Technical Documentation Goes Electronic: New Media Create New Problems for Technical Writers

It is not very helpful if we reject any responsibility, even if it would be covered by some laws dealing with product safety and product liability.

Thiele, Ulrich. TC-FORUM (1999). Design>Multimedia>Legal

Technical Illustration and the Video Camera  

A video camera is an excellent tool for preparing technical illustrations and procedures. A video tape of a procedure provides chronological information. It provides visual images that can be used as the basis for technical illustrations. Visual images and details are recorded permenantly so that they are not forgotten. The research information can be passed on to another author. A case study illustrates how a video tape can be used to document a procedure and produce electronic illustrations.

Schneider, Livingston S. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Multimedia>Video>Technical Illustration

The Technical Writer – The Movie

Why would someone make a movie and call it The Technical Writer? I did a quick rundown of similar titles from a movie web site, but I couldn't detect much of a pattern.

Kyle, Charlie. MetroVoice (2003). Articles>Multimedia>Video

Technologies of the Visual

The progression of computer-generated images in motion pictures gives a sense of where we are headed.

Faigley, Lester. University of Texas (1999). Articles>Rhetoric>Visual Rhetoric>Multimedia

The Ears Have It: Podcasting in the Enterprise and Out  

Podcasting is more than a platform for reviews or polemic. It's also a powerful tool within the enterprise for training, for marketing, and for documentation. Imagine being able to carry product information or supplementary material with you and not have to worry about stacks of paper? You can do that with a podcast.

DMN Communications (2008). Articles>Multimedia>Audio>Podcasting

Things Momma Never Told Us: Technical Issues of Successful CD-ROM Development  

The amount of complexity involved in providing technical documentation on CD-ROM depends on the document formats you want to support, the extent to which you customize the publishing packages and the design expectations for the finished product. Issues and decisions include: (1) choosing software packages, (2) structuring files, directories and writing style for the medium, (3) adding navigation and userfriendly features, (4) providing (and obtaining!) technical support and (5) working with a CD-ROM manufacturer. The payoff includes the satisfaction of providing a truly value-added product and—not incidentally—the increased technical skills acquired by documentation staff.

Grieve-Zerkel, Shelley. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Multimedia>CD ROM

Tips and Tricks for Including AVI (Video) Demos in Your Online Tutorial  

This presentation focuses on creating video demonstrations of software for online tutorials, using AVI files, and Inserting these files into Windows Help or HTML.

Rosenberg, Nad. STC Orange County (1998). Presentations>Documentation>Multimedia>Video

Tips For Optimizing Flash Movies

When you're ready to deliver your Flash movie to your audience, use the Publish Settings or Export Movie option to export the Flash FLA file to a format for the Web.

Berg, Debbie. WebDeb (2001). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Flash

Towards Multimodal Public Information Systems    

In the future e-Home, information from various sources, located both globally and locally, are at hand for a wide range of tasks. Many of these tasks involve finding out about public authorities' rules and regulations. The Public Tax authorities, for instance, provide hundreds of documents on their web site (forms, FAQ’s, tax rules, etc.). Currently, the user is restricted to navigating and searching these information sources by clicking hyperlinks or typing in keywords in a search box. Suppose a citizen needs to know what the local tax in his area is. By providing the keywords “kommunalskatt” (local tax) and “Linköping” to the search engine five documents are retrieved and the user can continue clicking on the provided links to see if the answer is provided in the documents found. On the other hand, supposing that the user had the ability to state the information problem in natural language.

Merkel, Magnus and Arne Jonsson. Linkopings Universitet (2002). Articles>Information Design>Government>Multimedia

Traceability, Reproducibility, Compatibility - Quality Control Elements in Audio Information Transfer  

In transfer from one medium to another or one format to another, the target format may be able to hold more information or less information than the original. According to the purpose of the transfer, a selection offeatures may be made as a minimum requirement for transfer. Awareness of Traceability, Reproducibility and Compatibility will ensure the fulfilment of these requirements. The dedicated transfer station approach using calibrated equipment is contrasted with the use of diagnostic signals for use with transfer stations of any standard. The advantages and disadvantages of the respective approaches are mentioed, in particular as regards long term storage. The background for creating diagnostic signalsfor transfer of mechanical recordings is discussed in depth.

Brock-Nannestad, George. STC Proceedings (1998). Design>Multimedia>Streaming>Audio

Transactional Literacy  

Ever wonder why we find graphical user interfaces, hypertext, and multimedia so appealing? Some of the appeal has to do with language itself which is the basis of human transactions, and some of it has to do with our conditioning as a literate society. Literacy builds on visual as well as verbal skills. This paper traces the roots of language to the ascendancy of print technology to explain how visualization is the foundation of literacy.

Hawkes, Lory. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Human Computer Interaction>Multimedia

Translating Videos for an International Market  

Smith explains the process of translating videos. The article includes sidebars on video terms and advice on choosing a video translation firm.

Smith, Jackie. Intercom (2002). Design>Multimedia>Localization>Video

Under the Desktop: The Real Nitty Griddy

For creative professionals working in digital video and other media that demands high-performance computing, dual-processor machines are a godsend. But what happens when even two processors aren't enough? Welcome to the world of grid computing.

Morgenstern, David. Creative Pro (2004). Articles>Computing>Multimedia

Understand Film Language: An Introduction for Technical Communicators  

The techniques of film language areas important to video and multimedia presentations as the techniques of written language are to technical documentation. Film language consists of such components as shot content, frame composition, camera movement, color (or shade), lighting, and film transitions. Film transitions are the way in which shots and sequences are connected and carry specific semantic weight for the viewer. However for many technical video-makers, the meanings of film transitions are overlooked in favor of flashy presentations or are abused to cover a problem. In developing videos for training or informational purposes, we should respect and understand the significance of film transitions and other aspects of film language.

Tillman, Michael A. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Multimedia>Visual Rhetoric

Up-To-Date Replay Facilities for Obsolete Mechanical Recording Formats  

Obsolete mechanical formats forma major part of archives’ holdings, Once a format has passed into obsolescence, there is virtually no commercial development in replay facilities, and the system as such dies. The paper discusses the fundamental principles of mechanical recording and replay as well as the latest constructions for replaying historical discs and cylinders - commercial and non-commercial. An Aaliendum gives simple instructions to the archive having only an occasional need to replay historical formats.

Brock-Nannestad, George. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Multimedia>Online>Audio

Use Data URIs to Include Media in XML

There are many ways to link to non-XML content within XML, including binary content. Sometimes you need to roll all such external content directly into the XML. Data scheme URIs are one way to specify a full resource within a URI, which you can then use in XML constructs. In this tip, Uche Ogbuji shows how to use this to bundle related media into a single file.

Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2006). Articles>Information Design>Multimedia>XML

Use Gradients to Give Objects a 3- Dimensional Appearance

Flash is a two-dimensional program. Using a gradient in Flash can give a two-dimensional object a third dimension. In this example, let's create a series of circular outlines, then add one of Flash's preset gradients to give the outlines a three-dimensional appearance.

Berg, Debbie. WebDeb (2002). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Flash

Using Animation to Explain Technical Concepts  

Computer animation can be an effective communication tool. In this demonstration, we present an example of how we used animation to teach difficult technical concepts. We explain our rationale for selecting animation as a means of communication. We describe our process for ensuring high-quality and consistent deliverables. We also share some customer feedback.

Coleman, Mary Ellen and Cheryl D. Loughlin. STC Proceedings (1999). Design>Multimedia>TC

Using Interactive Television to Teach Professional Communicators: Overcoming Perceptions and Negotiating First Impressions    

As an educational medium, interactive television (ITV) is shaped by perceptions that all participants bring into the ITV classroom. Many articles, handbooks, and other support material already deal with standard operating advice for leading courses using ITV; here, the authors focus on the physical and mental spaces produced by ITV and explore the expectations created by the presence of such technological artifacts as television screens, microphones, and lighting banks. They explain the roles that teachers and students may assume in the ITV classroom and discuss how lack of familiarity with the technology's purpose and potential tends to reify those roles and the interactions they proscribe. Finally, they offer suggestions for responding to these issues by concentrating on students' crucial first impressions with the technology–impressions that instructors can help negotiate so they and their students can engage in pedagogically sound, educationally rich interactions in the ITV classroom.

Racine, Sam J. and Denise Dilworth. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2000). Articles>Education>Multimedia

Using New Media to Tame a Crisis

New media have drastically altered the way we communicate, particularly during a crisis. With the blogosphere, Web 2.0, Second Life and social media sites like Flickr, Twitter, Blogger, Facebook and MySpace, it seems that a new way to spread information crops up on a daily basis. Since crises can originate or be perpetuated online, communicators must incorporate social media into their existing media monitoring efforts.

Griffin, Chip. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Multimedia>Crisis Communication

Using the Wiggler in After Effects

The Wiggler is great when you need random keyframes applied to a layer's property. Scale, opacity, movement, even a plug-in's values can be 'wigglered.'This feature will save you from having to create dozens if not hundreds of keyframes if you're trying, for instance, to make a layer move randomly or flicker.

Anderson, Chad J.W. Mac Design Magazine (2005). Design>Multimedia>Video>Adobe After Effects

Videotaping Student Presentations: A Quick Start Guide

A guide to using MiniDV digital camcorders to record student presentations, then to review them on a computer and copy them to DVD for later review.

Johnson, Rachel. EServer (2006). Academic>Course Materials>Multimedia>Video

Vision 2000: Multimedia Electronic Performance Support Systems  

Multimedia Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS) are becoming a driving force in information technology. The purpose of an EPSS is to replace or supplement human experts, paperbased documentation, and costly training programs. A multimedia EPSS provides resources for employees to do their jobs better and faster.

Myers Cantando, Mary. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Multimedia>EPSS

Voice XML 2.0 Nears Final W3C Standard

It may already be the de facto voice platform for the Internet, but this week the Voice XML 2.0 specification has moved closer to becoming an official World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard. The W3C, the body responsible for maintainin many of the core standards and protocols at the heart of the Internet, has publishe the new Voice XML 2.0 specification as a Proposed Recommendation

Lyman, Jay. TechNewsWorld. Articles>Multimedia>XML>Voice

The W3C Multimodal Architecture, Part 2: The XML Specification Stack

Gerald McCobb continues his introduction to the forthcoming W3C Multimodal Architecture with a survey of the many XML languages that you can use to author multimodal applications. He then shows how several specifications -- SCXML, XHTML, REX, and XML Events -- could work together in a complete multimodal application.

McCobb, Gerald. IBM (2007). Design>Multimedia>Standards>XML