Welcome to Open Apple’s interview chair! We’re very excited that you’ve agreed to join us, and we strive to make this process as painless for you as possible. You are welcome to join us for the entire show, where we discuss the latest Apple ][ news and events, or you can limit yourself to just an interview. It’s up to you!

We generally do the interview over Skype (audio only), which is free and easy to use. If you don’t already have Skype, you can get it here:

Talking to us over Skype is free. Once you have your account created, let us know what your user name is, and we’ll get connected to you.

Recording

We pride ourselves on top-notch audio quality on Open Apple. Part of that effort is that we ask everyone to record their own audio locally. This protects us from any quality problems with Skype, and gives us the most flexibility during editing.

You do not need any special microphone- the one built into your computer is fine. If you do happen to have one, that’s great! Any external microphone will be better than your built-in one.

We may ask you to test your recording setup to ensure you are able to record and play back your own audio. It’s important not to pause or stop the recording for any reason during the show, even if you step away from the machine. This allows us to synchronize everyone in post-production. If you are using a laptop, ensure the battery is fully charged and/or plug it in.

You’ll need some recording software. Here’s a couple of options that we recommend. You can click the icons to download them.

For Windows, Mac, and Linux users:

Audacity is free, open source, and very capable software. It’s also easy to use- simply hit the Record button, and you’re on your way. Once you’re on the line with us in Skype, we’ll tell you what you need to know for recording. Note that Audacity has a tendency to cause the fans to spin up to maximum on some MacBook Pros, which hurts our audio quality.

For Mac users (optional):

Piezo

Piezo costs a little bit of money, but it’s a terrific little recorder that does just what we need, and has better quality on the Mac. If you prefer not to spend the money, please feel free to use Audacity. We’re very glad to have you on the show, and don’t wish to impose!

Audio Quality

There’s couple more little things we ask in order to achieve best possible audio quality:

Please wear headphones during the recording. This prevents other people from being picked up by your microphone, which can cause a lot of issues.
Avoid shuffling papers, typing, or otherwise fidgeting at your desk while recording. The microphone hears everything!
Try to find a quiet room, where there will be minimal cars, dogs, kids, airplanes, and other unexpected noises near you.
If you an air conditioner or furnace, consider shutting it off.
If your chair squeaks or rolls, try not to move around too much while speaking. Once again, the microphone misses nothing.

That’s it! We hope you’ll have fun chatting with us on the show, and thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us on Open Apple.

– Mike and Quinn