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Michael E. Cohen
Santa Monica, CA
lymond@mac.com
Employment
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Author/Consultant
Freelance (April 2003 - present)
• Develop, write, and edit books on personal computing applications and systems (see Publications, below).
• Develop personal and small business Web sites.
• Design and produce interactive multimedia presentations.
Editor/Information Developer
Contract / Symantec (September 2008 - December 2008)
Designed and implemented help system for in-house defect-tracking tool.
Senior Editor
Contract / Symantec (October 2007 - August 2008)
• Edited enterprise technical documentation.
• Participated in development of structured content standards and strategies.
Principal Information Developer
Symantec (December 2005 - February 2007)
• Wrote and assembled end-user documentation in printed and electronic form for Macintosh and Windows consumer products using content management system.
• Performed user-centered analysis and usability studies for development of new Macintosh products.
• Edited and maintained internal "cookbook" documenting procedures and workflow for creation of online help systems and user guides.
Webmaster/Interactive Media Advisor
Freelance / CDIHP (June 2004 - present)
Redesign, develop, and maintain Web presence for the Center for Disability Issues in the Health Professions (CDIHP), based at Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA.
Information Developer
Contract / Symantec (January 2005 - December 2005)
For Symantec's Consumer Products Division, produced end-user documentation in printed and electronic form to accompany consumer products.
Interactive Media Specialist/Webmaster
UCLA Humanities Computing Facility / Center for Digital Humanities (July 1998 - April 2003)
• Developed interactive instructional materials for a variety of disciplines in the Humanities.
• Designed and maintained departmental websites.
• Maintained streaming media servers.
• Consulted on instructional and research projects requiring interactive or web-based components.
Technical Writer/Interactive Design Consultant/Webmaster
Freelance / various (February 1998 - 1999)
• Developed documentation for nightkitchen L.L.C. interactive book authoring and presentation package, TK3.
• Consulted on design of TK3.
• Implemented and maintained website for Runway Non-Linear.
Webmaster/Information Systems Manager/Interactive Design Consultant
Clarity / Runway Non-Linear (September 1996 - January 1998)
• Developed, implemented, and maintained website for non-linear digital-video rental company.
• Maintained and expanded internal information systems for two companies.
• Provided interactive design expertise for IBM EPCOT attraction.
Interactive Design Architect
Calliope Media, L.P. (October 1994 - August 1996)
• Led application programming and interface design process for Robert Winter's Crazy for Ragtime, a ScriptX-based multimedia title.
• Worked closely with Kaleida/Apple ScriptX development team in order to refine and debug ScriptX player technology.
• Co-designed and implemented Director-based interactive game component for Itzhak Perlman Interactive Tchaikovsky title.
• Investigated new multimedia technologies and platforms.
Programmer/Consultant
Renan-Margolis / Runway Editing (June 1994 - September 1994)
• Software design consultant on consumer-level digital video editing system (Quick Video System).
• Designed user interfaces for video editing applications.
• Developed system architecture and production schedule for Quick Video System application and template suites.
• Evaluated emerging desktop video technologies.
Producer/Programmer/Writer/Layout Artist
The Voyager Company (February 1991 - June 1994)
Developer of interactive multimedia products for the Macintosh including
• Macbeth (multimedia CD-ROM product featuring complete video performance of play linked to specially designed interactive scholarly edition of the text)--Producer, interface design, programming, documentation;
• Salt of the Earth (multimedia CD-ROM product containing feature-length film linked to multi-lingual edition of screenplay and containing a wealth of historical background)--Interface design, core programming;
• Expanded Books (floppy-disk based interactive book format, winner of 1992 MacUser Magazine Editor's Choice Award for best information product of the year)--Interface design and programming, documentation, layout of first three titles released (Jurassic Park, The Complete Annotated Alice, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy), continued technical consultation and staff training for book production team (over 70 titles released);
• Expanded Books Toolkit (floppy-disk based toolkit for producing interactive books)--Interface design, composition and production of User's Manual, programming consultation, coordinator of beta-test program;
• A Hard Day's Night (multimedia CD-ROM product containing complete film linked to screenplay and featuring detailed background information on the Beatles, Richard Lester, and the making of the film)--Interface design contributions, programming consultation, debugging;
• Last Chance to See (multimedia CD-ROM product containing 700 photographs, complete text of book read by Douglas Adams)--Documentation, post-production coordination, testing and debugging;
• Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9 [International edition] (multimedia CD-ROM product featuring complete performance of symphony linked to running commentary, background on Beethoven's life and times, interactive game)--Debugging and post-production work on French, Italian, and German versions of the software.
User Relations Liaison and Technical Consultant
UCLA Humanities Computing Facility (July 1987 - September 1991)
Co-founder and senior staff-member of academic support unit ($1,000,000 annual budget), serving needs of over 300 full-time faculty and 6000 students. Responsibilities included
• Grant proposals--Co-authored proposal to Apple Computer resulting in grant of $500,000 worth of computer equipment and software; oversaw management of multi-million dollar IBM Project Advance grant;
• Faculty training--Established and taught a series of software training courses for university faculty;
• Newsletter production--Wrote, laid-out, and oversaw production of quarterly newsletter containing feature articles on software and hardware developments related to humanities instruction and research;
• Software development--Managed development programs for the creation and implementation of several dozen interactive instructional projects, including programs for teaching English composition, foreign languages (including Swedish, German, French, Italian, and various African dialects), and literary concepts and analysis;
• Lab creation and management--Established two open-access computer labs for instructional use, established server-based LAN, trained staff, and ran quarterly orientation program for faculty;
• Research and instructional consultation--Acted as floating consultant for several research and instructional projects not otherwise covered by the various programs managed by the Humanities Computing Facility.
Programmer
UCLA Writing Programs (July 1980 - June 1987)
An in-house programming and consulting position in a university humanities department, and one of the first of its kind in the country. Responsibilities included
• Instructional software development--Designed and programmed WANDAH (a PC-based student-oriented word processing system to aid in the teaching of English composition [commercially marketed as HBJ Writer]), and Homer (an prose-style analysis tool in both an IBM mainframe version and an Apple II-based version that was later marketed by Scribners/Macmillan);
• Administrative software development--Designed and programmed software to schedule and track faculty course assignments, and to schedule graduate qualifying exams;
• Faculty training--Taught quarterly classes to faculty in the use of mainframe and personal computer word processing, software design and development, and computer-based research tools.
Software Engineer
Bendix Field Engineering Corporation/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (June 1979 - June 1980)
A staff programming position in the Systems Performance Test Software Group of NASA's Deep Space Network. Tasks included
• Assembly language programming--Interface programming for software suite to test the reliability of the Deep Space Network's telemetry processing systems;
• Project cost evaluations--Estimated budget, and human resources required to implement software tools requested by allied engineering groups within the Deep Space Network;
• On-site testing--Scheduled and ran field tests of telemetry systems at NASA's Goldstone Tracking Station.
Teaching Assistant
UCLA Department of English (October 1978 - June 1979)
Under a Regent's Intern Fellowship, taught
• First year course in English composition;
• Course in Popular American Literature.
Publications (including Software)
(Co-author) iMovie ’09 & iDVD ’09 For Dummies, Wiley, 2009.
(Co-author) Apple Training Series: iLife ’09, Peachpit, 2009.
(Author) Take Control of Syncing Data in Leopard, Tidbits Publishing, 2008.
(Contributing author) Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 2, Peachpit, 2008.
(Co-author) Apple Training Series: iLife ’08, Peachpit, 2007.
(Author) "Everybody Sync Now: SyncTogether Stands in for .Mac Sync," TidBITS, No. 876, 23 April 2007, <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8950>.
(Author) Take Control of Syncing in Tiger, Tidbits Publishing, 2006.
(Author) AirPort and Mac Wireless Networks for Dummies, Wiley, 2006.
(Co-author) The Mac Xcode 2 Book, Wiley, 2005.
(Author) Teach Yourself VISUALLY iLife '04, Wiley, 2004.
(Editor and author) "Digital Lifestyle" chapter in The Macintosh Bible (9th edition), Peachpit Press, 2004.
(Contributor) Mac OS Secrets Panther Edition (two chapters [uncredited], foreword), Wiley, 2004.
(Programmer/producer) Delivery!, multimedia musical illustrations for a volume of essays, 2004.
(Editor and author) "Multimedia" chapter in The Macintosh Bible (8th edition), Peachpit Press, 2002.
(Programming and interface design) A Hypertext Handlist of Rhetorical Terms, Richard Lanham, University of California Press, 1997.
(Editor and contributor) "Multimedia" chapter in The Macintosh Bible (6th edition), Peachpit Press, 1996.
Voyager Expanded Book Toolkit User's Manual, The Voyager Company, 1992.
Understanding Word Processing, UCLA Humanities Computing Facility, March, 1991.
"In Search of the Writon" in Writing at Century's End, Lisa Gerrard et. al., ed., Random House, 1986.
(With Richard Lanham) "Homer: Teaching Style with a Microcomputer" in The Computer in Composition Instruction: A Writer's Tool, William Wresch, ed., NCTE, 1984.
(With Ruth Von Blum) "WANDAH: Writing-Aid AND Author's Helper" in The Computer in Composition Instruction: A Writer's Tool, William Wresch, ed., NCTE, 1984.
"Homer--A Computer Program Looks at Style," Perspective, UCLA Office of Academic Computing, March, 1982.
Knowledge and Skills
Certifications: Usability Analyst (Human Factors International)
Computer Languages: CSS, XML, HTML, Javascript, PHP, Java, Objective C, C++, Pascal, ScriptX, HyperTalk, Lingo, Modula-2, BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL.
Multimedia Platforms and Development Tools: QuickTime, Livestage Pro, Flash, HyperCard, Director.
Computer Systems: Apple Macintosh, PCs, Apple II, IBM 3033, IBM 3090, IBM 4341, Modcomp II.
Operating Systems: Apple Macintosh OS X (Unix), Apple Macintosh OS 9, Windows (various flavors).
Education
Graduate Studies
UCLA Department of English (January 1977 - June 1979)
Course work towards Doctorate in English Literature.
B.A.
UCLA Department of Motion Pictures/Television, June 1974.
Honors and Awards
Regents Intern Fellowship, September 1977-June 1979.
Phi Beta Kappa, June 1974.
References: Available on request.
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