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In this section I'll try to answer some of the questions that I am most frequently asked -- about business, about life, and so on. Q. How many companies have you worked for? A. At this point in my life and career, I've stopped counting. I stopped counting when I got to 1,000. I've worked for companies in over 80 countries around the world, on every continent except Antarctica. I've had clients in 49 of the 50 United States - no one from Alaska yet, and every province in Canada. Q. Why don't you have a list of all the companies you've worked for? A. I suppose I could, but it would be a very long list. Remember, I've been "promoting" software online since 1983. So, from my perspective, it would serve no useful purpose to create a long list for you to admire and ponder. Companies who had software I promoted in 1990, for example, would probably be of no interest to you now. I believe my reputation in this industry speaks for itself and I don't feel a need to blow my own horn. If you feel you want references from people I've worked for, I'll be happy to give you some. Just ask. But, for those who feel they really want to see some kind of list, here are just a few of the companies I've worked to promote: Buttonware, QuickSoft, GeoWorks, Qualcomm, Mijenix, Jasc Software Inc., Fookes Software, TRIUS, Inc., SmartDraw Software, Mustang Software, Eclipsit Corporation, MicroVision Development, TechSmith Corporation, TuneUp Software, Cottonwood Software, Rhode Island Soft Systems, Dewqs Tribes, Canyon Software, infacta Ltd., CAM Development, Kiss Software, Wilson WindowWare, Soleau Software, askSam Systems, P & A, Inc., Salty Brine Software, bvba Woodstone, Ground Zero Tech Works, Baseband Technologies, Barefoot Productions, Oakley Data Services, Mystik Media, InterTimes, RomTech, Pharos Games, Goodsol Development, and well over a thousand others. Q. You're always a sponsor of the Shareware Industry Conference, but I never see an ad for you in the booklet, a banner on the Web page, and so on. Why is that? A. I never want there to be any perception that I use my position as Chairman of the Shareware Industry Awards Foundation unfairly. Yes, I'm entitled to a banner and an ad, but I don't take them for that reason. It's the same reason that you don't see any company information when I post a note on behalf of the SIAF. I do the things I do because I want to do them, not because I'm trying to promote my business. So, when I "sign" a note as Chairman of the SIAF, you don't see any mention about marketing or promotion. Same is true when I sign things as President of the Educational Software Cooperative. Consider it a personal quirk. Maybe someday I'll get over it -- I've been told by many that I should. Q. Can you tell me about your guitar playing? A.You bet. In 2003 I've been playing for 40 years. I love playing the guitar and as a young man I practiced constantly. I was in a number of bands -- rock bands, blues bands, even a folk band or two. I could play forever. With all due modesty, I became an excellent lead guitar player. Good slide player and finger-picker also. The strokes I suffered had a permanent effect on my left side, and hence, my left hand. In fact, for occupational therapy the therapists had me play the guitar. The patterns are deeply engrained in the brain and while it was very frustrating, it did help me to get the use of my left hand back. Today, I can't play lead guitar like I once did because of my hand, but I'm a pretty good rhythm guitar player and enjoy playing, and singing, for family and friends. Q. How did you come to take on the name "Dr. File Finder" ? A. Well, in the early days of computers, users tended to help each other as much as possible. I would participate in the message areas of bulletin boards and later in the message areas of The Source, an early online network. And I have this unusual memory, called "eidetic" memory, so I remember a great many things very easily. I remember things visually, so, for example, I can see a page in a text book I've read. In those early message areas, people would be looking for different kinds of software. Sometimes they'd have a program name or sometimes they'd just have a description of what the program would do. Well, I'd not only remember if I'd seen it, I'd remember exactly where! Then I'd go off, download the file in question, and upload it to the site where the question had been asked. I'd then post a note telling them I'd found their file. Numerous people commented that I was a real "file finder." So, I decided to have some fun with it. Make myself into a a comic book character. A computer version of "The Flash". I started calling myself "Dr. File Finder" and I always signed my name like this: Dr. File Finder~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- trying to indicate speed. All of this while using a 300 baud modem mind you. The name caught on and then I started signing my program reviews the same way. It was all a lot of fun and the rest, as they say, is history. I copyrighted the name because I'm proud of my reputation and I wanted to protect it. And almost surprisingly, "Dr. File Finder" is the name I'm most recognized by -- not Michael Callahan. Funny how life is. Q. Have you really evaluated over 200,000 software programs? A. Yes, I have. When I was ill it was what I did to give myself a purpose. And in the early days, I not only evaluated them, I kept a copy of every program I looked at. My office was filled with disk boxes that were all labeled. When I started out, "ARC" was the compression format of choice, so all my disks had the name ARC plus a number. ARC 27, ARC 392, etc. I also had a list that contained every program found on every disk. So, I could rapidly search and find out which of my disks a certain program was on. Since 1983, I've evaluated a minimum of 200 programs a week, all for free. Some weeks more. If you just go with that number, it works out to 10,400 programs a year. I've maintained that pace all these years. Bob Wallace wrote me a little program to keep count. So, I can tell you exactly how many as of today, October 25th, 2004 -- and the number is 208,572. I feel that evaluating so many programs and beta testing so many programs over the years gives me a unique perspective on software. I've learned what users like and what they don't. What they find confusing and what they find intuitive. And in 22 years of evaluating software I have never charged anyone for doing it. It wouldn't be cool -- I'm Dr. File Finder and evaluating software is how I started out. Q. How did being severely ill change your life? And do you have a philosophy of life? A. It changed my life in many ways beyond just the physical changes. It altered the way I look at things. It helped me to come to appreciate every day, and every moment. To me every day is a good day whether it's sunny or rainy or cold. It helped me to hear the song in the laughter of children, the melody in the sound of the falling rain. For all intents and purposes, the person I was 'died' and the person I am now was 'born". I think I'm a better person just because of what I've been through. I think I have a deeper understanding of people, especially myself, and that helps me to be more compassionate. More understanding. Recovering from strokes taught me patience. I put much more emphasis on helping others and much less on material things. The possessions you have, the looks you have, the physical abilities you have are all transient. They all pass away. The only thing that endures is love. And kindness. And friendship. As for a philosophy, I would say it can best be summed up by the words of Stephen Grellet. He was a French nobleman who became a Quaker missionary. And he wrote these words: I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow-creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. These are words I try to live by. I believe that the good things you do come back to you. I know they have in my life. When I started looking at the first "shareware" in 1982, all I really wanted to do was be helpful. To keep myself busy and maybe help a few people. It gave me a purpose, it gave me something to do. And it gave me pleasure to know that I had helped someone succeed in their work. I promoted others, and without ever meaning to, I ended up promoting myself as well. It gives me great pleasure to know, deep in my heart, that I have helped so many people. It makes me a very rich man, in all of the ways that really matter. Q. In your history it mentions that you studied martial arts, can you expand on that? A. You bet. I studied Kung Fu and this was back in the days before it was popular. My master, or sensei, had come from China. So, my instruction was not simply confined to the martial arts, but also included Oriental philosophy, cooking in a wok, and much more. I was very proficient in both Crane and Tiger styles. I also studied the use of a variety of weapons, including the staff, sword, knives, throwing knives, shurikens (throwing stars), and more. When I had attained a 6th degree black belt I ended my studies. My study of martial arts, however, led me to study yoga. At this point I've been practicing Hatha Yoga (breathing exercises and positions) and Raja Yoga (mind control) for 35 years. The combination of the two disciplines, martial arts and yoga, have helped me a great deal throughout my life. Both have helped me to have extremely strong powers of concentration. And, this ability to focus really helped a lot in recovering from strokes. Both have helped me in allowing me to control my reaction to pain, heat, cold, hunger, thirst, and more. I've had numerous medical procedures where most people require an anesthetic without any sedation at all. So, I highly recommend both martial arts and yoga to anyone. The ability to meditate anyplace, anytime is a huge benefit throughout life as is the ability to relax and calm oneself. I've tried to answer the questions I get most often, but if there's something you'd like to know, please feel free to ask. |
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