I do not really know why people want to know more about the guy behind the software. Perhaps they want to imagine a personality they can rant on when the software crashes or behaves buggy *g* Anyway, to make people happy let's introduce me:
My name is Martin Michel, I was born on Friday, 13.05.1977 in Bielefeld, a city in Germany, that's exactly why I am 24 years old at the moment. I still live in Germany in a city called Oerlinghausen, it's located between Hannover and Düsseldorf. No, it is so small you will not find it on your map.
Right now I am studying at the university of Bielefeld. Well, that is what I am supposed to be. To finance my expensive life style, studies and preference for sophisticated electronics I work in our family business, a company producing and developing special chemicals and solutions for the electroplating industry.
Visit http://www.ame-electroplating.com to learn more about it.
Because of the big amount of money I earn in the company as a student I was able to fulfill my big dream two years ago: After working with PCs for over 12 years I bought a Mac. And this was the start of a wonderful and lasting romance (my imaginary girlfriend does not know about it...). The Mac and me, we are just a perfect couple.
This relationship was even intensified when I discovered AppleScript. Now I was in the position to automate different daily tasks, a wish that never came true when I was working with PCs. I bought a book about AppleScript, read all the mailing lists regading the theme and finally met: Peter Fischer. He mantains a german website about AppleScript (http://www.fischer-bayern.de) and is known as an experienced scripter. I learned a lot discussing with him about AppleScript, he was and still is my patient supervisor in this magical programming language.
After a short time I was able to write my own scripts, mostly because AppleScript is very easy to learn. Yes, it is true, I had no experience in programming software. And then I got addicted to AppleScript: I started to dream about problems I could solve wiriting scripts. Well, which is in fact better than dreaming of VisualBasic being the only programming language in hell. Since then I am trying to optimize my skills and to get deeper into AppleScript.
The most exciting day last year for me was when Apple announced AppleScript Studio, a set of professional application development tools for making script applications that look, feel and act just like Mac OS X applications. This is a great step forward for all scripters as it gives you the possibilities of full featured graphical user interfaces.
I love to work with AS-S and will develop further tools with it. I have many ideas. Just check back on this website every now and then to see if there is a new O-Mat-application which may help you to manage your digital lifestyle. Which brings us to the next topic:
Why I have chosen the description "xxx-O-Mat" for my applications? This is simple: I like the author Douglas Adams and his books very much. And he uses the description "xxx-O-Mat" for all kinds of apparatuses. So, to express my admiration for this genius I use this expression for my software. Nevertheless I like the sound of it ;-)
Okay, and what do I do if I am not sitting in front of my G4 scripting the whole night drinking to much coffee and cola?
In these times I read a lot as reading is my favourite and most expensive hobby. I am so addicted to reading I even read the list of ingredients on the box of cornflakes in the morning. You know about an interesting book? Please tell me! Don't bother about the topic it deals with. I read everything if it is somehow interesting.
But to soothe you: I also do some sports to keep well and fit. I like playing tennis and badminton a lot, even if my younger but talented sister beats me every time ;-) You can't be a pro in everything. Therefore she does not know about "on run"-handlers *g*

I think this is enough for the moment, if you have further questions or want to offer me a job as a well paid scripter in your global acting company, please contact me via email. I will try to answer your questions as soon as possible.

Click here to read about Max.

All Soft-O-Mat tools: © Martin Michel. The Soft-O-Mat HP: © Max Schirmer.