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If you hadn't already heard the oh-so-happy news, Firefox 2 has officially been released. Go now, and get the goodness for yourself. Seriously, stop what you're doing, and go download the awesomeness yourself. Right now.
Coming just days after the launch of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2 offers a refreshed user interface, anti-phishing protection, improvements to the built-in search feature, tabbed browsing changes, the ability to restore an interrupted session, better support for Web feeds, inline spell-checking, support for microsummaries and a number of other enhancements.Upgrading seems to be pretty painless, and I'm honestly surprised by how few extension incompatibilities I've run across. In my personal installation, SessionSaver (who's functionality is now integrated into Firefox by default) and Reveal were the only ones that were angry and annoyed. I've never had so few extensions stop working after an upgrade, especially so soon after a major release. If you're still not sure, you can still take this puppy for a spin without having to install anything. As of this writing, v2.RC3 is the latest version of Firefox available at PortableApps.com, but the public release should be up there soon. In more obscure news, Fedora Core 6 (Zod), the latest version of the Community-driven and
RedHat-sponsored Linux distribution has also just been released. According to a buddy of mine, who beta-tests and troubleshoots FC releases, remarked that FC6 is "very shiny." I'll probably be getting the install DVD from him in the next few days. Download information can be found at the Fedora Project website.
If the jump from FC4 to FC5 is at all telling, Fedora users should be in for a real treat this time around.
» Techsmith Camtasia Studio 3.1 - [read review] From the developers of SnagIt, Camtasia is cheaper and much easier to use. It is essentially a desktop recording solution with the capability of Flash file export. Camtasia movies can be converted to a variety of media formats for use with standard flash plug-ins, Windows Media Player, Quicktime, Real Media etc. Camtasia is used even by Microsoft to create product demonstations.
These software cost $149 to $499, which is more than most people want to spend for this purpose. Fortunately there are cheaper or even free alternatives available:
» Windows Media Encoder - encodes other formats to WMV which can be progressively download and can even broadcast a live event from your webcam. Windows Media Encoder Tutorial.
» Wink - It creates flash tutorials and can also reproduce the screens of the tutorials in a PDF file.
» BB FlashBack - An effective screen record from BlueBerry Software.
» Wincam 2000 - Record everything on the computer screen with easy to use frame-by-frame editing.
» Demobuilder - [review of DemoBuilder] A very powerful software which can export to Flash and EXE files.
» vnc2swf Screen Recorder - captures live motion of a screen through VNC protocol and converts it a Flash movie. Source code available.
» WildPresenter 2.1 - Unlike competing Flash development products like Swish or Xtivity, WildPresenter is more than just a Flash Presentation tool. WildPresenter is a feature-intensive suite of useful products packed in one neat timeline-driven interface.
» DemoStudio - GPL-licensed screen capture application for Microsoft Windows (open source). DemoStudio records by default to AVI format, but provides an excellent tool called DemoStudio Producer for converting these into Flash (SWF) files.
» CamStudio- GPL-licensed screen capture application for Microsoft Windows (open source). CamStudio is a simple, straightforward program to record screen activity to AVI or SWF format. You can also record audio from your speakers or microphone. Rendersoft CamStudio was acquired by eHelp and incorporated into their RoboDemo software. CamStudio is also available on SourceForge.
» Istanbul: GTK-based Open Source Istanbul for Linux has the simplest user interface you can imagine. Launching it displays an icon in the notification area that you click to start or stop recording your screen. Istanbul can stream video to an Icecast server or create a file using Ogg Theora, a free, efficient video codec.
» Wink - Wink (not open source, but free for business or personal use) creates a compressed Flash file, which can be easily embedded in Web pages and is usually smaller than the Theora files created by Istanbul. Flash files are good for representing simple, schematic user interfaces, while the Theora video codec is often preferable if most of the screen is filled with changing or moving complex pictures..
» Screen Capture OCR - Kleptomania and CaptureText allow you to copy text from error messages, window dialogs preserving the formatting and layout. Read more about OCR Scan to convert hindi into editable text for magazines and newspapers.
» Screencasting on a Mac - Use Snapz Pro X or create screencasts on an Apple Mac using free software tools like osxvnc, X11 and vnc2swf. Don't be confused by the Image Capture program found in the Applications directory of Mac OS X. Another program iMovie, bundled with Mac OS X, is a capable low-end video editor.
Meredith prefers Screencasting over Podcasting: I think Podcasting is cool, but not for me. I'm a visual learner, so listening to my favorite bloggers takes more mental energy to absorb than reading their blog entries. When I click on a library tutorial see static pages of text, I rarely even bother to read it. When I see a movie that illustrates step-by-step how to accomplish the task, I am more likely to stay for the show. Screencast software are also being used for debugging software problems.
Software Tutorials and Traning software companies like TotalTraining.com, lynda.com and vtc.com use Screen Capture Software create QuickTime video tutorials of software training and educational training. See some sample videos for learning Macromedia Captivate.
Which simulation software is best for you ? Here are some comparisons by actual users of these simulation software:
1 .Qarbon ViewletBuilder vs. Techsmith Camtasia
2. Techsmith Camtasia vs. Macromedia Captivate
3. Macromedia Captivate vs. Qarbon Viewletbuilder Pro
4. Comparison of Macromedia Captivate with Robodemo
5. ScreenCasters - An exhaustive review of screencasting software based on output quality, file size, ease of use, and other basic issues.
And if you cannot afford any of the commercial software, don't loose heart - you already have a tiny free screencast software on your PC - the little Print Screen Key in combination with the Alt
To copy/capture the current window, hold down ALT + Print Scrn at the same time. To capture the entire screen, just press Print Scrn.
Open a new document in MS Word, MS Photo Editor, or Adobe PhotoShop. Paste the screen shot choosing Edit->Paste or or pressing CTRL+V.
After Samsung, Dell is the second major company that tells its customers that Vista may need more system memory than what Microsoft is listing in its system requirements. According to a report in the Seattle Post Intelligencer (SPI), chief executive officer Kevin Rollins promoted an upgrade to 2 GB.
You may be used to the procedure of doubling your system memory every few years or so, when a new operating system is introduced. We have seen this tradition with Windows 95, when the memory went from 4 to 8 MB in the mainstream or more recently with Windows XP when most users went from 128 MB to 256 MB. Windows Vista won't make an exception, even if you are already running your XP with a comfortable 1 GB of RAM.
The goal of this site is to introduce new users to Ubuntu by way of short video clips that highlight Ubuntu's features and demonstrate how to complete common tasks. If you know of our have any clips that would help new users get started please submit them here. The site is sponsored by SFU's Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology.
