By now most of you have probably read the news at any of a number of grieving Mac web sites: Don Crabb passed away on Saturday at the tender age of 44. Chances are, if you're enough of a Mac fan to bother tuning in to an Apple-themed soap opera, you're familiar with Don's work; the man wrote what we can only describe as a ridiculous amount of material on computers in general and Macs in particular. Books, newspaper columns, magazine articles, web sites, radio shows, TV shows-- he cranked out so much material for so many media, the odds are pretty good that you've read his work even if you don't remember his name. He was so prolific, for a while we were seriously thinking about adopting a formal AtAT slogan: "One of the three remaining web sites for which Don Crabb is still not a contributor." And while we didn't know Don personally, it's tough not to think you know him after reading a bunch of his articles, which were always no-nonsense and pull-no-punches, yet never without a sense of humor.

Many sites out there have tributes to Don written by those who really did know him personally; we can't contribute in that manner, so instead I'd like to tell you about the one and only time I saw him live and in person. It was at the Macworld Expo in Boston in August of 1997, the month before AtAT premiered. Those were turbulent times, you'll recall; the Clone Wars were at their height, after Gil Amelio had been sent packing and Steve Jobs was newly restored to Apple's helm in his "interim" capacity. I was determined not to miss what promised to be a momentous keynote address by Jobs himself, and as I waited in line outside the hall, Power Computing troops armed the crowd for a keynote protest-- they passed out large signs for audience members to hold up that read "WE DEMAND CHOICE." Remember, Power Computing was fighting for its very life; as makers of Mac clones, they didn't stand much of a chance if Jobs pulled their license out from under them, and there were plenty of rumors flying that he was planning to do just that.

Now, as the owner of a Power Computing system myself, I was a bit torn in my loyalties. While outwardly I was staunchly pro-clone, deep down it was hard to deny that Power Computing had done little to expand the Mac OS user base as promised; what they had done was leverage their lower R&D costs to build systems that were faster and cheaper than Apple's own Macs and market them aggressively to people who would have bought Macs anyway. I should know, because I was one of those people. I had wanted to buy a 7300/200 the previous January, but they weren't available anywhere and I needed a new system, so I bit the bullet and purchased a PowerTower Pro 200 instead, which is still AtAT's main production system. For roughly the same price as a 7300/200, I got more RAM, more slots, more cache, and lots more free software, including full copies of Nisus Writer and Macromedia Director.

Anyway, I took the sign that the Power Computing guy offered me, filed into the hall, sat down, and prepared myself for what could certainly have turned out to be an ugly confrontation between Steve and a crowd of seething, frightened Mac fans. What happened, though, was that Steve presented his entire keynote address with nary a protest sign in sight. Reality Distortion Field? Perhaps. Or maybe the clone issue was temporarily forgotten what with all the other momentous stuff that was revealed in that keynote address-- the new Apple Board of Directors, the infamous deal with Microsoft, and the spooky visage of Bill Gates grinning on the giant overhead screen after Steve announced that the operating system wars were over. Personally, I like to think it was the fact that most of us knew deep down that cloning in its then-current implementation was detrimental to Apple's-- and the Mac's-- already-uncertain future, so we waited to hear what Steve had to say. But he was too smart for that; when he eventually left the stage, he hadn't said one word about the clone issue.

I know, I know-- what's this got to do with Don Crabb, right? I'm getting to that. Once Steve left the auditorium and most of the crowd left, too, there were still some post-keynote events scheduled to take place on stage. First I sat and watched Guy Kawasaki introduce developers with cool new Mac software applications. That was interesting and informative, but what I was really waiting for was the introduction of new hardware-- there was a lot of buzz about the blinding speed of some new PowerPC chip, the "G3," so I was anxiously awaiting an onstage demo of Power Computing's new PowerTower Pro G3. A panel of Mac pundits took the stage to discuss the zippy new Mac-compatible hardware, and yes, Don Crabb was among them. I believe David Pogue was the moderator, though my memory's a bit fuzzy there. I wasn't exactly taking notes.

Okay, so presenting the new PowerTower Pro G3 is none other than Joel Kocher, Power Computing's CEO. You may remember this little firebrand; he made Mac-publication headlines for trying to turn a pre-Expo vendor brunch thing into a protest rally, complaining loudly that Power Computing had a clone PowerBook all ready to go, but wasn't allowed to ship it without Apple's approval. By the time he took the stage for the hardware forum, he was pretty worked up; maybe he was a mite peeved at Steve for not even addressing the clone issue during the keynote, or perhaps he wasn't pleased that the audience didn't rise up in protest, "CHOICE" signs in hand. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that the inimitable Mr. Kocher never got around to showing us the Power Tower Pro G3-- he just paced back and forth on stage, ranting into the microphone at how Apple was crushing consumer choice by not allowing open cloning. It was a long rant, and while he made some good points, I doubt I was the only one in the audience he alienated. He never showed the G3, obviously trying to drive home the point that "Apple may not let you buy it."

Back to Don. See, once Kocher left the stage and the panel was tasked with discussing his "presentation," it was Don who fired straight from the hip. He didn't waffle; he said that Kocher's behavior was inappropriate and inexcusable. The purpose of this event was to introduce and discuss advancements made in Mac-compatible hardware, not to spend half an hour publicly lambasting Steve Jobs. And whether Steve was right or wrong in how he was handling the clone issue, Kocher was definitely wrong in how he had just acted onstage. That was the point at which I gained a new level of respect for Don Crabb; not only was he knowledgeable, helpful, and unafraid to voice his opinions, but he also had class. And more importantly, by calmly but firmly commenting on the inappropriate nature of Kocher's vitriolic outburst, he showed that he had no patience for those with little respect for others. After all, the audience wasn't there to hear a tirade-- we were there to see new hardware. Protests certainly have their place, but Kocher wasn't stumping for civil rights or freedom of speech. He was talking business, plain and simple.

Anyway, with the Kocher incident behind us and the door on that subject firmly closed by Don's articulate response, I eventually got to see the mind-numbing performance of the G3 processor when Umax presented their new system. And while I remember the sheer shock I felt when I saw how quickly Word 6 launched on that puppy, honestly, I don't really remember what Don had to say about it. What I remember is how he put Kocher in his place. That's what stands out in my memory, and that's how I remember it all happening. I sure as heck wasn't the only one there, so I won't be surprised if I find a slew of corrections in the AtAT mailbox later, telling me I've fictionalized this account, but the bottom line is this: Don made an impression on me. A good one. And I respected him.

That's my take on the subject. So now I'm going to sit here and listen to Lou Reed's Magic and Loss again, while I reread the Chicago Sun Times obituary penned by Roger Ebert. (Did you know Don Crabb was a medieval history student and a film buff? I didn't.) Then I'm going to dig through some old Crabb over at http://www.doncrabb.com/. Farewell, Don, and rest in peace.