Captivate 2 - Mis-Take 2

I came across a situation this week where a client needed me to convert a SWF to an FLV. I thought to myself, simple enough - they probably didn't realize that they could directly export it to FLV from captivate. This comes up all the time with MS Word and Excel document versions.

After looking into the situation, I got a surprise. Adobe...errrr Macromedia.....errrr Adobe did not include the FLV file format export. Are you kidding me? From a programming standpoint that is definitely what we call a "missed requirement." That's just plan terrible, dare I say - unthinkable.

Upon more research the most concise instructions I could find was from a developer called Dexterous and it goes something like this...

1. Create your project in Adobe Captivate 2 (Note - Create your project only as demonstration, do not include any interactivity in it)
2. Save the project.
3. Open Macromedia Flash and create a new file with the same dimensions as in your Adobe Captivate Project.
4. select File -> Import -> Import to Stage, browse and select the CP file.
5. In the options for importing DO NOT import the playback controls and DO NOT select 'slides as movieClips'
6. Export from Flash as an AVI (File -> Export -> Export Movie)
7. Now from Macromedia Flash 8 Video Encoder or any other AVI to FLV converter, you can easily convert it into an FLV.

Now if you ask me, that's just a wee-bit convoluted. It takes something that should take about 30 seconds and turns it into an hour long expedition and quite frankly I found this to be surprisingly weak and uninspiring on Adobes part. They need a fix, patch, update or whatever. Not being able to natively FLV stinks. I'll step-off h soapbox now.

~Jaye

Brand Rehab

It's been an interesting watch to see how Apple has been dealing with the negative press around the iPhone, the related firmware updates and MobileMe. Part of it has been of their own making. My impression is that Apple bought in the their own halo spin and elevated their arrogance and just plain unrealistic hype.

The latest example of Apple in brand rehab is their something Apple has not been very good at... Communication. Their great at image, but actually having a dialog is new for them. They are used to telling companies and people how it is, not actually listening. It will be interesting to see if Apple maintains this over the long haul. Only time will tell.

Another thing that they have been doing is acting "humble." The MobileMe team has repeatedly admitted they "screwed up." Recently Apple without any special request gave users who signed up before August 18th another 60 day extension. In an email they literally said, "MobileMe was not up to our standards," and stated that they have been working diligently to make things better. This is un-Apple-like and is a major shocker.

I can say this first hand, because I've had at least three horrendous experiences with Apple over the last 7 years I've been using their products. One time I was so made, I literally almost poured lighter fluid over my laptop to set it on fire. thank gdness my wife took away my lighter fluid and matches.

A finally Steve Jobs made a startling admission as to "buggy" iPhone firmware stating that by September they will deliver "crash-free," software. That was amazing that Jobs did that and nearly unheard of. He is a CEO who is not glossing over things , trying to hide or send some fool out to the masses to repeat what he needed to answer to himself. Finally a CEO earning his money and taking responsibility.

All-in-all is appears that Apple is making a "serious" good-faith effort to get things right and live up to a more positive reputation. Instead of being considered the champ, they seem interested in living the role. That's a refreshing change. They are definitively on the move to rehab their brand. Why? Maybe their realize that they really do need their customers, if they intend to move forward as a global corporation.

// Jaye

Push comes to shove

There is a great article over at Appleinsider.com on Apple's MobileMe service and how it stacks up to other services. The other services profiled are BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Exchange, Gmail and The someday to go live Microsoft Live Mesh. It takes a fairly complex subject and makes it very understandable.

Enjoy,

~Jaye

Because it"s True

I'm posting this not out of support for Obama, but from a "Geek" standpoint, what he is saying about air gauges is true. And because it's a funny moment. Happy, happy.