looking forward

It looks like I’ve got the approval to go ahead and buy my process capture software.

Love an organisation that works on the theory that as long as you are not breaking the bank and the purchase will help productivity, then its a smart buy.  My former employers would say things like this, but follow them up with “Dance monkey, Dance!!”

Paperwork that entitled you to fill in paperwork that allowed you think about purchasing something.  By the time it had gone through the process, the product was available for free download.

*sigh*  There some things that you just can’t miss, no matter how hard you try.

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Flickr image: Munky dances on the globe.  Treehouse1977.

Harkening back to an old post (old?  All of my posts are old – that’s what happens when you don’t do anything for a year).

In my new role, I have been required to do some screen captures.  Late in 2007, this topic seemed to be the big issue – everyone seemed to be talking about screen captures, and enjoying a good ride, I jumped on that band-wagon.  In Nov ’07 I talked about Camtasia Studio (v3 from memory). 

I now find myself revisiting this topic with some fondness as the program that I am currently using inspires only rage and frustration.  I am constantly amazed at what business will pay for a product because it looks nice and shiny.   It must have been one hell of a salesman who could sell this laborious cumbersome piece of flotsam and/or jetsam.

*Breathe*

*softly chant: “I am focused, I am centered.  I am focused, I am centered”*

OK, back again and calm again.  I know intellectually I am probably being unfair to this programme; I’m sure that it works nicely if you know how to use it, I’m sure its mother loves it, but I am not in the least bit a fan.   The time taken to complete a simple 1 minute demonstration is exponentially greater than the time taken to do the same in a program like Camtasia (I created my first demonstration in Camtasia in about 30 minutes.  A similar project in Epiplex (the package I am using) took nearly 4 hours).

The problem is that I am looking for a simple process capture package that is easy to use with a quality output.  Epiplex would appear to be a high end program that is apparently designed to do a lot more than I need it to do.  It’s like comparing Irfan View to Photoshop.  (If you don’t know, Irfan View is a very simple to use, basic graphic editor – if you haven’t tried it, I strongly suggest you check it out.  To my mind, for basic editing, there is no better product out there).

Looking into what is available today; I have found that Camtasia is still a strong contender, along with Captivate.  I am making a request to the powers that be for a new process capture package and have put these two up as the options. 

Let’s hope that my request is approved – if it’s not, beware of computers falling from high windows.

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Originally this post was going to be on graphic editing, but I have just come across what could be a very cool tool.  Post Christmas and New Year, I have been trying to catch up on my RSS feeds while dealing with all the things that the Real World seem to throw in the way.

It was while reading through Scott McCleod’s blog Dangerously Irrelevant that I came across a post on Kwout (apparently pronounced “quote”).  This little tool allows you to take a screen shot of any webpage:

looking forward via kwout

The thing that makes this different to most screen captures is that the hyperlinks remain active within the image.

I’ll be honest here; I haven’t played very much with this (the above image is the only one I have made), but am already seeing any number of uses, especially in “how to” guides.

Time to go play …

edit: hmm.  Defintiely need to play a bit more: the links in the above image are supposed to be active.  Not sure what I did there.