In January 1988, Clapp left MacUser to write a monthly column for The MACazine. "Any writer who loves to write would love to write for The MACazine," according to Clapp. "The magazine has a 'no-holds-barred' editorial policy and a fiesty and enthusiatic readership. Writing for the MACazine feels like coming home. Bob LeVitus is a great editor and I'm proud to be in the company of writers like Jerry Daniels, Mike Frasse, and Chuck Weigand. I hope MACazine readers enjoy my column; I'm delighted to be writing for them.
"I'm very, very lucky that people like what I do enough for me to keep doing it. And I know it."
One of most popular and best-known people in the Macintosh community, Doug Clapp is an author, columnist, software designer, publisher, and sought-after speaker.
A former newspaper editor, he's been a freelance writer for 12 years and written about personal computers since 1978. He purchased one of the first Apple III's and one of the first IBM PC's. His early work appeared in Creative Computing, PC magazine, Popular Computing, and other magazines. He wrote a popular and controversial column for InfoWorld for three years.
A year before the release of Macintosh, he was invited by Steve Jobs to witness the development of Macintosh. As one of only two authors given complete access by Apple, (the other was Cary Lu), he watched Macintosh be created. "Apple flew me out regularly and got me a house to live in," he remembers. "My only rule was this: If I asked the programmers so many stupid questions that they started going crazy, I had to leave for an hour. Then I could come back and ask more stupid questions. I never did drive anyone crazy, but I must have come close! I don't think I've ever had so much fun!"
Clapp became a Macintosh zealot, authored the first book about Macintosh--"Macintosh: Complete!"--and married Patti Ryall, the editor of "St.Mac," the first Macintosh magazine. He has since written two other Macintosh-related books, but has married no other Macintosh magazine editors.
Clapp was named in 1987 as one of the most important people in the field of personal computers by MicroTimes magazine and placed in the top tier the "Macintosh 100" by the Macintosh Buyer's Guide. For the last three years, he's written a monthly column for MacUser magazine.
In addition to writing, Clapp created and designed "Doug Clapp's Word Tools," writing improvement software programmed and marketed by Aegis Development. "That one's a mixed blessing," Clapp says. "I loved having the opportunity to dream-up and design a software program, and I'm thrilled it was a hit, but the final result was more collaborative than I would have wished for."
In 1987, Clapp formed Foundation Publishing with programmers David Durkee and Ken Ryall to create and market Macintosh software. Their first product, authored by Durkee, was "The Comic Strip Factory." For the past year, they've been developing an "intelligent" desktop published program for ad creation.
Clapp lives in Edina, Minnesota with his wife and 1-year-old daughter. When he grows up, he wants to breed vegetables, design shortwave receivers, program on 68030 Macintoshes, and ask Andy Hertzfeld more stupid questions.
