TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:TechWhirler Recap for August 12, 1981 From:INKtopia Admin <admin -at- inktopia -dot- net> To:Techwr-l <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:23:09 -0500
This week’s update is supported by Platinum sponsor Adobe & RoboHelp 9 | http://goo.gl/mWtcM
*It was thirty years ago today, *
*We started thinking about which help doc to portray,
Because help files never go to go out of style, but sometimes a typo will
raise a smile.
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years, the lonely TechWhirlers’ weekly
update. *
Step right up folks! It’s the latest and greatest in space-age
technology. We’ve
heard that there may only be a few of them sold, but you too can get this
Buck Rogers technology in your home today! Yes indeedy, it’s the 5150 from
International Business Machines, and it’s sure to confuse the heck out of
just about anyone out there, if we let the engineers who designed it try to
explain it.
So, instead, we’ll hand over the explanations to you – yes you – the
writers, no… PC writers, no… tech writers…yeah that’ll work, of the world to
explain. And, if you ask *Special* Writers Unit’s Fraser Hannah, most of
the skills you’ll need were learned in high school (goo.gl/yulXY). Of
course you’ll need to learn about the 5150, Apple IIe or even that new
fangled interconnected web thing. But, we’ll save that article for another
time.
Once you’re done, and your tape drive is full of information, your dot
matrix is printing out that latest draft so we can finally invent the
acronym RTFM, there’s a good chance you’ll want a portfolio. Not to fear
ladies and gentlemen, Connie Giordano and her article “Can You Create an
NDA-Compliant Portfolio?” (goo.gl/xV2J8) will have you employed until your
sixty-four. But, that’s many years from now.
New week, we have another DAM article along with a brand new shiny article
from Geoff Hart. Happy Birthday 5150, yes we know the Apple II is a little
older, but IBM’s PC filled the hole for corporations and things have been
getting better since then.
So there you have it – another update and a day in the life,
Until next week…
The oddly dressed folks @ TechWhirl
* *
*Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl*:
Will you be our Friend? Please, you know you want to click | http://goo.gl/tDrW7
Want all this TechWhirl goodness 10001100 characters @ a time | http://goo.gl/itjDg
Inside TechWhirl newsletter (all about our work) | http://goo.gl/yRxu1
What You’re Talking About
o Tony Chung wants to know when it comes to “New words - where have you
found them?” and Whirlers have responded with their favorite authors
(William F Buckly, Jane Austen and Evelyn Waugh) their favorite websites (
urbandictionary.com wordnik.com and the old standby dictionary.com), and
even those quaint old things we call newspapers.
o Dan Goldstein is searching for opinions from Whirlers on “Ball chairs
and their kin” and is getting loads of great ergonomic and physiotheraputic
advice from sitters, standers, plankers and others.
o Not only has Craig Cardimon recently added SWU team member to his
resume, but now he’s looking for “Advice on software testing?” as a new
duty. Check out the thread for great resources and a lively discussion when
the software should really ship.
In Case You Missed it: This Week @ TechWhirl
· New: “Building an NDA-Compliant Portfolio” by Connie Giordano |
goo.gl/xV2J8
· New: “Skills Transfer - How High School Teaching Prepares You for
Tech Comm” by Fraser Hannah | goo.gl/yulXY
· Poll question: What’s the most challenging tech comm task to handle
collaboratively? | techwhirl.com
Upcoming Articles
· New: “Getting Feedback on our Work” by Geoff Hart
· New: “Digital Asset Management (DAM) Systems and the Single Tech
Writer” by Chantel Brathwaite
· Poll question: Best technology for collaborating
SPONSOR-Luv
We want to send a very special “thank you” to sponsors. Without them, we
probably would have always sung out of tune.
*Platinum*: Madcap, Adobe, ComponentOne
*Gold*: Society for Technical Communication (STC), EC Software
*Silver*: Vancouver Island University
> Personally, we thought it was parsley on the album cover
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
