regular columns and articles for several
print- and Internet Mac publications. He did all of this while
holding a "day job" as a professor of computer science at the
University of Chicago. He moonlights for high-profile publications
like Mac Today, as well as on-line zines like MacCentral. On top of
this, he has a popular radio show and a column for one of the
Chicago newspapers.
The last Id read from him (other than his current Mac Today
stuff), he was getting a big wrinkle between his eyebrows over a
few bones of contention he had with the current Apple management,
and he wrote from that perspective.
Some writers on the Mac web took umbrage at his critical
commentary and responded with jihad-like articles like "Don Crabb
is smoking crack." ( I'm not kidding. Keep in mind that this was
during Apple's recovery from the dark days of 1997-98 and every Mac
user was in a collective siege mentality.) Hindsight shows that he
had valid concerns and brought to the fore valid points that needed
to be addressed. He asked hard questions.
And then, suddenly - in my mind, anyway - I began to find fewer
and fewer of his writings.
What happened, Don? I understand that you may have pared back
your writing chores to make way for the things that really pay the
bills, but wed like to think that you keep abreast of the Mac
community and computer industry. I, for one, valued your insights.
Id be interested to hear whether or not your concerns expressed
back then have been allayed, or do you still stand by them
So, stick around, and let us know what's on your mind.
Fini.
- Rodney O'Neal Lain
Note: the following is posted on the web site for
Dr. Crabb's radio show, "Crabb on Computers":
Don Crabb was supposed to get married on Saturday, December 4, but
it didn't happen. He hadn't been feeling well for several weeks
and, while preparing for the ceremony, he collapsed.
It was discovered that he was suffering from a blood infection
which had also lead to kidney failure. He was in critical condition
for several days and remained in the Intensive Care Unit for about
a week.
The good news is that Don is feeling much better. He talked on the
air with Steve & Johnnie on Wednesday, December 29. He told
them "I'm making a strong recovery." He's currently in a
rehabilitation center undergoing dialysis as his kidneys return to
their normal function (which they are doing). He's also going
through physical therapy to regain strength after two weeks in a
hospital bed.
Don told Steve & Johnnie that he is glad to be alive and he is
grateful to the people at Good Samaritan Hospital for saving his
life. He says he has lost a lot of weight and is feeling a lot
healthier, and Steve & Johnnie agreed that Don sounded much
better than he did even a week ago. He hopes to be out of the
hospital by the end of next week. Don is looking forward to getting
back to work, but he's taking the advice of Janet (his fiancee) and
making sure his health comes first.
We'll continue to keep you posted. In the meantime, you can send
wishes to DonCrabb@wgnradio.com (although his e-mailbox is
currently being overwhelmed) or, better yet, mail them to Don
Crabb, WGN Radio, 435 N Michigan Av, Chicago IL 60611.
Rodney O. Lain is The iMac's Associate Editor. A
former professor, he lives in St. Paul, MN, where he is a freelance
writer and a supervisor at a major US corporation. He enjoys comic
books and pencil drawing. He adores Mike Royko, Zora Hurston, Lewis
Grizzard, Maya Angelou, John Byrne, bell hooks, Frank Miller and
Henry Louis Gates. He also writes for Low End Mac, Applelinks and
My Mac Magazine. When no one's looking, he rants and raves on his
home page
Free Your Mind & Your Behind Will Follow.
