InBeta

danjasker.blogspot.com

Documented Screen-cast's

Launching today is a trial run of documenting video-cast's by converting them into a manual like web version. These can be used instead of the typical video-cast's and will enable users to scroll down to a specific step within a document without having to re-download the video-cast and fast-forward to a specific spot. I got this idea from browsing around various other video-cast sites and found that little or no actual documentation was made available. It usually required going through various busy support lines or having to join a forum for something often trivial. This way you can quickly find the things you need without the hassle.

As far as video-cast's go I've revamped a few I had posted previously and would like to document the entire process and get those re-posted as soon as possible. I figure that working on both a new website and re-upping all my previous screen-cast's should keep me busy for a while. There are still quiet a few requests I've promised to fulfill and I will get to those. With that said I've posted my first revamped, and most successful video-cast with over 1,350 views, on creating simple fading slideshow's in Freeway. To those who haven't seen it, it's about using a single action to create a simple slideshow where you can have a series of images fade-in and fade-out all created in just a matter of minutes. So go check it out!

Lastly I'd also like to re-iterate that I'm currently available for freelance and even full-time work and have experience in handling all kinds of graphic design and web projects. I'd encourage you to contact me even if you'd like me to review a website or simply clean up your files if something isn't quite right. I accept either Freeway documents or just straight up CSS, (X)HTML, etc.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go watch the screen-cast and I'll be back with another one after I return home in about a week.

A Few Updates...

I'd first like to thank everyone for the feedback that was given on the last post about whether people would be into buying screen-cast's for a few dollars. I received overwhelming support for offering both paid and free version's and I have been building a site that will house these items. More on that in a minute.

Going beyond that this week I've been working heavily on the rebuilding and updating of EagleEngineSales.com. I've gone ahead and rebuilt the entire site from the ground up. I've integrated Expression Engine into the site and it has saved time in my workflow by allowing more site specific automation rather than placing content manually like the older site. It's also enabled me to better understand yet another dynamic CMS option and I look forward to using it for future sites. There are a few major improvements to the site which include a handful of new pages and content as well as a few updated graphic related items. Overall the majority of the work was done on the server-side and that included lots and lots of data entry and then a few new things including request and contact forms that contained a control mechanism over specific field entries that could then be exported out for use in any typical office software such as Word or Excel. Before the website had used Forms2Go and that served it's purpose but wasn't flexible enough to export the data. I used FreeForm from SolSpace.com and I'd recommend using that to anybody who wants to create forms easily. Overall I'm pleased with the update and I consider it an accomplishment because it took 5-6 months to get it together originally and then it only took a week and three days to rebuild it all.

I've also recently finished a website for a book publisher and that site can be found at Titopublishingcompany.com. What was great about this project was that it had existing content and any additional content that I needed was sent quickly by the client. What bothers me most about the preliminary web design process is unprepared clients who expect something to simply appear out of nothing. Things were different this time and I'd like to personally thank Cliff, my client, and I wish him the best with his website.

Lastly, I want to discuss this site I'm working on for the screen-cast's. I had an idea today that consisted of creating downloadable versions of my tutorials in PDF format. I thought about having them be written out and then have an optional video to watch. It seems like it'd be double the work, but some people like paper copies that are smaller than these often large video clips. I'd like to have my site content laid out like PSDtuts.com and would then have screen captures of the different sections and then offer an optional download depending on it's type. What do you think?

I know there's been quite a few people asking when it will be done and to be honest I'm working on it like crazy so it shouldn't be much longer. I appreciate everyone's support and I look forward to seeing how the community reacts to it.