Meet TeamFMEO

Mike Potter

Executive Producer, Host
mike AT formaceyesonly[dot]com
mastodon: @formaceyesonly.com

About Mike: Mike’s love-affair for all things Apple began in his Junior High’s Library playing Lemonade Stand and “Star Trek” on a pair of brand new Apple ][+ computers.  His penchant for Apple gear continued to be nurtured by the public school system when, in High School, he was hired as a lab supervisor to help run the Apple ][e lab for his fellow students and their Print Shop needs. Then, further still, in college he often opted to help a friend with her Computer Graphics coursework instead of focusing on his own studies … but only because it helped get him closer to the Mac-lab.

The first Macintosh that Mike could truly call his own, was a neglected little Mac Plus he picked up from a garage sale for $20 with the intention of turning it into a Macquarium. When he flipped the switch and found it still happily booted, he didn’t have the heart to gut it and, instead, nursed the little guy back to health by installing a new hard drive and upgraded SuperDrive.  A similarly rescued Macintosh SE/30 soon followed.

Since that time, in addition to those two early Macintosh’s, Mike’s Museum of Macs has grown to include countless machines from nearly every generation of Macintosh including the ill-fated G4 Cube (which he bought new and treasures) and a new Mac Studio in 2022.

In 2015, Mike launched Macstock, an Apple-focused conference geared toward end-users of all experience levels. Each year, Macstock plays host to presenters and attendees from around the world including long-time users, students, retirees, professional developers, business owners, and even those who are new to Apple’s products! Macstock’s specific focus on the end-user makes it a unique event within the independent Apple conference community. Celebrating the start of its 10th Anniversary in 2024, Macstock continues to provide an environment for Apple enthusiasts looking to Learn from industry experts, Connect with peers, and Level UP their productivity!

Through it all, Mike’s favorite part of producing For Mac Eyes Only and organizing Macstock is the opportunity to make new friends within the ever-growing community of Apple fanatics.

Eric Erickson

Producer, Co-host
eric AT formaceyesonly[dot]com

About Eric: I’m a father and husband who’s been an Apple “Fan Boy” since I bought my first Mac in 1993, a Performa 405. Now that was a computer. My hobbies include writing, photography, music (guitar and synth), and filmmaking. Everything I wish was my real job. I love all things Apple. While at a local restaurant we frequent, one of the waitresses asked “Do you work for Apple? I only ask because I see you with all the newest Apple stuff when you come in here.” When someone who doesn’t even know you says something like that, you know you have a problem.

Gary Malpas

Featured Contributor
gary AT formaceyesonly[dot]com
http://gazmaz.com

About Gary: Bloke, Husband, 2 kids, Rugby Ref, enjoys photography, loves Apples. Oh and I’m European, I mean British, I mean English.

In addition to his appearances on FMEO, Gary’s dulcet tones can also be heard on the MyMac.com Podcast, the International Mac Podcast, and The Mac ReviewCast.

daveg2015

Dave Ginsburg

Featured Contributor
mastodon: @daveg65

David came into the Apple world late in the game in 2006 when Apple switched to the Intel processors and once that happened there was no turning back. Although his first Mac was a 12” Powerbook G4 it was not until he bought the very first White MacBook he was hooked. He actually did not get into computers until the late 90’s when he bought his first PC well out of High School. It was at that point he decided to get into the IT industry full time. With countless years experience as an IT Professional, he is very knowledgeable with Macs, PC and Mobile devices. But then came the iPhone and iPad. Since that time, he has become a subject matter expert on all things iOS and is now the host of the podcast, “In Touch With iOS” the show that talks about all things iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and related technologies.

He is married and enjoys Photography, watching sports, (Big Chicago Blackhawks and Cubs Fan) and of course technology as a hobby and career.

Darren with Princess the Cat

Darren Davies

Featured Contributor

Darren’s Mac Journey: I’ve been a computing professional for more years than I care to count, yes I’m that old lol. I specialised in Operating Systems, not just Windows, but there was a glaring hole in my knowledge. I had a little experience of Macs before MacOS X, but after that was released I needed to investigate this ‘brand new’ OS.

I’d always loved Mac hardware, and played with it at every opportunity at our local computer emporium. Alas when it came time to get a new computer they had locked things down so much that I couldn’t work out how to use a Mac! So I plumped for the ‘safe’ option buying a luxury Sony Vaio laptop, which cost an arm and a leg.

About 5 years later the Sony was toast and had lost all its value. It got so bad that I had to leave it on a desk outside my office hoping someone would steal it, as I could’nt even give it away.

So I needed a new computer. I purchased the ‘Missing Manual’ for OSX by David Pogue. I was floored! Every single page turn revealed a better more elegant way to impliment an Operating System, so much more sophisticated than Windows.

After reading that book, Windows felt pathetic in comparison.

The next day I ran to the store to get my first Mac.. a new intel iMac. After initial setup I was gobsmacked, it was the user experience that got me … it was a pure joy to use, and everything just worked.

The rest is history, and over the next few short years moved over entirely to Apple with several iMacs, iPads, iPhones, and Apple TVs. Rather than Apple devices being expensive I found I spent less than I did on my previous non Apple devices, they kept their value allowing me to sell and upgrade to the next model at half the cost. This was a far cry from my terrible PC experience.

Now the circle is complete and I have detailed knowledge of pretty much every Operating System.

I am ably assisted by my cat (seen in my bio pic above and who often makes an appearance on the Podcast) she helps me answer some of the more technical questions. I live and work in The South West of the UK as an IT sys admin, ironically looking after 10,500 Windows computers ;)

Barry Fulk

Roving Reporter
mastodon: @fulkb

About Barry: “I’ll follow Gaz’s lead!”

Guy, husband, one kidlette, loves tech, travel, and photography (including in/outside of Apple stores). Tends to be CDO (which is OCD alphabetized). Currently drinking as much Kool-Aid as possible.