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In this posting, look for the following ...

  * ANNOUNCE: Major Study of White Paper Writers Released (NEW) 
  * TRAINING: Resolved To Build Your Career In 2006? (NEW)
  * SITE UPDATE: New Article - Social Rules for 
                 Creating a Style Guide (NEW)
  * ANNOUNCE: New development in documentation technology: 
              Making PowerPoint® Speak (NEW)
  * SEMINAR: STC Sounthwestern Ontario Education Seminar 2006
  * ANNOUNCE: WritersUA Update 
  * EDUCATION: "Technical Writing Tools" Online Course
  * WEBINAR: Vasont Systems Presents a Free Webinar on the 
             Basics of Content Management "Content Management 101: 
             How Does It Work?"
  * FRAMEMAKER TRAINING: San Diego, Boston, SF Bay Area & 
                         The Netherlands
  * TRAINING: Implementation Strategies for Content Management
              January 31 - February 1, 2006


and at the end you'll find the concluding administrivia with 
information about these ads and how to place your own. 

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ANNOUNCE: Major Study of White Paper Writers Released

Learn tips and strategies for formatting, writing and pricing white papers. 

The results of the industry's first major study of white paper writers are revealed in a new report entitled "White Paper Writer Industry Survey."  See http://www.whitepapersource.com/cmd.php?af=343295  

If you are a freelance writer, the report will help you understand how much to charge when writing a white paper, the time it takes to produce one and the standards you should follow. 

If you are an in-house writer, the report will help you understand white paper formatting, the time commitment and industry standards, thereby increasing the quality of your work. 

Recommended by best-selling authors Robert W. Bly (author of The Copywriter's Handbook) and Peter Bowerman (author of The Well-Fed Writer), more than 8,000 writers and marketing professionals own a copy of the report. 

The graphic-rich, 42-page report surveyed more than 575 white paper writers.  The comprehensive study reveals the key processes involved in writing white papers, why white papers are produced, how they are distributed and the differences between independent and in-house writers. 

Receive instant access to the report by visiting http://www.whitepapersource.com/cmd.php?af=343295 

01/23/06 - 2/19/06
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TRAINING: Resolved To Build Your Career In 2006?

Why not consider self-paced learning for 2006? With our "Workshops-on-DVD", you can learn at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home or office, for a fraction of the time and $$$ of attending a workshop.

Workshops-on-a-DVD (3 hours long & workbook included):

* Documenting APIs and SDKs (US$399.95)
* Just Enough Java (Pre-order price US$267.95)


Workbooks (from Gordon & Gordon workshops):

* Just Enough C and C++ (US$49.95)
* Understanding Complex Software (US$49.95)
* Technical Writing 101 + Good Enough Documentation (US$49.95)
* Writing Marketing Materials for High-Tech Firms (US$69.95)

And our no-hassle MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE means there's no risk to you.

For more information (and previews) or to order, visit: www.thirdwavestudios.com or telephone us at 514-733-0354 (9-5 EST).

01/19/06 - 01/25/06
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SITE UPDATE: New Article - Social Rules for Creating a Style Guide
             by Tom Johnson

Many writers look at a new style guide the way the Greeks should have looked at the Trojans' wooden horse. Never fear -- Tom Johnson gives you on-the-ground tactical advice on winning over the populace and avoiding all-out war! Check it out here: http://www.techwr-l.com/ct.php?link=http://www.techwhirl.com/techwhirl/magazine/writing/socialrulesforstyleguide.html

01/19/06 - 01/25/06
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ANNOUNCE: New development in documentation technology: 
          Making PowerPoint(R) Speak 

Tuval Software Industries has recently released version 1.0 of Speech-Over Studio(TM), an innovative software application that lets you add narration based on text to a PowerPoint(R) presentation.

This unique software uses text-to-speech technology to transform text into a synchronized, professional narration that sounds like it was made in a recording studio.

It uses amazingly realistic state-of-the-art computer voices that will speak any text you write. It is available in all major languages and regional dialects.

No recording or microphone is needed--only your text input. Need to change the speech in the presentation? Just edit the text.

Speech-empowered presentations be viewed by PowerPoint alone, and they can be converted into Flash or wmv files using commercially-available conversion tools.

Speech-Over Studio is useful in a wide variety of applications:

* For marketing: produce persuasive presentations that talk about a product or company for Web or E-mail distribution or for trade shows.

* For education: create talking presentations to help students learn and review the subject material. Distribute on Web or E-mail.

* For a training professional: develop and manage audio-visual courses easily and rapidly for more effective training.

* For corporate communications: send talking presentations to colleagues to communicate information, plans or ideas more clearly and effectively.

For more information see: www.speechover.com

Speech-Over Studio is available for purchase online at the Tuval Software Industries site www.speechover.com. The software is priced at US$199 per license. Each license permits three independent installations.

The software can also be bought by sending your order to Tuval by e-mail at sales -at- speechover -dot- com -dot- In addition, select online affiliates sell Speech-Over Studio.

To contact Tuval, E-mail:  info -at- speechover -dot- com -dot- 

01/18/06 - 01/24/06
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SEMINAR: STC Sounthwestern Ontario Education Seminar 2006

The Southwester Ontario Chapter of the STC invites you to join us at our annual Education Seminar. This year weâ??re getting down to  fundamentals for writers, editors, and trainers. Weâ??ve lined up two great speakers who will cover the basics and best practices of editing  and instructional design.


Thursday February 16: Eight-Step Editing by Jim Taylor

Eight-Step Editing breaks the editorial process down into a series of tasks that will improve the readability of the final product. This seminar will help you develop a systematic approach and identify functions you may have been performing only intuitively.

Friday February 17: ABCs of Instructional Design by Jane Smith

This dynamic workshop provides an introduction to the methods and best practices in instructional design with a focus on designing classroom training.

For complete information about the seminar topics, location, fees, and how to register, visit our website http://www.stc-soc.org.


01/17/06 - 01/23/06
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ANNOUNCE: WritersUA Update

Early Discount Deadline Approaching for WritersUA Conference Save up to $200 on your registration fee if you book your space by January 28 for the 14th Annual WritersUA Conference for Software User Assistance.  The conference will be held in Palm Springs April 9-12. The conference  focus, as always, is on user assistance Design, Tools, Technologies, and Content Development. Over 60 informative sessions will be presented by 45 expert speakers. All the details about the event are available on the conference web site.
 http://www.writersua.com/ohc06/index.html

Survey: Contribute to the WritersUA User Assistance Salary Survey The 
WritersUA 2006 Salary Survey is now in progress. The results analysis of this survey will be made publicly available. Your participation is the key to results that help us all.
 http://www.writersua.com/surveys/salary06/

Events: WritersUA Visiting STC Chapters
Joe Welinske, President of WriterUA, will be speaking about Trends in 
Software User Assistance at the following STC chapters: New York, Feb.  7, and Orange County, Feb. 21.
 http://stcnymetro.org/events/notices/feb062006.htm
 http://www.ocstc.org/

Article: Migrating HTML to XHTML and XML This two-part article describes a detailed methodology for migrating HTML files to the structure and flexibility of XHTML and/or XML.
 http://www.writersua.com/articles/migrate/index.html

MANY MORE Free Articles, Surveys, and News items on the WritersUA web site.
 http://www.writersua.com/

01/10/06 - 01/23/06
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EDUCATION: "Technical Writing Tools" Online Course

Malaspina University-College's "Technical Writing Tools" online course just started on Monday, Jan. 9, 2006 and will run for 8 weeks through to Mar. 3, 2006.  There's still room left in this course, which is one of the core courses in the Technical Communication (non-credit) certificate program (www.pr.mala.bc.ca/techcomm.htm)  This course offers a basic introduction to software tools and their application in technical communications.

Students will get a brief overview of Excel, Access, Word, Desktop Publishing software, Web Design software, Platforms and Operating Systems, and Networks and Peripherals.  This course is not intended to be an in-depth software learning course, but is intended to familiarize the student with terminology, computer operation, and which software should be used to perform which functions.  After completing this course, students will have a good idea of where they want to concentrate their efforts when pursuing more involved software training.

The cost for this course, which runs for 8 weeks, is $319.

For more information about the Technical Writing Tools course, visit http://www.pr.mala.bc.ca/tech_comm10.htm .  Please note the special hardware and software requirements listed on this page.  For more information on general hardware and software requirements for these online courses, visit http://www.pr.mala.bc.ca/SysReq.htm 

Check out the Syllabus here: http://www.pr.mala.bc.ca/Syllabus_Tools1.htm 

For more information about the online Technical Communication program and how to apply to this program, refer to the web site (http://www.pr.mala.bc.ca/techcomm.htm) and Program Guide (pdf, http://www.pr.mala.bc.ca/pdf-techcomm.pdf). 

01/10/06 - 01/23/06
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WEBINAR: Vasont Systems Presents a Free Webinar on the 
         Basics of Content Management "Content Management 101: 
         How Does It Work?"

         Presented by: Bret Freeman
                       Senior Sales Engineer for Vasont Systems
                       Wednesday, January 25 at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT

If you are new to the whole concept of "content management", this Webinar is a MUST for you! Content management is a broad term used to describe many different ways of managing many different types of information. This Webinar will focus on managing information--such as technical documentation and user manuals--that is reused and published to multiple media channels, i.e., print, Web, PDF, and more.

But how does it all work? How do you get information in a content management system? How is it stored? In this presentation, Bret Freeman will guide you through an example of how a content management system works.

Attendees will learn:
* How to identify content that is appropriate for a content 
  management system 
* How to load and modularize a document in a content 
  management system
* How content is "single-sourced"
* How to create new documents for current and new media 
  channels by reusing content in the content management system
* Why a content management system is important and what 
  benefits it provides to an organization

Who should attend:
* Writers
* Editors
* Managers

To register for this event, which will be held Wednesday, January 25 at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT, please visit the following link:
https://lra100.livemeeting.com/LRSRegistration/EC/vasont/1751668212.aspx

This educational webinar series will continue throughout the year with the following events:

* April 2006, "Content Management 102: How Does Content Reuse Work?"
* July 2006, "Content Management 103: How Does Global Change Work?"
* October 2006, "Content Management 104: How To Choose A Content
  Model"

Visit www.vasont.com for more information about these events.

01/11/06 - 01/24/06
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FRAMEMAKER TRAINING: San Diego, Boston, SF Bay Area & The Netherlands

Instructor: Shlomo Perets, http://www.microtype.com/Training.html


* Structured FrameMaker: Authoring -- San Diego: March 1,
  Amsterdam: April 3, Boston: April 26, SF Bay Area: June 14

* Structured FrameMaker: Developing EDDS -- San Diego: March 2-3,
  Amsterdam: April 4-5, Boston: April 27-28, SF Bay Area: June 15-16

* FrameMaker Template Design -- San Diego: March 6-7,
  Amsterdam: March 30-31, Boston: May 1-2, SF Bay Area: June 19-20

* FrameMaker -to-Acrobat Advanced Techniques -- San Diego: March 8-9,
  Amsterdam: March 27-28, Boston: May 4-5, SF Bay Area: June 22-23

* Single Sourcing with FrameMaker -- San Diego: March 10,
  Amsterdam: March 29, Boston: May 3, SF Bay Area: June 21

* Technical Indexing with FrameMaker -- San Diego: March 4,
  Amsterdam: April 1, Boston: April 29, SF Bay Area: June 17

NEW:  Instantly be more productive with Toolbar Plus Express 4.0
for FrameMaker 6.0-7.2, http://www.microtype.com/FMToolbarPlus.pdf

01/10/06 - 01/16/06
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TRAINING: Implementation Strategies for Content Management
          January 31 - February 1, 2006

If you are moving towards XML-based, reuse-focused content management 
you should not miss this intense two-day workshop!

Implementing an effective unified content management strategy is a balance between what is desired and what is possible, from both an authoring and a technical perspective. This workshop enables you to make the right decisions to effectively implement your solution on your own, with IT, or with your technology vendor. You will learn about the pros and cons of the key technology components of your solution, why granularity of reuse matters, and how to make informed decisions about standards like DITA (use the standard, extend the standard, or build your own). If you are moving towards XML-based, reuse-focused content management you should not miss this workshop!

At the end of this workshop you will understand:
 * The factors affecting content management implementation
 * How to evaluate and use DITA for your needs
 * How to develop a realistic implementation strategy that meets the needs of both your authors and your customers
 * How to select technology to ensure your success

Additional information: http://www.rockley.com/Workshops.htm

To register:  http://www.rockley.com/WorkshopRegister.htm


The Rockley Group
www.rockley.com
905-939-9298
moreinfo -at- rockley -dot- com

01/08/06 - 01/15/06
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