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Jochen Wolters

Biography

Jochen Wolters is a telco engineer who enjoys sharing his passion for technology by writing about it. His favorite topics include the Apple Macintosh, user interface design, and just about any kind of creative software. In a parallel universe, he is a small-business co-owner and spends a lot of his spare time playing keyboards. Jochen holds a degree in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen University. His small, yet comfy web home is located at http://polytropia.com.

Articles

Blog

Multi-track video effects with ScreenFlow

May 13 2008

Commenting on my recent review of ScreenFlow, my esteemed colleague David Battino wondered if this screencast recording software could also serve as a replacement for Apple's iMovie for quickly editing videos. The short answer to that is, no, ScreenFlow can't replace iMovie, but -- it does have some tricks up… read more

Twitter, Twitter, little Mac

May 06 2008

Sometimes, new phenomena show up in Internetland that, at first sight, make you wonder about who would really need this. But keep an eye on them for a while, and you may notice a few things about them that make it well worthwhile to try them out yourself, after all.… read more

How (Not) to Distribute Software Online

April 29 2008

The Internet has revolutionized the distribution of software: search for what you need (or want), download it, install it -- instant digital gratification! And yet, some developers still manage to make this process a highly unpleasant experience. Here's one example of how _not_ to distribute your software. Plus a few… read more

Psystar shows off Open Computer in a video

April 26 2008

Psystar, the company that caused a bit of a stir recently by announcing a Mac-clone called "Open Computer" have now posted a video which, they claim, shows that machine in operation. read more

Get Info on a Mac Without Logging in

April 22 2008

To find out a Mac's serial number, don't bother hunting for the tag on the machine's enclosure, as it's right there in the "About This Mac" dialog box. But what about looking up this information without being logged in? read more

Macs@musikmesse.de

April 16 2008

Macs have always been a favorite with musicians and audio engineers, and at this year's Musikmesse Frankfurt, the world's biggest trade show for musical instruments, studio technology, and accessories, you could literally see them everywhere. read more

Don't Panic Just Yet

April 08 2008

At the "PWN 2 OWN" contest during last month's CanSecWest, which claims to be the "world's most advanced conference focusing on applied digital security," a MacBook Air was the first of three laptops to be "pwned," i.e., to be broken into. The other machines were running Windows Vista and Ubuntu… read more

Apple, Microsoft in Talks Over Sale of Macintosh Business Unit

April 01 2008

With a sweet $18 billion of cash in the bank, it was just a matter of time until Apple would consider a major acquisition. Who would have thought that Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit would be their object of desire. read more

The Controversy over Apple's Safari for Windows "Update"

March 25 2008

Like many Mac afficionados, I have to resort to using Windows for some of the work I do, and while working on a Windows machine, I rely on the familiar QuickTime and iTunes combo to add some music to my work day. The installer for this software includes a special… read more

Find Some Serenity on Your Mac

March 18 2008

As much as I love working in a home-office setup, there's one thing I sorely miss: a little quiet corner to retreat to for a quick break from work. Who would have thought that I would find this in the form of a screen saver called Serene Saver 2 HD? read more

Command-S has to go!

March 11 2008

Have you ever kept track of how often you hit Command-S on an average day? However you use your Mac, whatever kind of apps you are using: chances are that hitting that comforting key combination every few minutes has become a subconscious habit for you. For me, it's so bad,… read more

Deleting Files from Time Machine Backups

March 04 2008

Apple has done a not-so-great job in documenting how to properly delete files from a Time Machine backup: Time Machine's online help doesn't explain how to do this, yet the solution is mentioned shortly on Time Machine's product page on the Apple website (it's under "Back up only what you… read more

Universal Plain-Text Templates

February 26 2008

Using templates is a major time-saver for those of us who need to create the same, or at least highly similar documents over and over again. But what do you do if a specific application does not support templates? As long as you're handling text files, there's a solution that… read more

Play it again, Macworld!

February 19 2008

Haven't been to Macworld Expo in January, or did not invest in a Conference pass? No problem: a wide selection of presentations from the Users Conference, MacIT Conference, and Specialty Programs tracks from this year's Macworld Expo San Francisco are now available online at Macworld Encore. read more

OS X 10.5.2 Update May Cause Wireless LAN Problems

February 12 2008

If you're using a non-Apple branded WLAN router and value your wireless freedom more than a non-transparent menubar and improved Stacks, installing the recent Mac OS X 10.5.2 update may not be such a good idea just yet. read more
Jochen Wolters