Skip to content

When Is Software Too Indie?

Think about the size of an independent publisher when assessing your needs.

Robert Rackley
Robert Rackley
— 5 min read
When Is Software Too Indie?

When I was transitioning between high school and my first year of college, I created a zine. I was armed with a typewriter my great aunt had owned, a glue stick and some plain white letter paper. There was a Kinkos nearby for production of my little publication. I named the zine Martha Dumptruck, after the picked-on character in the movie Heathers. The cover was a picture of DIY lo-fi hero Lou Barlow that I lifted from the album The Freed Man (which later got warped from sitting too long in the sun — one of the perils of vinyl ownership). The contents consisted of a fake interview with the cover star conducted via a magic 8-ball, some record reviews and an address where anyone who shared the sensibilities of the zine could write to me.

During my second semester of college, I developed a lump in my chest that would initially be dismissed as just my sternum, but would later be diagnosed as lymphoma. I had to start treatment at Duke Medical Center immediately after my diagnosis and drop out of East Carolina University a few weeks short of the end of the semester. Grades had to wait while I got some unwanted spare time. I needed something to focus on, apart from my cancer treatment.


Related Posts

Members Public

Not Like The Others

Nicolas Magand has a post at The Jolly Teapot about “lazy websites.” He is referencing sites that look like they were designed by AI. As recently as last summer, I added a new bookmark folder in Safari called “A.I. Slop”. It’s not a folder for articles I suspect

Members Public

Natural Orchestra

My wife related to me that she was glad we use Qobuz for our music streaming service, since she had read it was one of the more ethical services in terms of artist payments. I’m happy to see ethics driving consumer decisions around what services to use. I remember,

Members Public

’Til All Are One

Transformers: The Movie is showing in theaters in 4K starting in September to celebrate its 40th anniversary. I’m going to be like a kid when this comes out. I was so excited when the movie first dropped and fulfilled expectations with drama, action, and an exemplary cast of voice