Foul Writer’s World

So Microsoft have finally released Windows 7. First counts have shown that the demand for Windows 7 is high. Many have put of upgrading to Vista and skipped straight to WIndows 7 from XP. While others have been deperate to get rid of VIsta and move on to something that works.

So far it looks like WIndows 7 is a big hit. I haven’t seen any over negative blogs about. Howver, the proof of the pudding will come from how quickly corporate users upgrade.

The truth is I have been using Windows 7 (64-bit) ever since its MSDN release and I have been pleasantly surprised. I like:

The snap to screen (however, annoyingly it doesn’t support multi-monitor displays properly)

The battery management options

The improved load times and system messaging

After some getting used to, the new task bar is intuitive and easy to use

Overall look and feel

UAC improvements

What do others think/like about Windows 7?

I am not looking forward to having to update all my installer docs with the new OS. But, I suppose it needs to be done.

Well it seems Windows XP didn’t get the last minute reprieve from death row that everyone was expecting. Microsoft today reiterated the fact that it would be pulling from retail shelves the long endearing OS that is Windows XP on June the 30th 2008. So while support will still be around until April 2014, it won’t be possible to buy a retail package of the OS anymore.

Not to fear you can still get XP on certain low end desktop and laptop PCs until June 30th 2010 (XP Home and XP Starter only).

Microsoft has also extended their downgrade service for anyone who buys a computer with Vista Business or Ultimate until January 2009.

So if you need Windows XP for anything you better buy a copy quickly. Or, do like I did and move to Vista. I must be one of the lucky ones, I haven’t had any problems with it

Why still produce manuals and user guides? This is a question I’m beginning to ask myself more and more. People I have spoken to all freely admit to never reading the manual. I myself, rarely read through a manual. So why do I bother? The truth is, I bother because of the 1 person in every 10, ok a 100, which emails back or leaves a comment thanking me for the documentation I produced because it got them out of a sticky situation or improved their own performance. These are the people I still write for, but they are a dying breed.

Granted, I still see the importance for producing written material. Particularly for Knowledge Bases and Troubleshooting. But I find myself increasingly more interested in the technologies behind technical communication rather than the writing itself. I like the idea of new media supplementing the written documents, the use of wikis to give the users a voice, blogs to keep the world informed. Podcasts or Screencasts to guide new users through the features.

I am particularly interested in interactive manuals, because I believe people learn and remember better when they get stuck in. I’m busy developing a new framework for the organization where I work, trying to fit interactive manuals in to a formal structure that will allow for greater reuse. In previous projects where I have attempted to create interactive manuals they have only been partially successful because of time to market.I am hoping with this new framework I can create completely reusable content that will allow me to produce a greater range of interactive manuals, while reducing the time to market for each.

My main tools for doing this are Adobe Captivate and Flash. I also have Mimic 1 but I am not a fan of the MadCap application, although that may change with the release of Mimic 2.

I intend to create “movie clips” that are independent of one another. Which can then, using something similar to DITA’s mapping practices, be used to create a TOC that will link the required movie clips together. What I’m hoping is that to and end user it will seem like one complete movie, full of interactive and learning elements that they will enjoy using and find useful.

At the end of the day I am hoping to come up with something similar to what Microsoft have done with the online training they have produced for Office 2007. To see an example check out the link below:

Microsoft Interactive Guides for Office 2007

I’ll let you know how I progress.

Has anyone got any tips, advice or any other examples?

As a technical writer I use a number of different tools, I thought I would list them to see if I can get a comparison or good idea about what others are using.

The tools I use are:

Madcap Flare – At work we have just moved all our new projects over to Flare V3. It is used to produce help and manuals

Madcap Analyzer- We got it as part of the Madcap MadPak. Used to it check links, etc., for our online manuals

Macromedia RoboHelp X5 – All previous products were documented in this. I tend to only use this when I need to update some legacy documentation.

Microsoft Word – Used to plan and draft a lot of my work.

Adobe Flash – Used to make interactive help and demonstrations to be included on the corporate web sites and in manuals.

Adobe Captivate – As above.

Adobe Contribute – Used to draft and edit Knowledge Base articles on the corporate web site.

Other tools used:

Adobe Fireworks – Used to do image editing and screen captures for manuals and web site.

Microsoft Paint – Used to make minor adjustments to screens captures.

BIMP Lite- Used to convert graphics from one format to another (usually PNG to GIF).

IrFanView – Used to batch process DPI settings for images captured.

Other tools I have but don’t use currently:

MadCap Capture – I find Paint and Fireworks more effective for what I need to do.

MadCap Mimic – Is not as advanced as Captivate.

What tools do others use?

Following on from my Microsoft gets Meshy post, I finally got my invitation to join the technical preview. I will endeavour to give you my first impressions of this early release. But first of all a quick recap. Live Mesh is Microsoft’s first entry into cluster computing. Live Mesh provides a platform to allow users to link together all their devices and use them seemlessly. This includes sharing files and folders, but also has the advanced benefit of being able to control any of your attached devices remotely, provided they are on of course. 

Inorder to get the full benefits of Live Mesh you need to download and install the client to each of your computers you want to link. This process takes between 5 – 10 minutes per PC (Macs and Mobile phone clients haven’t been released yet). Although, it is possible the access shared files and folders directly from the mesh.com web site. The web interface for the time being is a bit clunky. For example, at present files can only be uploaded one at a time. Microsoft gives each Live Mesh user 5 GB of storage space, for most this is likely to fill up pretty quickly, it will be interesting to see what type of business model Microsoft adapts to increasing the storage capacity, will they go down a subscription route? Who knows.

With the client set up, everytime you boot your machine the Live Mesh client logs in to the service. A list of recent news is displayed. This news includes information about any files you or other Mesh users you have authorized have uploaded to the shared storage space. This is particularly useful if you use Live Mesh as part of a team. Folders can be created on your machine, that are automatically synchronized with your online storage space. It is then possible to create the same folders on any of your linked devices which will magically be updated with the files found in your online storage space. This means when working at home completing it at work no longer requires you to send the files by email, or use memory sticks to move the files. I know this will be handy for me.

The downside to Live Mesh in this release is the rather long synchronize times and the abismal refreash rates when accessing your devices remotely. Hopefully this will be improved and tweaked over time. I for one am looking forward to the next big release of Live Mesh to see what additional features are added. For now to find out more about Live Mesh visit the web site at www.mesh.com.