TechWhirl Recap for December 23 2011

[INKtopia Admin <admin -at- inktopia -dot- net>]

*TechWhirl Recap for December 23 2011*



This week’s update is supported by Platinum sponsor ComponentOne & their
Doc-To-Help Help Authoring Tool <http://goo.gl/QcMWA> | http://goo.gl/QcMWA



*From the Desk of the Editor*

It’s a been a pretty quiet week as the TechWhirl staff (that would be Al
and me) get ready for the holiday.  No matter whether you’re into
Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Festivus, or just anticipating a few
days off, we sincerely hope the holidays bring you everything you could
hope for.



If you’ve had a chance to listen to the TechWhirl holiday
podcast<http://techwhirl.com/topics/podcasts/>,
you know that Al got his wish already, and in that same vein, I’m happy to
be plunging into TechWhirl fulltime after a lengthy contract stint and the
resulting weekend warrior status.  Actually my Christmas wish has been
fulfilled, with a great team of writers on the SWU, but I have no
compunctions about hoping that it continues to be fulfilled with new
editors and writers joining our gang during 2012.  Most of the SWU is
already enjoying the holiday status, but a few of them stuck around long
enough to be a part of the podcast and enjoy their 59 minutes of holiday
fame.



We managed to put a few more gifts under the TechWhirl magazine tree, with
a review of Joe Welinkse’s book on user assistance for mobile apps, and an
eye-opening guide to being more efficient in Word from the Users’ Advocate,
Geoff Hart.  Try not to read them this weekend, they’ll be around after the
big celebrations are done…



Have a happy, merry, jolly, joyous, restful and non-fattening holiday



- The gang at TechWhirl
In Case You Missed it: This Week  @ TechWhirl

New on http://TechWhirl.com <http://techwhirl.com/>:

·         Podcast: TechWhirl’s Christmas Playhouse for Technical Writers |
http://goo.gl/sZkct

·         Lovingly curated by humans, it’s Tech Writer This Week |
http://goo.gl/ETjti

·         Book Review: Joe Welinske’ Developing User Assistance for Mobile
Apps, written by Mike McCallister | http://goo.gl/Xn1FO

·         Users Advocate Column, Save Time by Mastering the Basics:
Efficient Movement within a File, by Geoff Hart | http://goo.gl/oGnEb

Letters to Santa:

·         Nancy Allison: Wish List from a Very, Very Good Tech Writer |
http://goo.gl/WgKaE

·         Cheryl Voloshin: The Perfect Tech Writer’s Letter to Santa |
http://goo.gl/8t7sH

·         The Tech Writer Curmudgeon: Holiday Negotiations |
http://goo.gl/mqzop

Tech Comm News:

·         WritersUA Announces Results of Annual User Assistance Tools
Survey | http://goo.gl/My5bQ

·         Acrolinx and Partners Launch ACCEPT International Research
Project | http://goo.gl/dANxv
What You’re Talking About

A quick *What you talkin’ ‘bout* to our Tech Writers and their discussions
in our email discussion group <http://goo.gl/YUrbb>:

   - Most Whirlers seem to be taking a long winter’s nap, but Kevin
   McLaughlin stayed awake long enough to request some feedback about the
   possibility of caution fatigue when he stated “Too many notes! Take some
   out.”  Respondents, noted that in addition to compliance and regulatory
   concerns, judicious use of notes, cautions and warnings benefits users, but
   reviewing long-standing docs for note creep is probably worthwhile.
   - Will Husa began experiencing “WORD weirdness” on a 30-page document
   that would not print the final page, even after converting to PDF.  After
   several suggestions for Maggie-ing the document (copy everything but the
   last paragraph mark and paste into a new document) and checking for text
   hidden in field codes, Will cobbled together a solution that included an
   extra section break.


Social Media and the Chance to Follow TechWhirl:

   - Our Google Plus Page – what’s happening behind the scenes |
   http://goo.gl/SO0R4
   - Will you be our Friend? Please, you know you want to click |
   http://goo.gl/tDrW7
   - Want all this TechWhirl goodness a few characters @ a time |
   http://goo.gl/itjDg
   - Updates from TechWhirl delivered to your email in box |
   http://bit.ly/tjshxU
   - Or, try our RSS feed (great on Flipboard) | http://goo.gl/msLzu

SPONSOR-Luv

We want to send a very special “thank you” to our sponsors for their
support.  No Mr. Potters in this group, our world would not be the same
without them.



*Platinum A*: Adobe Systems
Incorporated<http://www.runaware.com/clients/adobe/techsuite/>

*Platinum B: *Madcap
Software<http://www.madcapsoftware.com/products/flare/overview.aspx#whatsnew>,
ComponentOne Software<http://www.doctohelp.com/?utm_source=techwrl.com&utm_medium=125x125%2Bbanner%2Bad&utm_campaign=doctohelp>
**

*Gold*: Society for Technical Communication (STC) <http://www.stc.org/>, EC
Software <http://www.ec-software.com/>, Vancouver Island
University<http://pr.viu.ca/techcomm/>
,

-- 


TechWhirl.com
Online Magazine and Discussions for Today's Tech Writer

Follow TechWhirl on
Twitter:         @TechWriterToday
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