I saw this on Crescat Sententia this morning, and I thought “what an interesting question to pose”.
You’re stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be? (N.B.: this refers to what book you would memorize, as do the characters at the end of Bradbury’s novel)
Mine isn’t exactly the greatest novel in the universe, but it would be great to preserve in my mind (mainly because I can’t imagine not having read the book): Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy.
So, what’s yours?
If this isn’t telling, I don’t know what is.
In case the link goes dead (or the comments are deleted), here are the three posts so far (I apologize for the length):
I’m the Director of Product Management responsible for RoboHelp, Captivate, and other Macromedia products. I haven’t posted to this list before, but given the comments that are circulating today at the WritersUA conference and in this forum, I wanted to make sure that you get some feedback directly from the product team regarding these outstanding questions.
First of all, Macromedia continues to sell and support RoboHelp. The twelve years of engineering work that have gone into this product make it an incredibly viable and relevant solution for today’s Help authors. Also, beginning March 1st, 2005 the following support options have been made available:
http://www.macromedia.com/support/programs/self/robohelp.htmlWe have made some changes to the number of development resources dedicated to RoboHelp. Macromedia is constantly evaluating the optimal degree of dedicated resources in each of its businesses and the changes to the RoboHelp team are a part of this process. It’s really not appropriate for me to comment on specific personnel issues, however, as these are private matters involving real people. I can say that the former eHelp office in San Diego, now known as Macromedia San Diego, is a vibrant office with staffers supporting a wide range of Macromedia initiatives.
Regarding future releases, I recognize that eHelp used to provide a roadmap regarding future product release schedules, but as a public company we cannot do the same. This applies to all Macromedia products, not just RoboHelp. We do not announce future release dates, and we tend to have longer release cycles than what was the previous release schedule for RoboHelp.
It’s unfortunate that speculative comments from an individual (and Macromedia’s lack of attendance) at the WritersUA conference has caused concern. Macromedia was not able to attend the conference due to last minute booth staffing issues that could not be resolved in time to have a presence at the show. As I stated above, we are selling and supporting the RoboHelp Office family of products. In addition, another former eHelp product, Captivate (formerly known as RoboDemo) is thriving within Macromedia. In fact, we’re very proud that Captivate recently won the Software Simulation Shootout at the Training 2005 Conference (http://www.macromedia.com/software/captivate/).
We will continue to monitor the lists and respond as appropriate. Thanks for your support.
Regards,
Miriam Geller
Director of Product Management—–
Sorry, Miriam, but your explanation is literally “incredible.”
Of course Macromedia “continues to sell and support RoboHelp.” Even if you have EOL’d the product, you still want to make as much money as possible from selling it. How else to justify the $65mm your company paid to acquire eHelp?
You say: “We have made some changes to the number of development resources dedicated to RoboHelp.” I give you credit for a great sense of humor. You have laid off the entire development team, have you not? (I know you will say it is “not appropriate” to comment on personnel issues, but rest assured most of us can all read between the lines.)
Of course you will not comment on future product releases since you do not plan to have any.
The funniest part of your post is your comment that “Macromedia was not able to attend the conference due to last minute booth staffing issues that could not be resolved in time to have a presence at the show.” Anyone with the first clue about how this industry works will immediately recognize this as the nonsense that it is. If Macromedia wanted a presence at this show, Macromedia would have had a presence at this show. To “no show” an important induistry conference makes a clear statement about how important RoboHelp is to your company. Obviously, it is not important at all — except to the extent that you can rope people into buying expensive support agreements for a product you have already decided to EOL.
Please spare us the misrepresentations. We know where you are coming from. It’s plain for all to see.
Btw, I will be curious to see whether you follow the old eHelp model and immediately delete this post from your forum, or whether you allow a public dialogue to ensue. It doesn’t matter to me, but it might matter to your other customers.
Regards,
David Knopf
—-
Sorry, Miriam, but I agree with David.
Your post was nothing but blatant, empty, and in fact, insulting, blah-blah. You start off stating that you want to give us feedback “directly from the product team regarding these outstanding questions”, but you give us nothing. You certainly don’t answer our questions as to the continuation of RoboHelp development.
While I’m sure politicians, lawyers, and possibly board members would love your post, us online Help developers, well, we usually like to stick to reality—what’s it all about, how does it work. And I, for one, don’t like someone throwing “marketing-ese” at me and calling it an answer.
My feeling upon reading your post was irritation, bordering on anger (that you would actually think us so stupid). Really, it would have been better if you hadn’t addressed the issue at all.
I also agree with David regarding the WritersUA conference. It’s one of the most important conferences of the year. No one is going to believe the reason you gave for Macromedia’s absence.
I hope the next time you (or any other Macromedia representative) address customers and members of this forum, you will remember that we are trained professionals in our field. We’re not idiots and we deserve the truth.
Regards,
Leah Shalek
If Macromedia wasn’t going to EOL this product, they could just try to kill it via PR. They’ve got a good start already.
I used to be a Tech Writer not that long ago and still have many professional and personnel friends who travel in those circles. So, when news hit the web today of the impending demise of Macromedia RoboHelp, it in my inbox pretty quickly. To scale the news up a little bit for relational purposes, imagine the ripple that would emanate throughout web design sphere if Microsoft moonlighted FrontPage. (Oh, what sweet dreams I dream.) FrontPage isn’t the de facto tool for web design, but it’s pretty popular and has a loyal following.
That’s RoboHelp; it’s got its quirks (read: huge-ass bugs that will totally screw up your week), but it’s got its good points, too. It has also ceased to be very innovative in the past few years. Just before eHelp was acquired by Macromedia, they introduced FlashHelp, which was basically a Flash UI on top of standard web-based Help. Most of the new product innovations and solutions were aimed squarely at…well, that was the problem. They had answers in search of a question, and were starting that “enterprise systems” mantra/death roll.
There are better products that RoboHelp, certainly, but the entry-level tech writer could be relatively effective with it within a week or two, and be pretty proficient after a month. Not a bad ramp-up time considering that some competitors required a base-level understanding of object-oriented single-sourcing to kick out a Help system. (Note to AuthorIT; you have a kick-ass product but you need to lower the entry threshold. Writers != database admins.)
RoboHelp’s departure from the market, while surprising, is almost exciting. The void that will be left behind is sizable. I don’t have real numbers, but if I had to guess, I wouldn’t be surprised if RoboHelp had over 50% of the market share. Now, sunsetting doesn’t immediately invalidate all those licenses out there, but it does make support tougher. Many writing companies will move away from RoboHelp. Where they move is the big question.
The major players left standing are FrameMaker with Web Works Publisher, AuthorIT, Doc-To-Help, and Web Works for Word. Honestly, they all have pros and cons, as most tools do. Web Works has the best position because of the number of companies using or going to FrameMaker for single-sourcing. AuthorIT, while great on paper, is a complete philosophical change in process for tech writing houses, and I bet that breaks a lot of deals for them. Web Works for Word is young and, well, works inside of Word. Word doesn’t exactly endear itself to many writers.
What will happen? My prediction is that another,single tool will rise and fill the void, instead of the other products gaining marginal market shares. The tool that rises will be one that will support the new scheme of Help development inside of Longhorn Aero and be able to do some cool build tricks with XML (they’ll call it single-sourcing, but it will be glorified source-control). Frankly, I think the old RoboHelp team, headed by Mike Hamilton, now at MadCap Software, will get to make the product they should have made before.
And, a note to Mike and his team. You were really, really close with RoboHelp. Honestly. The code generation was a big sticking point; it wasn’t critical, but just stop messing with the code. Give writers real tools to do real design: CSS, native XHTML, good layer controls.And clean up that UI; it sucks, and has for years. But, the conditional formatting, the multiple output formats, hell, I even liked the idea of Flash Help. Integrate with existing data management software (I still role my eyes a RoboSource Control) and let companies leverage investments they’ve already made.
Let writers fiddle and not get punished. Give them round-trip processes. In short, make the tool do what its supposed to do: let writers write, designers design, and everyone publish.
Do that, and you’ll be bigger than RoboHelp ever was. If you don’t, someone else will.
Bwahahahahaha!
Fighting back: In London, 35 Greenpeace protesters rushed onto the floor of the International Petroleum Exchange in February, intending to paralyze oil trading on the day the Kyoto environmental initiative took effect, but, unexpectedly, the traders turned on them, punching and kicking the protesters until they ran for their lives.
Wow, that low, eh?
AP – About seven in 10 Americans say Congress inappropriately intervened in the case of a brain-damaged woman whose relatives disagree over whether she should be allowed to die, according to a new poll.
[via Yahoo News [Politics]]
I’m going to go off, and I can’t apologize for it.
God damn it, politicians, scratch that, Republicans–stop using Terry Schiavo as your political pawn. I don’t really give a damn whether she lives or dies, cold as that sounds. She’s obviously been kept alive and cared for for the past 15 years, and I’m sure she’d receive the same care if her tube was put back in. But this bull about the “sanctity of life” and “right to die” has got to stop.
Terri Schiavo is dead, and anyone who doesn’t get that is either a) an idiot, b) too emotionally involved to know better, or c) trying to profit in one form or another from the situation. I’m conservative, but I’m not some mindless automaton that thinks no one should die, no matter what. Her husband is right; all these little tricks and maneuvers are nothing short of thuggery.
Take note, Michigan reps; I won’t vote for anyone who decides to use this case as political stepping stone. You may think you energizing some perceived base of right-to-lifers, but you’re pissing off the rest of us.
J– and I had a discussion about her case last night, and I have to admit that I was wrong about how the case had come to the idiotic point at which it now resides.
I did a little reading (very little) and found Abstract Appeal, a blog that is covering the case in minute detail, while trying to remain impartial (as the Congress should be doing). The author, Matt Conigliaro, details all the events in the case and the path that led the public here. It’s interesting reading and fairly devoid of him choosing “a side”. The only side, as he alludes to many times, is what Terri would want.
Personally, I think that the law should win here. Terri’s husband did what the law allowed him to do, and has been thwarted by his well-meaning but completely misguided parents. Many, many doctors, judges, and observers agree that Terri is not coming back, no matter what her parents want to believe. Scans and tests do not lie.
It’s sad that this has become a name calling endeavor, with each side trying to demonize the other in an effort to garner support. I hope that whatever Terri wanted gets done, even thought we’ll never know if that happened.
In a previous life, I was an active member of the West Michigan Shores Chapter of the STC. I met a lot of really cool people there and learned a lot about what it meant to be not just a technical writer, but more about how technical writers can break out of the mold and accomplish things.
One of the people who did that was Pat Sweeny. Pat is (or was, by this point) the President and owner of The Bishop Company, a contract do-it-all house; they document, streamline and illustrate your process, and they do it damn well. Pat was one of the first people in that chapter to “get it”, which is to say, he and his company understand that technical writing isn’t going to be a department for very much longer, it’s going to be a business.
He had the foresight to actually make it a business, but he also had something else. Pat was forever trying to better those around him. He would come to meetings (which was a big step beyond most people) and teach you things. Or he would come to meetings and pose questions that might put you just out of your comfort zone professionally.
Pat challenged me personally to get involved in the chapter very early in my membership, partly because the membership wasn’t very active. But I took to it (oddly) and actually became fairly active, serving as the Secretary and almost serving as President. I can’t give all the credit to Pat (I’m looking at you DrSandy), but Pat was a prominent member of a core group that sustained the chapter almost by their shear will.
Last night, he received the STC’s Distinguished Service Award (PDF) during what I’m told was a roast (I found about it almost 6 hours before the meeting, so I wasn’t able to attend). Pat Sweeny has earned this award so many times over, it makes you wish the plaque came with one of those huge checks, too. Congratulations, Pat, it was a pleasure to serve the chapter with you, and I hope we can have a drink sometime this summer.
Since I couldn’t be there, I sent a piece to be read in my place. I’ve put the text after the fold.
(Disclaimer: I was told this is a roast; any jokes deemed offensive, unfunny, or out of place are the fault of the orator and not the author.)
I heard—at the last minute—that Pat was getting his due,
scratch that, getting honored
scratch that too. Start over.
I heard that Pat was receiving an award tonight. I thought to myself, “Self, don’t you think that Pat is sick of awards by now?” Obviously he isn’t if he’s still in the room, which just shows you how egotistical and megalomaniacal he actually is. You see, Pat is one of these people who just can’t stop doing stuff. He’s always running around, telling people about all these things they didn’t know when they got there that night. Take me, for instance. Before I met Pat, there were literally tens of things I didn’t know. Since I’ve met Pat, he’s informed me that there are, in fact, dozens of things I don’t know.
He’s even alluded to the fact that there may be up to 50 things I don’t know. He doesn’t actually say “Ryan, you don’t know X, Y and Z.” Oh no. Pat has to go and make presentations and comments and just be a general you-don’t-know-it-all. Then, when you leave his company, you start wondering about that subject, and you realize a few things. Most of these things center around all the other things you now know you don’t know, but you’re wondering just the same and it’s annoying.
You then go out in an effort to rid yourself of the annoyance and learn many things about that particular subject so that, when you meet with Pat again, you can take him down a peg or two. You surf the web, you go to the library (or Barnes and Noble) and read lots of stuff. You then meet Pat again. As you lay out your well-thought out arguments and facts, he nods, hands folded in front of him, soaking in all your cute, sub-Pat level understanding.
(look at him now! He’s doing it now! Ok, perhaps not, but that is the disadvantage of being there on paper and not in person).
But when he’s done nodding and saying “Mmmm, mmm”, he begins to tell you the remaining portions that he a) didn’t tell you about the first time, even though he had the opportunity and b) you didn’t bother to look up yourself. Then, like a very, very old grandfatherly type, he pats you on the head as if to say “that was a nice try. You want a cookie for your efforts?” OK, he doesn’t actually do that, but you feel like you should have tried so much harder or at least received a cookie.
It’s then that you realize, he knew all along. He just didn’t share this information with you because he wanted you to go out and look something up. He wanted you to think about that subject. And, yes, he wanted you to come back just so he could let you in on all the things you still don’t know.
Ok, maybe I made that last part up. Maybe, in fact, I made much of the preceding statements up. (For the record, there are less than 40 things I do not know. Ask Pat.)
The fact of the matter is this: Pat is obviously not sick of getting awards. No, wait, sorry, I covered that already.
In all seriousness, congratulations Pat. Like a few others in the room tonight, you have earned this award and all the awards you have received many times over. Much of the credit (or blame, depending on your perspective) for my involvement with the Society and Chapter goes to (or lies with) you. The challenges you put to me made me try, which isn’t always easy to do (both the trying and the motivation to do so). Your passion for what you do was inspirational at times, mind-boggling at other times, but always a touch point for what one can become if they really put their heart into their career.
Silly people always say “Do what you love.” These people are silly because they don’t know anyone who actually does what they love, nor do they do themselves what they love, mostly because they stand on street corners telling other what to do. You, Pat, don’t have to tell people to do what they love. You have a much better testimony; you show them what it’s like to do something you love.
Either that, or you’re a really, really good actor. Regardless, you deserve not only this award, but the thanks of many of us in the room—both on paper and in person—for constantly reminding us that you don’t get to stop when you’re comfortable. So, before I suck up more time or Sandy sobers up, a heartfelt congratulations and happy (semi) retirement!
I don’t know how to accurately describe this, so I’ll mangle it instead. Liveplasma lets you search for a band you like (say, Wilco) and then groups other bands you may like by proximity. The UI is a little wonky (horizontal scrolls bars are bad, UI people, bad, especially if you’re using Flash), but the feedback is interesting. I already added one album to iTunes because of it. (Hint, hint)
Check it out, it’s a very cool idea. I keep imagining what a tool like this could do if it were tied to, say, my Amazon account or past searches. (Welcome back, Ryan! Since you last searched for Goo Goo Dolls, we’ve associated x number of bands with them. Check it out!)
Oh, and it works for books and movies, too.