The Internet is one of the most fruitful places for specialized groups to get information, share stories, and solidify community within their area of interest.  Because of the mass of information out there, though, it can often be as confusing and frustrating as it is helpful.  For the Transformers Community, that's where Tformers.com comes in.  This web resource is one of the most impressive utilities for Transformers fans; a great unified resource where they can find out what's going on EVERYWHERE with their favorite toyline, without surfing for hours to glean bits and pieces.  For putting this much effort into a selfless project to aid his fellow fans, Jack Hurwitz belongs in our Community Showcase.




Botcollector:  Can you give us a brief description of yourself, ie. your main personality traits, a brief synopsis of how you got where you are today, your vocation, what you do during non-work hours, etc.

Jack:  Hey! remembering things wasn't part of the deal!   :>)   Okay, I will try and sift thought the rubble for you. Let's see, I was born in Washington, DC way back in the early 60's. Peace man! I bought an Atari PC (yes they really made a Personal Computer) in the 80's to work on a music project I was doing at the time.  Little did I know it would turn into a fascination with computers themselves.  Soon I was up day and night studying computers and interacting with other people online.  In 1997 I headed West for the land of the dotcom, Silicon Valley (where I live today).  These days I spend my time slinging code for a well known dotcom.  By night I engage in my favorite hobby of collecting Transformers and other toys and supporting Web sites about them.

Botcollector:  In a discussion we had, you mentioned a few of the IT jobs you had that involved you with some big Internet Development and ISP-related entities near their beginnings. Can you outline your career a little for us?

Jack:  Sure, after I got out of school in 1993 I went to work at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland as a systems administrator at the National Library of Medicine. There was all kinds of research going on there; Medline and the Visible Human projects. They were just beginning and there was a big push to make them accessible over the Internet. At the time, the only people who knew how to set up a Website were people who managed the servers.  So I got to work on a lot of early projects that were on the Internet. Sometime in 1995, I got a call from AOL.  They were looking for people who had experience with the Internet.  I worked at America Online till 1997 when I went to work at a new company in San Francisco called CNET.  Since then, I've worked at an array of dotcoms and media companies like Digital City, Download.com, Broadband Office, NBC, IBM, Snap.com, CBS and the Discovery Channel.  I was building everything from community and ecommerce to search engines and TV show Web sites.  I was learning all the tricks of online publishing trade.  It's been nothing less than a total blast and an amazing learning experience to say the least. 

 

 
Botcollector:  That's some impressive experience.  Now on to the issue at hand:  Transformers!   When were you first exposed to Transformers?

Jack:  I knew what Transformers were, but never gave them much thought since I was in my twenties when the came out.  It wasn't 'til 1996 that I was flipping through the channels one Saturday morning and I saw one of the first episodes of the Beast Wars show.  I love CGI animation, so I kept watching the show.  When I realized the stories were really good too, I was hooked!  Pretty soon me and my roommate were up every Saturday morning just to watch the show. 

Botcollector:  When did you first start liking the toys themselves a lot?

Jack:  I think it was the second season of Beast Wars.  When I saw the Transmetals I knew I had to have one of the toys.  Someone at work was talking about a new site called eBay and what a good place it was to find toys and other cool stuff.  I was more intrigued with the concept behind the Website than getting toys.  I decided to try it out by actually buying something on eBay.  "Hey, I know... I'll buy a Transformer!"  And that was it.  I picked up a loose TM Optimus Prime on my 1st eBay shopping experience.  Honestly, I was so impressed with the eBay service, I kept buying more toys, not realizing I was becoming a collector.  Eventually I was actively collecting the ones I didn't have or couldn't find. That's when I knew I liked them "a lot." 
 

Botcollector:  So it was more the Beast Wars show that started you off, and not seeing the toys in a store?

Jack:  Yup; it was watching Beast Wars that did it.  The really excellent writing on that show was the hook.  Specifically, it was the concept presented about the Sparks that really impressed me.  I thought it was so cool that the writers were developing a story about these sentient machines.  Most of the other SciFi shows and movies you see feature robots that are controlled by or in servitude of humans.  A show about beings that were supposedly not built by human nature is deep stuff for a cartoon.  They pulled it off marvelously and made me want to know more about these Transformers.  I really love Science Fiction.  Aliens, robots and sentient machines have always fascinated me.  You get all of those things in the Transformers.  The story behind them is one of the most compelling you will find.  A lot of the Science fiction stories you find are one-offs or a trilogy at best.  Of course there is Star Wars, but the "Cowboys and Indians in outer space" concept never really appealed to me.  The Transformers has breadth and depth.  Few series have as many and as varied stories that play out into a larger story that spans generations.  Throw in an extensive cast of highly developed characters and a multitude of factions and sub-factions and you have an great stew going that appeals to people in all kinds of ways.  It's really quite incredible how the Transformers Universe has managed to become so large and still hold together as well as it has.  And the toys kick #%$. Need I say more? :)

Botcollector:  Who is your favorite Transformers character and why?

Jack:  It varies a lot depending on the show.  Prime of course is way up there.  I loved Megatron in G1, but I can barely stand to watch him in the most recent shows.  I like Soundwave and Wheeljack a lot because they use all the funky gadgets and new technology all the time.

Botcollector:  What is your favorite Transformers TOY and why? 

Jack:  I think it's Prime. Mostly because the toys are generally the best. I'd have to say Victory Saber if I had to choose. I really love the Micromasters too. Seeing the Mini-cons in Armada is really cool for me. I hope we see more Mini-con bases come out. I really enjoy the figures that transform into play sets like Metroplex, Trypticon, the Micromaster bases and the more recent Armada Super Prime set. These days I am on the hunt for the Diaclone and Micro Change toys. They have a very interesting history to them.

Botcollector:  Do you seriously collect Transformers?  How many would you say are in the collection?

Jack:  Yes I do collect the toys. I don't have a count but I have a few hundred at least. I love all the Beast Wars Figures: American, Japanese and other wise. There are a growing number of G1's and later series adding to the collection. I've been keeping up with Armada and the new pre-school lines from Tonka and Playskool as well. They're just cool and they remind me of the vinyl toys that are so popular in Asia.


 
 
Botcollector:  Now for what this Showcase is all about.  What made you want to create Tformers.com?

Jack:  Initially I wanted to develop some community management software I was working with at the time.  I needed people to test it out.  I emailed all the popular Transformers Fan sites I knew of and not one of them would respond.  So I decided to just start posting on my own server.  Originally it was supposed to be a news letter type of site that would archive Transformers news and send it out by email on weekly basis.  It has kept growing from there to what you see today.

Botcollector:   And we really like what we see.  From what we've seen in the newsgroups, Tformers is the most recent of several Transformers-related projects you've authored or been involved with.  Can you describe the general time line of events for us?

Jack:  I've been very fortunate in my professional career working on the internet and all. I try to give back when I can. It can be a real struggle with all the confusing techie stuff.  When I can, I try to offer my help to the many talented people I meet. Helping them set up their sites and develop neat ideas they have for their users. I have been known to lend hand on sites like American Dream Comics, Metalspark, Charl Brogden's Lexicon, and even BotCollector here to name a few.


 
Botcollector:  People giving back, that's what gets you in the Community Showcase :>).   Can you outline the purpose, or Mission Statement, of Tformers.com?

Jack:  We really try to present the news in an organized, informative and reliable fashion. I noticed that there's a LOT of interesting stuff going on in the
Transformers toy and fan universe, but you have to go to like 15 different sites to get all of it. Many times you all you find are useless rumors, and
because of that, if you want reliable info. As a result, people have to keep surfing around for hours, and repeatedly throughout the week to get the
real deal and keep up with current events. I wanted to make it possible for people to go to one place and get all the scoops reliably with info on where to go to find out more, etc. We don't want to hog the info, either; TFormers make it possible for any other site to run a news feed directly on their own pages, showing their loyal surfers and visitors the same news without having to direct them elsewhere. The amount of work and attention the site needs comes from that. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't a lot of fun for me and others who contribute to the site on a regular basis. Speaking of others, I want to point out that a lot of credit goes to people Like Remy, Charl, ViceGripX, Suspsy, BWBM, Cosmic Rust, American Dream Comics and the many others for their continued support and contributions to TFormers.com. You all rock!


Botcollector:  Yeah, that newsfeed thing is sweet, and Botcollector makes use of it.  Are there any future projects in the works for you that relate to Transformers or Transforming Robot toys? 

Jack:  I cannot get into specifics since they are not nailed down at this time, but we're working on some ideas we have to help the fans shop for Transformers online. There's also some exciting things we're working on that we hope will bring Transformers news to people and places beyond the online medium. 

Botcollector:  Hey, can't wait to see some of that pan out.  Is there anything you'd like to say to Botcollector surfers about yourself or Tformers?

Jack:  Thanks for all the nice comments from the fandom.  TFormers is dedicated to being by the fans for the fans.  The site is nothing without the incredible energy and dedication of the toy companies, publishers, retailers, TF fan sites and fandom that comes together to make it all happen.  TFormers is just a reflection of what all the greatest fandom around encompasses.  It's an honor and privilege to be able to create a publication that celebrates everything Transformers stand for every day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tformers.com is truly an excellent resource for Transformers fans, whether you're looking for sneak peaks of upcoming toys, new information about cartoons, special features on other websites, sales on figures, or other Transformers projects happening around the world.  The newsfeed availabl for your own site is a fantastic addition to the service provided by Tformers as well.  We encourage everyone to visit this site and see what kind of wonders happen when fans out their effort and imaginations to work for the Community!
Are you using your imagination and talents for the Transformers Universe?  Drop us a line and tell us about it!



BACK TO TOP

 

HOME  -  CONTEST  -  SHOWCASE   -  Q's CORNER  -  BABES  -  NEWS  -  MEDIA
COLLECTING  -  TFiRL

Copyright © 2000 R.obots I.n D.isguise L.L.C. All Rights Reserved.
Transformersä, Beast Warsä, Machine Warsä, and Beast Machinesä images, brands, and intellectual output are
the property of their respective owners