Active Learning for Software Products    

This article shows how principles from the fields of adult learning and situated learning can be applied to the method of Instructional System Design to create classroom-based training for software products. These principles and methods do not need to be antithetical; rather, they can complement each other to create instructional strategies that incorporate context-rich activities for work-oriented instruction.

Hughes, Michael A. Technical Communication Online (1998). Academic>Computing>Instructional Design>Software

Battle of the Wizards: Dojo Vs. Microsoft

Two wizards are compared. One client script from DOJO and the other server component from Microsoft. Both fo them work exceedingly well in IE 7.0. Dojo wizard looks smashing.

Krishnaswamy, Jayaram. DevShed (2007). Articles>Computing>Programming>JavaScript

Be Your Own Private Eye  

Your document won't print? Don't panic - here's a systematic guide to troubleshooting the problem.

Powers, Lynn. Adobe Magazine (1995). Articles>Computing

Building Disappearing Computers  

A trio of systems illustrates the challenges of designing large displays for use in ubiquitous computing environments that are, indeed, unremarkable.

Russell, Daniel M., Norbert A. Streitz and Terry Winograd. Stanford University (2005). Articles>Computing>User Interface

Clean URLs for a Better Search Engine Ranking

Search engines are often key to the successful promotion and running of your website. Read more on how clean URLs can influence your ranking and how clean URLs can be achieved for dynamic applications.

Opitz, Pascal. Content with Style (2005). Articles>Computing>Content Management>Search Engine Optimization

Co-Design, China, and the Commercialization of the Mobile User Interface

The mobile user interface is becoming a key differentiator for mobile telephony devices and services. The increased focus on usable, emotive, and branded user interfaces is the result of three key drivers.

Williams, David M.L. uiGarden (2006). Articles>User Interface>Ubiquitous Computing>China

Comments on Comments

The right kind of comments to speed up the development process and enable a couple of interesting possibilities to generate documentations automatically. This article tries to reflect on the pros and cons of comments and to show some interesting possibilities for automatic comment parsing. Comment Basics

Opitz, Pascal. Content with Style (2006). Articles>Computing>Programming

The Comptoons

HCI Vistas presents cartoons that illustrate the interesting relationship between the human and computer.

Katre, Dinesh S. HCeye (2006). Humor>Computing>Human Computer Interaction

Computers and the Teaching of Writing in American Higher Education, 1979-1994: A History

During the Fall of 1997, the authors participated in Electronic Discourse and Pedagogy, a course offered by Dr. Kris Blair at Bowling Green State University . One objective of this course called individuals (or groups) to lead facilitations based on assigned readings throughout the semester. These facilitations/presentations were to be informal and interactive. It was here that the authors presented the following timeline which was intended to accompany and expand the work done by Gail E. Hawisher, Paul LeBlanc, Charles Moran, and Cynthia L. Selfe in Computers and the Teaching of Writing in American Higher Education, 1979-1994: A History. This original facilitation involved a detailed discussion on the past, the present, and the future of computers in the classroom, as well as a road-trip to the LinguaMoo Mooloqium for moderated group activities. In preparation, the authors of this timeline compiled information from the text and used this information as a springboard for research which has come to be present

Wilferth, Joe and Paul Cesarini. University of Texas (1998). Academic>Computing>History

Datensicherung und Archivierung

Many computer users ignore the risk of data loss - until it is th late: Imporant Data have vanished. Who then desperately seeks advice in any of my mailing lists might get my try answer: "Simply restore from your last backup." OK, I do confess: This might contribute to a nervous break down. So better be prepared!

von Obert, Alexander. Techwriter.de (2003). (German) Articles>Computing>Workflow>Security

Deployment of the MobiLink Synchronization Model Wizard in SQL Anywhere 10

This builds on the previous article, 'MobiLink Synchronization Wizard in SQL Anywhere 10.' The new Deployment Wizard in SQL Anywhere Server 10.0 makes it painless to deploy the model, a task which was script based and terse.

Krishnaswamy, Jayaram. DevShed (2006). Articles>Computing>Databases>SQL

(e)Xpressive Markup Language?

Conveying the emotional tone of a Web page has, up until now, been impossible with HTML, and the XML standard fails to address this issue. As an interim solution, developers have proposed several new tags to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1998). Humor>Computing>XML>Emotions

Equipment and Software

The essential equipment and software include a current PC -- should be a Pentium II or better -- and licensed software. Ideally, the PC should have at least 128 MB of RAM, a 19-inch monitor (min.), a high performance video card with a minimum of 64 MB of video RAM, and adequate storage for graphics and photos – at least an 80 GB hard disk. These are general specifications. Your requirements may be different depending upon what area you specialize in and to what extent you work on your own.

Tech-Writer (1996). Articles>Computing>Writing>Technical Writing

Everyware: Always Crashing in the Same Car

Even where the application of ubiquitous technology would clearly be useful, I know enough about how informatic systems are built and brought to market to be very skeptical about its chances of bringing wholesale improvement to the quality of my life.

Greenfield, Adam. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Usability>Ubiquitous Computing

An Exploratory Study Of Adoption Of Software and Hardware By Faculty in The Liberal Arts and Sciences    

Universities and colleges are investing millions of dollars in information technology infrastructure to support teaching, research, and service, and thousands of dollars annually in faculty training programs. And yet, many college graduates entering the workforce lack adequate technology skills. To ascertain the frequency of faculty adoption of information technology, we surveyed a random sample of faculty in the liberal arts and sciences departments in our university. Overall faculty members (n = 174) reported a low usage of information technology for teaching, though the rate of software adoption is higher than the rate of hardware adoption. While opportunities to learn technology are available, about two-thirds of the faculty members have not completed the available seminars and workshops on information technologies but prefer more informal ways of learning information technology, such as talking with other faculty members.

Yohon, Teresa and Don Zimmerman. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2006). Academic>Computing>Assessment

Getting Organized

Before I swapped my desktop computer for a laptop a couple of weeks ago, I had visions of reclaiming my desk and basking in the openness of white space. The reality, of course, was a fresh jumble of cables and wires—not to mention a CPU, a flat screen monitor and other assorted computer equipment strewn around the edges of the room.

Steigman, Daria. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Computing

Good Times, Bad Times

The first 'macro viruses' attached to Microsoft Word documents emerged within weeks after Office 97 was released, and sounded the warning that a new era was upon us.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1999). Articles>Computing>Security>Viruses

JSON Basics

These are the golden days of JavaScript, which was warily used in the not too distant past because of the browser wars (still being waged). With enhancements to JavaScript in recent years and the advent of AJAX, interest in Javascript has taken a new turn, a turn for the better. Early on with AJAX it was recognized that there was a contender for XML for handling data which was stable, faster, and portable. This was the beginning of JSON. This article gives you a good explanation.

Krishnaswamy, Jayaram. DevShed (2007). Academic>Computing>Ajax>JavaScript

Leveraging AJAX and JSON using Dojo Tool Kit

This article shows how AJAX calls are made using the JavaScript extensions developed by the Dojo foundation to retrieve data using the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)and displaying the results on the browser.

Krishnaswamy, Jayaram. ASPAlliance (2007). Articles>Computing>Web Design>JavaScript

Linking Communication and Software Design Courses for Professional Development in Computer Science  

Although many programs require one or more project-based course for their majors, most students never get to work with a real client on a project that will be used outside the classroom setting. We felt strongly that students would benefit more from both their communication and their software design courses if they could somehow connect their efforts across traditional curricular boundaries and work with a real audiences and purposes. And in fact, this is what we found—students understood the relationship between their technical and communication responsibilities much more fully in both classes than either of us had experienced in these same courses prior to linking them.

Williamson, William J. and Philip H. Sweany. LLAD (1999). Academic>Computing>Communication>Software

Living La Vida Virtual: Interfaces of the Near Future

Personal computing is in an awkward adolescence right now. On one hand, we are rapidly moving into ubiquitous computing environments that let people constantly interact with the omnipresent network; on the other, the devices and interfaces we are using to enter these new frontiers provide woefully inadequate user experiences. Let's take a look at one of the key technologies that will take mobile user experiences to the next level: holography.

Knemeyer, Dirk. UXmatters (2005). Design>User Interface>Ubiquitous Computing>User Experience

The Needs of the Many

Installing major software patches or upgrades ranks right up there with paying your taxes in terms of stress. Why the stress? Well, first, there's the instinctive fear of screwing up something that's already working reasonably well, thank you very much, and spending the next 60-hour week trying to get back to where you were before you 'improved' things.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Computing

On the Road, Again  

An overview of portable technology - not just computers but also printers, presentation devices, and peripherals.

Larkin, James. Adobe Magazine (1996). Articles>Computing