Beyond the Bleeding Edge Technical Sessions  

Perlin summarizes several presentations on new technologies given at STC's 49th Annual Conference in Nashville.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Technology>TC

Creating Help in the Web 2.0 Age

This is a presentation titled 'Creating Help in the Web 2.0 Age' that Neil Perlin gave to the Suncoast Chapter in Tampa, Florida in February 2007. Neil talks about what Web 2.0 is, and how help can be delivered on the fly according to specific user requests.

Perlin, Neil E. Tech Writer Voices (2007). Presentations>Documentation>Help>Podcasts

Device Indepenence: Single Sourcing's Other Side  

Considers the possible ramifications for technical communicators of device-independent publishing.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2005). Articles>Content Management>Single Sourcing

Grid Computing--the "Electrical Outlet" Model of Computing  

This column presents overviews of new technologies that may affect technical communicators in the near future.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2003). Articles>Collaboration

Instant Messaging--Another Format to Worry About?  

IM lived for years as an obscure technology in the shadow of the WAP (wireless application protocol) wireless Web, and is still used chiefly by teenagers. But IM has recently become a source of revenue for financially beleaguered telecoms, and has been discussed as a possible replacement for e-mail.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2003). Articles>Writing>Online>Instant Messaging

Location-Based Wireless Web Applications  

Imagine that you’re at an amusement park with your children when, in an unguarded moment, the four-year-old wanders away. Today, you would hunt frantically for your missing child. Soon, however, you’ll be able to go to a security office where someone will display your missing child’s location on a map by tracking a cell phone or GPS (Global Positioning System) chip that you rented for the day and strapped to your child’s ankle. Science fiction? Prodgenious (www.prodgenious.com) has offered this service since the summer of 2000.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2001). Articles>Web Design>Wireless Web

Operating at the Edge of Technology    

This article was originally going to discuss design issues for online documentation and help to be displayed on handheld devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs) and Web-enabled cell phones. The tiny screens and limited or nonexistent storage and processing would make design a challenge. However, by the time I began writing for this special section of Technical communication, the industry had changed so much that the original article was no longer relevant. Instead, I will look at those industry changes to examine the risk of operating at the edge of technology. Note that this article is a not a traditional journal article. Instead, it's a practitioner's commentary based on 4 years of working with handheld devices, giving presentations, and developing multiple WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) programming courses.

Perlin, Neil E. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Technology>TC

"Paper" Revisited  

Introduces new technologies intended to lessen office reliance on paper and discusses their potential effects on technical documentation.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2001). Articles>Collaboration>Online

Perfect vs. Good Enough: Writing Quality in the Online Age  

Perlin discusses how new technologies are changing the definition of quality in technical writing and suggests a response.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Technology

Standards in an Uncertain World    

Today, Help authors take HTML for granted. But XML is starting to displace HTML, bringing with it new technologies like DITA and Web 2.0, as well as the potential for disruption. Perlin examines how to prepare for the change through adhering to standards.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2008). Articles>Documentation>Standards>Help

STC and the W3C  

As technologies like XML, content management software (CMS), and single sourcing continue to seep into technical communication, they bring demands for cost-effective development, faster time-to-market, and automation. Meeting these demands will require standards for coding, language, metadata, and other such elements. The good old days of 'winging it' in documentation are coming to an end.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2004). Design>Web Design>Content Management>Standards

Technical Communication: The Next Wave  

Perlin examines cutting-edge developments in technical communication and discusses their possible impact on the workplace.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2001). Articles>TC>Workplace

Voice Portals  

Perlin discusses the latest developments in voice portal technology.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2002). Articles>Technology>Software>Voice

The W3C: Shaping the Future of Technology  

This column continues my focus on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) by describing some activities and non-W3C technologies that I encountered at the W3C Technical Plenary, held in early March outside Cannes, France.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2004). Design>Web Design>Standards

'Web Presence': Context-Sensitivity Meets the Physical World  

Computing exists in a virtual world of e-mails, document files, and Web sites. But people exist in a physical and tangible world that, for the most part, is separate from the world of computing. Now, developments in Web and wireless technologies, along with experience gained from an experiment called Cooltown that began in the mid-1990s, may connect those virtual and physical worlds. The goal is to actually attach information to objects, so that computer projectors and printers, art works and books, and even physical locations such as conference rooms and city buses could be represented on the Web. In other words, to provide user assistance that’s context sensitive in the real world rather than just in the virtual world. the underlying technologies, and how this development might affect technical communicators.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2002). Design>Web Design

Web Two-Point Uh-Oh  

The problem with many Web 2.0 applications is the assumption that the community's motives are good, or at least neutral. Perlin's column explores how one of the drawbacks of Web 2.0--potential loss of control over information--has manifested itself.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2007). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>Content Management

Hey Rocky – Watch Me Pull a CMS Out of My HAT    

When companies decide whether or not to adopt a CMS or continue using a HAT, there are many factors to consider. Perlin outlines elements of both CMSs and HATs that could help you determine which is best for your organization.

Perlin, Neil E. Intercom (2009). Articles>Content Management>Documentation>Software

WinHelp, WebHelp, AIR... Help!

Online formats can be confusing—consider "WebHelp" vs. "Web Help." This session describes XML, XHTML, HTML Help, WebHelp, DotNet Help, AIR, and others—and how to select the appropriate one.

Perlin, Neil E. STC Proceedings (2009). Presentations>Documentation>Help

Why Tech Writers Need To Understand Business: Yet Another Example...

For some years, people, myself included, have noted the lack of interest, even disdain, that many tech writers have for business issues. This reduces these writers' ability to affect company decisions, including decisions that may affect them. Writers from fine arts or English backgrounds can rarely discuss cost-justification in finance terms, so they have little input on buying decisions.

Perlin, Neil E. Blogspot (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Technical Writing

A Comparison of Three Visual Help Authoring Tools

What Are These Tools? Screen recorders that let you: record a series of screens as frames in a movie – like chaining together screen shots; annotate the frames with text captions, high-lights, and other effects for enhanced learning and explanation; add testing – informally through “dead-end” quizzes or formally using eLearning; publish the result.

Perlin, Neil E. SlideShare (2007). Presentations>Documentation>Software>Help