An Interview with Doug Lawlor, Specialty Access Consulting
dlawlor@specialty.com
Reprinted with Permission
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BEA MCKINNEY: Introduction please?
DOUG LAWLOR: I am what you could call an Adaptive Technology consultant. I started my small company providing technology to person's with disabilities. Adaptive Technology is designed as something to help a person preform a task. Technology may not necessarily be complex. It can be something as simple as a magnifying glass to enlarge print in a book or can be a whole computer system designed from the ground up to preform a particular task in a company department.
BEA MCKINNEY: Can you tell me how you use askSam?
DOUG LAWLOR: I use askSam for the basic contact management, note taking, and general word processing as well as keeping track of the vast amount of E-mail I had piled up in Eudora.
BEA MCKINNEY: How has askSam made your job any easier, or faster or more efficient?
DOUG LAWLOR: It helps me keep track of all those names and addresses I had lying around in text files on my hard disk. Having the capability to write a customized template to do what your imagination wants on the spur of the moment is a big plus.
BEA MCKINNEY: How did you decide on askSam?
DOUG LAWLOR: I was originally looking for some sort of a personal information manager (PIM) to keep track of names and addresses and maybe a few appointments. While browsing through a list of database software on the World Wide Web seeming much to complex for my purposes, I came across askSam's Web site. The first thing that struck me while looking at the promotional material was that it was a free form information manager. I was not restricted to entering text in pre-made templates that I could not change. I could use it like a normal word processer or I could put as much structure as I wanted in a database. I downloaded the demonstration copy and within a few minutes after installing it, I was making my own list of contacts out of the files I had hanging around. Before long I had templates up and running for taking notes and maintaining lists of bookmarks on my web site. The templates included in the package were a big help in getting me going. Other templates did not take a computer science degree to write either.
BEA MCKINNEY: How does askSam compare to some of the other programs?
DOUG LAWLOR: I have experimented with dBase IV but the package did not seem right for what I wanted to do with it. I have looked at other personal information managers but found them too limiting in what they could do.
BEA MCKINNEY: Can you tell me about what kind of customer support you have received as a user?
DOUG LAWLOR: The support has been excellent. It is nice to just send an E-mail to tech support and get a response back with in a few hours or at most a day.
BEA MCKINNEY: Would you recommend askSam and why?
DOUG LAWLOR: Most certainly. The package is easy to get up and running and has multiple uses. No wonder this package is so popular with the medical and legal professions.
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Specialty Access Consulting
Suite 215 38 Pearson St.
St. John's Nf. A1A 3R1
Voice: (709) 773-0037
Fax: (709) 773-1020
Email: dlawlor@specialty.com
http://www.specialty.com
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