Hello, and welcome to the humble shelter for my unsold musings. That is, if indeed a vanity domain could be said to be humble. I’m a freelance journalist who’s spent most of his career writing for IDG publications, though my articles have also appeared in CNET, Wired, Fortune, and other venues.
To cut to the chase (articles on human, music, technology, and all matters related), click here, or click on the menu to the upper left. If you want to know why you might like to…
My remunerated area of journalistic expertise, such as it is, is computers. At one time or another, I’ve covered just about everything related to the subject, but these days I generally get paid to write about storage, backup software, and in a bit of a stretch–TVs and dash cams. (Hey, they have processors on board!) But I’m also keenly interested in a number of subjects such as music, interface design, and human behavior.
If you’re interested in my published reviews (over 2,000 and counting), search my name or surf to PCWorld, TechHive, or Macworld. You may also write me at jjacobi@pcworld.com about business, or at jon@jonljacobi.com if we’ve met in this, or a past life.
More personal…
Though I’m now in computer journalism, in a former life, I studied at Juilliard, played in numerous bands across the U.S., and in the late 80’s marketed an ear-training application for the Atari ST and Amiga. That latter was the culmination of numerous years of programming similar programs on even older Atari 400 and Commodore 64 computers.
All were a bit primitive by today’s standards though the last version sported a feature I’ve yet to see in any other program–the ability to accurately display scales, chords, and arpeggios on a guitar grid in musically-relevant open, closed, and extended positions using logic rather than templates. (If that means anything to you, get hold of me.)
I’ve always had an intense interest in all things musical, but these days it’s DAWs. DAW stands for digital audio workstation, a term that has morphed from describing standalone keyboards with audio editing, to any piece of computer software that does the same thing (and much, much more).
DAWs, which are extremely complex programs requiring deep interaction with the user, also intersect nicely with another fascination–interface and workflow design. Alas, these applications are rarely covered in any depth by IDG’s publications. At least with yours truly involved.
As such, this site will serve as a home for some of my otherwise unpublished DAW overviews, as well as articles on a vast array of subjects that interest me. Pretty much anything I haven’t been able to sell. (Make me an offer!)
Prequel to that former life…
I was born in 1954, the son of H. Leverett and Anita Fleming Jacobi. Yup, a late, post-Korean war boomer. My dad was a three-war Marine Corps aviator, and my mother eventually blossomed into a PR type, boutique manager, and noted performing arts entrepreneur in Stamford, CT.
Early on, I traveled the country with the family, in search of the next USMC air base, leaving friends behind from coast to coast. Then there was exploring all the rungs of the pecking ladder in junior and senior high schools; Juilliard; a side adventure to the far east; more Juilliard; many more bands and a moving service, then San Francisco, more bands, and slowly schmoozing my way up from box slave into a my present career as a computer journalist.
Given my poor scholastic record pre-Juilliard, my English teachers would no doubt be both shocked and appalled at my career landing point. 😉