MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.
Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/839
144 MacDirectory INTERVIEW Helix is a pioneering database management system for the Apple Macintosh platform originally created in 1983 by the Odesta Corporation. In 1992, Odesta split up, with the original Helix application being spun off. In 1998, Helix Technologies was purchased by The Chip Merchant, a memory vendor who released a major upgrade in 2000, adding TCP/IP capabilities and improving the entire product line. The slumping economy and a drop off in memory prices pushed The Chip Merchant into bankruptcy in 2002 and leaving Helix in a legal netherworld. Helix was purchased in 2004 by two people, Gil Numeroff and Matt Strange, plus a third who remains anonymous, and the company they formed is called QSA ToolWorks. For someone familiar with Helix, the savings in development time can be cost saving to the client/user. One leading Microsoft Access trainer/developer estimated that, depending on the size of the project, a Helix project can be completed in 30 to 70 percent of the time as the same Access project. With the absence of programming "language," there is the elimination of syntax errors providing a savings in time. MacDirectory had the opportunity to talk to Numeroff recently between trying to get to a daughter's birthday, answering the telephone and solving family problems. The following is just the first part of a two-part interview. MacDirectory > Tell me a little bit about Gil Numeroff. Gil Numeroff > Yikes, what are you looking for, like tall, dark and handsome, that sort of stuff? I'm married; I have three children who are all out of college already. They went to college on Helix, I guess you could say. I've been married for 30-some odd years, I can't remember. 1976, I believe. MD > Your wife is going to give you a hard time when she reads that. GN > Well, I am giving you the earlier one. We got married twice but that's a different story. I'm giving you the earlier one now. Twice to the same woman – it wasn't one of these 'renewing the vows' things, it was just the way it worked out. My uncle was the treasurer of JC Penney. He called me up the day after Christmas and said, "So, what are you doing?" because we were supposed to get married in a big family ceremony in January, and I said, "We are playing backgammon." So he said, "You should run out to the Justice of Peace or something and get married." I said, "Why?" and he said, "So you will get back about $600 on your tax return." So we GIL NUMEROFF > A PIONEER IN THE BUSINESS WORDS BY E.L. GRIGGS HELIX > DESIGN MODE, CLASSIC