Below is an interview with Joseph Cheek President and CEO of Lycoris. (Questions are bold and answers are italics)
Could you please explain the Lycoris mission statement?
We don't have a mission statement, but we do have a motto: Familiar. Powerful. Fun.
This means we create software that is similar enough to what people are used so that they can feel comfortable using it immediately, powerful enough to get the job done, and enjoyable enough that they can have fun doing it.
What is the long term plans for Lycoris in the Linux Desktop space?
Create world-class products. Become a world-class company.
Where do you see the company in 12 months time from now?
Larger, with more revenue.
Lycoris has in my opinion the most amazingly well thought out corporate identity, especially in regards to its image, logo, and graphics. Can you tell us about how it was created and formulated?
That's mainly Jason Spisak's doing, with input from me and others. I wanted a simple, pretty logo, Jason wanted a flower, and we ended up picking the name "Lycoris" together.
Still in regards to the corporate identity, how do you see this progressing into the future?
Oh, the flower everywhere. If we had money to burn we might draw it in chalk on sidewalks in major cities.
Who do you consider to be your main competitors? (Other Linux Desktop companies or just Microsoft?)
Really everyone who creates a consumer OS is our competitor, but some competitors we are more actively competing against.
Can you tell us the size of your company?
Yes. We have over 60 people working on a full-time, part-time, contract, and volunteer basis.
Are there plans to hire more developers in the near future?
Yes, based on sales.
Please tell me more about your new OS, the PocketPC Edition of Desktop/LX?
Oh it's really cool. It's based on OpenZaurus and Opie, two stellar products from the Open Source community. We intend to add some more eye candy, spit and polish, and create a mobile Linux platform that we think corporate America and the world will like.
What can you tell us about your other new products?
ProductivityPak Update 1 is coming out this week - it's based on OpenOffice.org 1.1.0 and licenses fonts from Bitstream and others, as well as supporting more devices for PDA synchronization than the original ProductivityPak. It also sports a new install wizard and three-second average load time from the moment you click the "Lycoris Writer" menu entry to the time you can start typing.
Of course, it's still fully integrated with Desktop/LX and imports your Windows fonts automatically. We're even offering a great trade-in special for the first customers to purchase it.
Tell us about who you consider to be the Lycoris target customer?
Traditional Lycoris target customers have been average PC users - people who don't want to know about the internals of their computer, but who just want something that works. With our new Tablet and PocketPC products, we are expanding that focus slightly to more mainstream corporations. We expect to expand our focus to new markets over time as well.
What do you consider to be the greatest assets for Lycoris as a company?
Our employees, our contributors, and our users.
What area do you think you can use improvement in the most?
We're always willing to find better ways to make money.
What do you consider do be your biggest challenge?
Managing the myriad of products, processes, and uses for our products.
What would you consider to be your biggest success?
I think that we've been able to help and support the community that has evolved around our products, goals, and ideals is our greatest success. When I started this, I didn't expect a community to form around Lycoris at all. Not only did it, but it did it almost entirely on its own. That's astonishing.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I love my family. They are great blessings to me.
Thank you very much for taking the time to be interviewed
Could you please explain the Lycoris mission statement?
We don't have a mission statement, but we do have a motto: Familiar. Powerful. Fun.
This means we create software that is similar enough to what people are used so that they can feel comfortable using it immediately, powerful enough to get the job done, and enjoyable enough that they can have fun doing it.
What is the long term plans for Lycoris in the Linux Desktop space?
Create world-class products. Become a world-class company.
Where do you see the company in 12 months time from now?
Larger, with more revenue.
Lycoris has in my opinion the most amazingly well thought out corporate identity, especially in regards to its image, logo, and graphics. Can you tell us about how it was created and formulated?
That's mainly Jason Spisak's doing, with input from me and others. I wanted a simple, pretty logo, Jason wanted a flower, and we ended up picking the name "Lycoris" together.
Still in regards to the corporate identity, how do you see this progressing into the future?
Oh, the flower everywhere. If we had money to burn we might draw it in chalk on sidewalks in major cities.
Who do you consider to be your main competitors? (Other Linux Desktop companies or just Microsoft?)
Really everyone who creates a consumer OS is our competitor, but some competitors we are more actively competing against.
Can you tell us the size of your company?
Yes. We have over 60 people working on a full-time, part-time, contract, and volunteer basis.
Are there plans to hire more developers in the near future?
Yes, based on sales.
Please tell me more about your new OS, the PocketPC Edition of Desktop/LX?
Oh it's really cool. It's based on OpenZaurus and Opie, two stellar products from the Open Source community. We intend to add some more eye candy, spit and polish, and create a mobile Linux platform that we think corporate America and the world will like.
What can you tell us about your other new products?
ProductivityPak Update 1 is coming out this week - it's based on OpenOffice.org 1.1.0 and licenses fonts from Bitstream and others, as well as supporting more devices for PDA synchronization than the original ProductivityPak. It also sports a new install wizard and three-second average load time from the moment you click the "Lycoris Writer" menu entry to the time you can start typing.
Of course, it's still fully integrated with Desktop/LX and imports your Windows fonts automatically. We're even offering a great trade-in special for the first customers to purchase it.
Tell us about who you consider to be the Lycoris target customer?
Traditional Lycoris target customers have been average PC users - people who don't want to know about the internals of their computer, but who just want something that works. With our new Tablet and PocketPC products, we are expanding that focus slightly to more mainstream corporations. We expect to expand our focus to new markets over time as well.
What do you consider to be the greatest assets for Lycoris as a company?
Our employees, our contributors, and our users.
What area do you think you can use improvement in the most?
We're always willing to find better ways to make money.
What do you consider do be your biggest challenge?
Managing the myriad of products, processes, and uses for our products.What would you consider to be your biggest success?
I think that we've been able to help and support the community that has evolved around our products, goals, and ideals is our greatest success. When I started this, I didn't expect a community to form around Lycoris at all. Not only did it, but it did it almost entirely on its own. That's astonishing.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I love my family. They are great blessings to me.
Thank you very much for taking the time to be interviewed
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