Category: Technology

May 08

iPad Keyboard Dock – Special Keys

I created this brief video to describe the Apple iPad keyboard dock special keys and available ports. I am awaiting the delivery of the iPad –impatiently, I might add – to give the keyboard a try.

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Apr 26

The Screencasting Handbook

As a novice screencaster, I found every section of The Screencasting Handbook enlightening. Particularly helpful is Ian Ozsvald’s coverage of microphone selection for improving audio recording quality. In my case, simply moving from an analog to digital input dramatically improved audio quality and reduced post-editing time to nearly nothing. I recommend The Screencasting Handbook to anyone wishing to learn about this technology or wishing to improve their screencasting skills. I believe every novice and most experts will find something beneficial in The Screencasting Handbook that will easily cover the cost of the book.

Permanent link to this article: http://darrylpendergrass.com/Blog/the-screencasting-handbook/

Apr 25

Screencasting

To support the introduction of a new capability for an enterprise project management system at Motorola, I took a dive into creating a series of screencasts that provided overviews and examples of the capability.

I started with some open-source offerings but after two days purchased Camtasia Studio from TechSmith. The speed to produce the screencasts increased dramatically as did the overall quality. Initially, one of the big hurdles was audio quality. I used several products in an attempt to clean the audio to an acceptable level of quality but soon discovered the importance of digital audio input. I was using an analog microphone input, which is very susceptible to electronic noise. Switching to a USB microphone immediately raised the audio quality to acceptable levels.

I also purchased an eBook from Ian Ozsvald called The Screencasting Handbook: Teaching you to become a better screencaster. The book is a work in progress that is nearing the initial release. Ian addresses many topics of importance to those new to screencasting. Some of the topics covered in the book follow.

  • Actual examples describing the uses and benefits of screencasting.
  • Steps for creating simple screencasts to more sophisticated screencasts
  • File formats
  • Screencast distribution
  • Screencasting software
  • Audio hardware and recording techniques
  • Video and audio editing applications
  • Support tools and links to additional material and resources

While I am far from a professional screencaster, I did successfully produce four screencasts with favorable customer feedback and had some fun at the same time. In future posts, I’ll cover some of my lessons learned.

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Apr 10

Introduction

My project management experience lies within product software development and information technology. In product development, I developed test software for military systems. In the information technology space, I develop applications that support an enterprise project system system delivering services and capabilities to project managers around the globe. The applications require integration at the system level to provide seamless delivery of capabilities to the user community.

While a software developer for most of my career, my interests span the entire life-cycle of software develop – concept to retirement. As a dedicated, life-long, learner, I spend countless hours reading and learning to better understand the concepts and apply to successful delivery of services to clients.

I also enjoy sharing information with others. First, to learn from the experiences of other professionals and second, to share my experience for the benefit of others. I will use this forum expressively to achieve those purposes.

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