19. November 2008

Hello (again)

A few days ago Christoph wrote in a comment that my blog is feeling so abandoned, that it has started a life of it’s own and is announcing old postings as new ones via RSS. Maybe the WordPress update I ran last week is the culprit here. Anyway, this seems like the perfect opportunity to start blogging (again).

So, I wanted to write a few lines about what I’ve been up to during the last couple of months.

First of all, late this june I’ve decided that I wasn’t really all that committed to spend my 20-weeks intership (which is required as part of my studies at the Hochschule Ingolstadt) at Nokia Siemens Networks. Working on enterprise software is a very interesting field in itself, especially since the challenges are not so much on a technical level but more so on an organizational one. As I’ve experienced, it is REALLY hard to get even the most simple form processing-type (think office material order request) apps up and running, when you’re rolling out in 10+ countries at the same time while trying to train all the users in all the countries to use the new software and its processes.

Nevertheless, I found that at the moment I’m much more interested in working with cutting edge technology and learn as much as I can about getting user interaction design right (or a little bit more right).

So I went out looking for an internship more in sync with my current interests. With my ever growing interest in developing software for everything Apple, I soon stumbled upon munich-based equinux AG, makers of the Apple Design Award winning iSale. After an interview with CEO Till Schadde and my possible future manager, I found out that equinux was about to get into the iPhone software business and that they were interested in me joining them as an intern.

After some thinking, I’ve decided to quit my scholarship with Nokia Siemens Networks and accepted the equinux offer. I started out in early september and right from the beginning I’ve gotten the chance to work on an iPhone App that shipped a couple of weeks ago. Seeing our “TV Movie”-App (a german tv guide) on sale in the App Store was a big thing for me, even more so as it went on to become a TOP 10 bestseller. I’m having quite a ball at equinux at the moment and will write a bit more about the creation of “TV Movie” soon.

Then of course I finally moved to Munich, which was something (corny as it sounds) I’ve been dreaming of since a long time. Together with my mate I found a HUGE three room apartment in the east of the city and I finally feel a little more grown up now 🙂 Everything here is just so full of energy and the nightlife is amazing. And finally: digital cinemas with original language films – aww the joy.

Finally, what also kept me a Busy Beaver the last six months was the development of my first real OS X desktop application. It all started out with a visit to the Ars Electronica Center in Linz this april and the idea kinda matured from there into what might a real product. Stay tuned…

Oh and: as of today the language of this blog will be english, since I’m planning to write more on Mac and iPhone development topics. We’ll see how that works out 🙂