Usability Engineer & Technical Communicator
Areas of Expertise:
- Information Architecture
- Interaction Design
- UX Design
- Mac OS X
- iOS
- consulting
- speaking
- training
- writing
Recent Posts | All O'Reilly Posts
Jochen blogs at:
http://oreilly.com/blogs/
Getting Ready for Macworld Expo & Conference 2010
February 02 2010
With Macworld Expo & Conference 2010 mere days away, it is about time to stop worrying over what it means that Apple has pulled out of the show; to put aside the discussions about how revolutionary the iPad really is; and, instead, to focus on what will be happening at… read moreA Virtual "New" Tab for Movies in iTunes 8
March 27 2009
In the comments to my blog post on adding custom genre artwork to iTunes 8, one reader asks if there is a way to add a "New" tab to the grid view for Movies. I am not aware of a hidden iTunes preference to enable such a tab, but its… read moreA Quicker Search of Almost Everything
February 09 2009
Mid-January, yet another interesting software project was introduced by the Google labs: the Google Quick Search Box. According to its project page, Google Quick Search Box -- or "QSB" for short -- "is an open source search box that allows you to search data on your computer and across the… read moreAudio Gear Highlights at Macworld Expo
January 15 2009
Just like in previous years, those interested in making music would find lots of getting-started information at the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and the Macworld Music Studio at Moscone. But there were also a few exhibitors who presented new products at Macworld Expo 2009 that were targeted at musicians… read moreJanuary 13 2009
In the comments to my near-desaster story of last week, several readers suggested I should have a look at a utility called AppleJack. In hindsight, I cannot tell whether AppleJack would have been able to fix the problems that caused my Mac to refuse me access to my main user… read moreA Solid Macworld Expo Keynote Presentation
January 13 2009
Once the news was out that Apple would pull out of Macworld Expo after this year's show, and that it was Phil Schiller, and not Steve Jobs, who would present the keynote speech, many assumed that there were no major announcements to be expected from Apple at this event. And… read moreAn Apple Genius Saved my Visit to Macworld Expo
January 10 2009
In recent months, my MacBook has occasionally slowed down to a sleepy snail's crawl: applications would respond with a major lag, switching between applications would take a few seconds, and the time for launching another application -- including Activity Monitor for hunting down the culprit -- could be measured in… read moreEveryday Automation - Processing Downloaded Files
December 30 2008
If you live a highly Internetworked life, there will likely be certain types of files that, after downloading them from the 'Net, you perform the same regular tasks on: say, archiving bank statements to a folder, printing electronic invoices, etc. You can highly automate processing such files by using Folder… read moreDecember 23 2008
Whenever there is a major Apple presentation, the demo machines are meticulously prepared, showing a well-managed list of documents and a sparkling-clean Applications folder. Some of the video tutorials on the Apple website, however, provide a more candid view at which applications Apple employees like. read moreDecember 16 2008
With just three more weeks to go until San Francisco's Moscone Center opens its doors for Macworld Expo 2009, it is about time to start preparing your visit to the year's most important Mac event. This handful of resources is useful for planning your trip, but they may also come… read moreA Mac Lovers Favorite Gift Guide
December 09 2008
Still searching for that perfect gift for your favorite Mac user? The 2008 TidBITS Gift Guide is a Christmas list with a twist. read moreMacMania 8 Roams the Eastern Mediterranean
December 02 2008
What do you get when you combine a higher-end off-the-shelf cruise vacation with a choice selection of on-board seminars presented by well-respected Mac experts, plus some 170 passengers who are died-in-the-wool Mac-heads? read moreTake Control of iCal Invitation Replies
November 25 2008
In the comments to last week's post on the caveats of using invitations with iCal, a reader pointed out John Maisey's iCal Reply Checker. As it turns out, that little utility delivers a set of useful options that should have been built into iCal all along. read moreWhen Not to Send iCal Invitations
November 18 2008
Making travel reservations online has come a long way, and some airlines now even include standard vCalendar files in their confirmation emails, so it takes just a few mouse clicks to add all flight-related information to your digital calendar. One such airlines is Lufthansa, who include vCalendar _invitations_. And that,… read moreWhat to Pack When Traveling With Your Mac
November 06 2008
Courtesy of my MacBook and a Lufthansa ticket, I am typing away at this blog post en route from London to Munich, cruising along at some 30,000 feet. Which is just the right environment for writing about what to bring along when traveling with your geek equipment. read moreCoverScout Gets Major Overhaul for New Release
October 28 2008
One member of the "Trio of Album Artwork Utilities for iTunes" that I wrote about three weeks ago was CoverScout. Because there were some minor "misunderstandings" between this software and iTunes 8, I was expecting an update that would fix these issues, and that update came out last Friday. Little… read moreA new version of Mail Act-On is in the mail
October 21 2008
Indev Software's Mail Act-On extension for Apple Mail has been updated to version 2 last week. Among the new features are an improved user interface, support for undo, and applying rules to outgoing email messages. read moreEveryday Automation - Renaming Files
October 14 2008
Renaming multiple files at once in the Mac's Finder can be a pain, unless you use a renaming utility. While there is a wide range of such utilities available as third-party offerings, Mac OS X has a flexible renaming tool built right in. read moreA Trio of Album Artwork Utilities for iTunes
October 07 2008
Whether it's List view, Grid view, or Cover Flow -- finally, with iTunes 8, album cover art is available in whichever view you look at your digital music collection. High time to fill the remaining cover art gaps in your library, if you haven't done so yet. There are numerous… read moreApple's Software User Guide Diet
September 30 2008
AApple's handheld devices are an example for miniaturization at work: with every new release, iPods have gotten a little smaller, and "incredibly thin" is the new "insanely great." Unfortunately, Apple has also miniaturized some of their software user guides read morePlaying Pan's Flute to Twitter From my Mac
September 23 2008
Two weeks ago, I was still searching for the "perfect" Twitter client for the Macintosh. In the meantime, I've been testing yet another client called Syrinx, and I am so impressed with it that it is now the only remaining Twitter client on my Mac's hard drive. read moreCustom Genre Artwork for iTunes 8
September 16 2008
When browsing your media library by genre in the new Grid View that debuted with the recently released iTunes 8, each genre folder is adorned by gorgeous genre artwork -- as long as you stick to iTunes's default genre names. When using custom genres, or if you're unhappy with the… read moreStill Looking for the Perfect Mac Twitter Client
September 09 2008
Little more than four months ago I signed up for Twitter. While I am still not able to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes this webservice so appealing, I have since used it regularly to keep up-to-date with what some of my friends are up to, learn about 'net-related… read moreSecrets Unhides Hidden Preferences
August 05 2008
Hidden preferences are among the favorite items covered in the Tips & Tricks sections of Mac-related websites, and the method usually presented for setting these preferences is via the defaults Terminal command. Thanks to a utility called Secrets, which compiles an extensive list of hidden preferences for the software installed… read moreRecent Posts | All O'Reilly Posts
