Bye-bye 2007
For 2008, I resolve to be more resolute when working on my resolutions. A brief recap of 2007.
Tip: Quick and efficient screenshots without special software
Here’s a really simple way to get screenshots without needing any special software.
A Tale of Two (or more) Computers
A computer is born, and another computer dies (“I’m not quite dead!” he says in his best Eric Idle imitation).
(Mac) Hi, I’m a Mac.
(PC) And I’m a PC.
LMSs are just websites… no, really!
Folks, it’s simple — if you have to paste a “this site works best with XXX browser” message on your site, whether it’s an LMS, an online course, or just a website for your mom’s knitting club, you’re doing something wrong. Do us a favor and stop it.
DevLearn 2007
Today was the day… I gave a presentation at the eLearning Guild’s DevLearn 2007 conference in San Jose. Topic? Captivate-to-Flash ActionScript Communication.
Assistive computer technology and web accessibility
Just thought I’d pass this link on: http://www.assistiveware.com/videos.php (short write-up here — thanks to Roger Johansson for the link.)
These are video profiles of people with disabilities — mild to severe — who use assistive computer technology to improve their lives. Some people use the computers to simply help them with their jobs (such as a blind person who is a professional French-to-English translator), while others use their computers as a lifeline to the rest of the world.
[…]
Armed with a basic understanding of accessibility, and with a little planning, a web developer can create courses and/or websites that contain rich content — even Flash movies and videos — while supporting a majority of assistive computer/alternative web browsing technologies.
A look at Captivate 3.0, part one
Here are my first impressions of Captivate 3’s improvements and new features.
Captivate 3, JavaScript and ActionScript
I just got Captivate 3, and eagerly installed it to see if any improvements have been made regarding JavaScript and Actionscript handling. Short answer: nope.
ActionScript, JavaScript, and SCORM
For the last week, I’ve been doggedly attempting to create a hybrid of Flash-to-JavaScript communication techniques for creating cross-browser SCORM-conformant courses that work with almost any version of Flash Player. Today I threw in the towel. Here’s my story.
A cross-browser JavaScript prompt
While working on a project earlier today, I discovered a nasty little problem… Internet Explorer v7 (IE7) disables prompt() by default! This means you can’t rely on prompt() being available in IE7 when building your online applications. I decided to make a workaround using Microsoft’s proprietary showModalDialog function.