Free (legal!) Photoshop
Adobe has just announced that they will have an online, ad-supported, FREE version of Photoshop:
Content management
And now, a word from FrameMaker product management…
Posted today on the Adobe TechComm blog by Aseem Dokania, FrameMaker product manager:
I have noticed discussions on some blogs and mailing lists regarding the future of FrameMaker. Let me assure you, as the Product Manager of FrameMaker, that FrameMaker is here to stay. We would do what it takes to keep FrameMaker at the leading edge of technology.
Aseem also requests feedback, and I know my readers have opinions, so get those comments going, either here or directly on his post.
Pre-New Year’s Resolution
Remember, Publishing Fundamentals: FrameMaker 7 is currently available as a secured PDF through the Adobe Document Center. Access will expire at year-end.
To access the book, click here. For access details, read Alan’s original post.
A student reviews a web-based class
In the November 2006 newsletter of the STC UK chapter, Mark Buffery of Salford Translations writes about his experience with the web-based version of our XML and Structured Authoring class.
The course consists of 4 half-day sessions (approximately 2 hours in length each), and is presented as a web-based meeting with all participants in direct communication with one another through a telephone conference call. This enables the tutor to field any questions raised during their presentations, as and when they are raised. Once logged on, each participant can view the tutor’s screen in real-time as they demonstrate and talk them through the various functionalities being discussed. This was the first time I had ever attended a webinar, and I was not sure just how effective this would be.
I firmly believe that, in theory, classroom training is better than web-based training. The trouble is that classroom training is also much more expensive than web-based training. Typically, the cost of travel (at least) doubles the basic tuition expense, and when you take into account the time spent traveling to and from the training site, costs are even higher. Web-based training allows you to fit the training into your regular workday. You do miss out on the many delights of the airport security line, but I think you can probably manage to contain your disappointment.
Being in direct vocal contact over the telephone was useful, and a better compromise than I had imagined (being used to the more traditionally reciprocal teaching environment of the classroom or lecture theatre). However, once we had been online for a few minutes, it did not seem so strange.
If you’re considering this or other courses with Scriptorium, please read his article for an overview of how things work from the student’s point of view.
One common question that Mark does not touch on is class times. Our commitment to our students is that we will make every attempt to schedule the class so that class meetings are during regular business hours for each student. Most often, that results in an 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. meeting at our local time (U.S. East Coast). If we have only East Coast and European students, we move the time earlier; if participants are west of us, we move the time later. So far, we have not had any participants dial in from east Asia or Australia, but please feel free to sign up and we’ll make sure we meet at a time that’s reasonable for you.
Online learning isn’t just for colleges
A recent study found that the number of students in online college classes is still rising:
Roughly one in six students enrolled in higher education – about 3.2 million people – took at least one online course last fall, a sharp increase defying predictions that online learning growth is leveling off.
Cost savings play a big part in the continuing upswing for online learning at the college level, and that is true of our online classes, too. Neither the students nor the instructor need to book flights, rental cars, and hotel rooms, and those costs can be considerable. The financial incentives go a bit deeper than that, though. Each day of our online classes is about 4 hours (2 hours of interactive instruction and 2 hours of “homework” for the students), so students still have time to handle other job responsibilities. It also means our instructors have time to do other work here at our office. (And let’s not forget the wear-and-tear associated with travel today: spending a lot of time on airplanes packed like sardine cans is no one’s idea of fun.)
Overall, we’ve been pleased with our first year of online teaching. Even though having an instructor with you in the same room is probably the best way to learn software and technology, the cost of classroom training eliminates it as an option for many folks. We recognize that, and that’s why we decided to offer online classes. Based on our experience so far, we feel they are an excellent compromise between do-it-yourself learning through books and the classroom experience.
Closed captioning in online video
The Wall Street Journal, of all places, has a detailed article about online video and the lack of closed captioning.
Though television networks and movie studios are rapidly expanding into Internet distribution, few online videos offer the closed captioning that companies are required by law to offer to TV viewers. (link, will expire in about seven days)
Unlike TV broadcasts, closed captions are not mandatory for online video, and the major broadcasters are currently choosing not to provide them for the shows they are putting online.
As a result, online video represents a step backward for hearing-impaired viewers–it’s essentially unusable.
I expect that this loophole will be closed rather swiftly.
Web 2.0. The inaccessible web?
At O’Reilly.net, Hari K. Gottipati writes that “the main disadvantage of Ajax is [because] a Web page is not required to reload to change, many screen readers or other assistive technologies used by sight-impaired or otherwise disabled users may not be aware of the dynamic changes.” (AJAX Accessibility Issue caught vendors attention. Is this a major issue?)
This is bad.
Printing and economics
Before the invention of movable type, book publishing was technologically possible, but prohibitively expensive. Printing involved carving the contents of a page onto a wooden block — backwards — and then basically stamping that ink-covered block onto a page. Each wooden block was usable only for a single, specific page. Movable type, developed by Johannes Gutenberg and others, took the granularity of print technology from the page down to the character level. This innovation changed the economics of printing, and led to affordable books and the spread of literacy.
Google Print and copyright law
The advances in digital rights management lead to the restriction or elimination of fair use rights. It’s interesting that the Google Print program resides at the opposite extreme.
Open-Source Sunrise?
Jim Rapoza at eWeek had an interesting suggestion in regard to the Adobe/Macromedia merger. He notes that the sorting and sifting that follows most software mergers leads to some products fading away. Some actually get a funeral but often there is simply a loss of interest. Rapoza suggests turning over these orphans to the open-source community.
Clip, clop…RoboHelp rides off into the sunset
At the WritersUA conference last March, Macromedia cancelled participation in the trade show at the last minute. Immediately, rumors began flying (although in fairness we have to say that the Adobe/Macromedia merger was not one of the myriad conspiracy theories that emerged). Before the conference ended, a content-free Macromedia statement appeared in a RoboHelp forum at Macromedia’s site.
Development, yes. But content management?
The Adobe/Macromedia is now being described as a content management play:
Angst about Adobe/Macromedia
Some have suggest that the merged company be renamed. “Macrobe” appears to be the leading contender.
There is lots of anxiety about software, especially where the two product lines intersect. Illustrator or Freehand? GoLive or DreamWeaver? I would bet on the tool with better market share, which would be bad news for Freehand (Macromedia) and GoLive (Adobe).
You had me at “structural markup”…
Have you thought about the evolution of publishing recently? Here’s someone who has:
