09:27 Larry N Is there sound associated with this event? I"m in a "Lab" and I need to know if I should go and get headphones.
09:29 sarah Hi LarryN, welcome! No, there's no sound in this "chat"
09:30 gabe hi everyone!
09:30 gabe welcome to the monthly chat.
09:30 Ray Hi Gabe.
09:30 gabe looks like we have some new people and some regulars so far.
09:30 gabe welcome, ray!
09:30 gabe and welcome, larry!
09:30 gabe hi brian, gerry, and sarah, too! :)
09:31 GerryWaz hi--I like being "regular"
09:31 gabe heh heh. much better than decaf.
09:31 GerryWaz low humor
09:33 gabe so what's on everyone's minds today? any articulate challenges we should discuss or tackle?
09:33 gabe any topic suggestions for my blog you'd like to see an article about?
09:33 Brian Dusablon Hi Gabe
09:34 Brian Dusablon Hi Gerry
09:34 GerryWaz Hey, Brian!
09:34 gabe hi brian. good to see you back!
09:34 Larry N I have a question about books.
09:35 gabe sure thing, larry.
09:35 Larry N We use .ppt 2003 and we need help. I know there's a book by Clilff Atkinson (Beyond Bullet Points) and one by Jane Bozarth (Better Powerpoint). Does anyone know which is better for using Articulate with powerpoint.
09:36 gabe good question. i'm only familiar with beyond bullet points and know a number of our customers speak highly of it, too.
09:36 Larry N In other words, do you know if the authors reference Articulate in their books.
09:36 gabe tom's rapid e-learning blog is also a great resource for design, if you haven't yet seen it.
09:36 Larry N I love Tom's blog
09:37 Brian Dusablon I don't think Articulate is referenced in those books
09:37 gabe cool, larry. and i think brian's right.
09:37 Brian Dusablon but those books, in combo with Tom's blog would be a great foundation
09:38 Larry N I just created a movie captivate 2. I'm doing one captivate 3, too. Does articulate allow for a cap 2 movie and a cap 3 movie in the same course?
09:38 gabe i just double-checked the index of beyond bullets and there's not a reference to us.
09:38 Brian Dusablon yes, just SWF output
09:38 Brian Dusablon embedded, doesn't matter what tool created it
09:38 Larry N thanks.
09:39 gabe we do have some guidelines on creating the ideal flash movie for use in AP -
http://www.articulate.com/support/kb/000769.php
09:39 gabe lots of our customers use captivate 2 and 3
09:39 GerryWaz a support question--do you think AP will ever support other presentation tools besides PowerPoint?
09:40 gabe like keynote, gerry?
09:40 gabe or open office?
09:40 GerryWaz just found today that we are moving the casual MS Office users to openOffice
09:40 GerryWaz this fall
09:40 gabe interesting!
09:40 GerryWaz the rest of us will get Office 2007
09:40 GerryWaz we want to get down on MS licensing costs
09:40 gabe it's not likely. AP is pretty tightly integrated with powerpoint.
09:40 GerryWaz figured
09:40 GerryWaz just wanted to ask
09:41 gabe we hear requests all the time for keynote / mac support, though. and occasionally for openoffice support.
09:41 GerryWaz interesting . . . gues yo need to develop a standalone AP--ever think about doing that?
09:42 gabe people do ask about that, too, yeah. we'd basically have to reinvent the wheel (powerpoint) outside powerpoint, though. :)
09:42 GerryWaz just hire hundreds of programmers--no sweat :)
09:43 gabe :)
09:43 gabe that said....
09:43 gabe as i've alluded to in my blog in the past - like here -
09:45 GerryWaz Must be the Get Smart "Cone of Silence" now . . . :)
09:46 Brian Dusablon hmmm
09:46 Brian Dusablon ok
09:46 Brian Dusablon so, next subject
09:46 gabe so larry- are you fairly new to articulate?
09:47 Larry N Yes. I started using it last week in the lab.
09:47 gabe great! glad to hear it. how far along in the learning process are you? feel like you have a good handle on all the features, or still getting up to speed?
09:48 Larry N I've got 3 days for the trial version to work. Then, I'll probably download it on my home pc and do 15 more days of testing.
09:48 Larry N I am still getting up to speed.
09:48 Larry N The trial and error method of learning is VERY SLOW for me.
09:49 gabe learning by doing is the best way! at least for me.
09:49 gabe if you need more time for the trial, you can submit a case to us and we can give you another 15 days.
09:49 Larry N Well, for me, guided "learning by doing" is the best way.
09:50 Larry N ok thanks
09:50 Larry N I"ve attended several of the daily sessions, but the presenters speak and move quickly. It's hard to get the context, but I'm working at it.
09:50 gabe i find a good way to really learn the products is to pick a topic - anything, really - then build a sample course about it.
09:50 gabe or looking for existing training online, and seeing if you can re-create it in the articulate toools.
09:51 gabe we also offer custom, web-based training sessions that you can purchase via our site in 1-hour increments. we've heard very positive feedback about that training
09:53 Larry N Thanks for the input. My plan is to use an existing powerpoint presentation, add some captivates, then some quizzes and some interaction.
09:53 Brian Dusablon the forums are a great place to learn and ask questions as well
09:53 gabe cool. that sounds like a good approach.
09:53 gabe for sure, brian!
09:53 Larry N I love the forums, or is it "fori".
09:53 gabe the engage tabs feature is great.
09:53 GerryWaz :)
09:53 gabe :)
09:54 gabe "introducing the new & improved articulate fori!!"
09:54 Larry N I don't know what engage tabs are, but i'll look for them today.
09:55 gabe great for reference material you want to be available throughout your course - like FAQs or glossaries
09:56 GerryWaz just keep them "light"
09:56 Larry N ok
09:57 GerryWaz as tabs, they load real-time when the course starts so you may want to keep them as small as possible for good network response overalll
09:57 gabe good tip, gerry... master of http analyzer! :)
09:58 GerryWaz hee-hee!
09:58 GerryWaz actually, our IT folks are miserly at expanding network bandwidth
09:58 Larry N I won't be using them on an LMS, so where would my related files reside if they load when the course starts?
09:58 gabe it is a great tool - always surprising to see how much http traffic is happening on your machine... even when you're idle!
09:59 GerryWaz they like the way AP chops things up
09:59 gabe all your files would live inside the published output package, larry.
09:59 Brian Dusablon your best bet is to publish a folder to a website or intranet...Articulate doesn't play nice off network or local drives, attachments don't always work, etc.
09:59 gabe when you publish, all embedded SWF movies (captivate or otherwise), audio, engage interactions, quizzes, etc. are all included in the flash that's generated.
10:00 Larry N If I publish 100 mini courses, will I have 100 folders that contain all the files for each course? Or will I just have 100 flash files.
10:00 gabe so there you go... 2 different angles that address your question. :)
10:00 Brian Dusablon 100 folders
10:00 Brian Dusablon articulate doesn't output to a single Flash file, :-(
10:00 gabe output is designed to be optimized for web delivery - so you have a number of SWF files.
10:00 Brian Dusablon heavy on the :-( there, Gabe, he he
10:00 GerryWaz each slide is bascally a SWF
10:01 gabe single flash file would be very bandwidth inefficient.
10:01 gabe especially for larger courses.
10:01 GerryWaz inserted Flash (SWFs, FLVs, Engage interactions aon slides) get loaded realtime
10:01 Larry N I might be publishing to a SharePoint system. Can you comment on that?
10:01 Brian Dusablon I publish to SharePoint frequently
10:02 GerryWaz we have our content off of sharepoint but linked to from sharepoint
10:02 gabe yeah, also search our support site for sharepoint and you'll see a number of discussions and pointers
10:02 gabe lots of people do
10:02 GerryWaz separate dedicated contetn servers are the way to go
10:02 GerryWaz IMVHO
10:02 Larry N IMVHO??
10:03 Brian Dusablon in my very honest opinion
10:03 GerryWaz preer the "humble" opinion
10:03 Larry N i just googled it. thanks.
10:03 GerryWaz ROTFLMAO
10:03 GerryWaz google that one
10:03 Brian Dusablon humble, indeed, lol
10:04 GerryWaz :)
10:04 Larry N How much data do you have on your dedicated content servers?
10:04 GerryWaz i'll check . . .
10:04 Larry N Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off
10:04 Larry N or A=Anatomy
10:04 Brian Dusablon Gabe, you know who's going to DevLearn this year?
10:05 GerryWaz Right now, about 16 gig worth, though not all is Articulate
10:06 GerryWaz we have three servers load-balanced as one for high availability
10:06 Larry N At what point did you move it to a dedicated server? We have about 6GB now.
10:06 GerryWaz we did from the start when we got our Saba LMS
10:06 GerryWaz we did not want to have content on the LMS servers
10:06 gabe brian- we'll be there. tom went last year, so he'll probably be there again this year.
10:06 gabe not sure who else.
10:06 GerryWaz we also have non-LMS content on them
10:07 GerryWaz most of our new content is articulate now
10:07 Larry N Thanks for bringing up an issue that was not yet on the radar screen.
10:07 GerryWaz with dedicated servers, that's all they do--deliver files
10:07 gabe the fun never ends! :)
10:07 GerryWaz no other apps to get in the way of server resources
10:08 GerryWaz our IT group is asking us to look at virtual servers now
10:08 GerryWaz that'll be new
10:09 GerryWaz may also look at streaming flash software from Adobe for FLVs
10:09 gabe cool. like amazon's, gerry?
10:09 GerryWaz is that what they do?
10:10 gabe yeah, i read a cool article in wired about it a few months ago-
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-05/mf_…
10:10 GerryWaz thanks!
10:10 gabe amazon web services
10:10 GerryWaz seems weird not to have a dedicated box
10:10 gabe apparently a lot of companies - big and small - use them
10:10 GerryWaz save money
10:11 Brian Dusablon I use S3, it's great
10:11 GerryWaz S3?
10:11 gabe very cool! do you use it for articulate content, brian?
10:11 Brian Dusablon amazon.com/s3
10:11 GerryWaz k
10:11 Brian Dusablon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=16427261
10:12 Larry N I will now hint at my age. The virtual server concept seems like the old PBX debate, recirculated to relate to data, now.
10:12 Brian Dusablon they have a variety of solutions for different needs
10:12 GerryWaz my only concern with virtual is we need IIS to run the relay file that Mike Rustici gave us via you folks at Articulate
10:12 GerryWaz need to be sure that still works as now
10:14 gabe i'll bet.. from what i've read, you essentially get full control of your web space as if it's a dedicated box.
10:14 gabe you just don't have to worry about maintaining the actual server and it scales for you over time... and you increase capacity, etc. as your needs increase.
10:15 GerryWaz IT also says no more worry about ahrdware upgrades
10:15 GerryWaz hardware, that is
10:15 GerryWaz and right now, it's free
10:15 GerryWaz for us
10:16 GerryWaz yeah, we'll get full control except for the very highly level admin stuff
10:16 gabe very cool, gerry! you can't beat free. :)
10:16 GerryWaz we'll see . . . :)
10:17 Larry N It's free, but is it avialable 100% of the time?
10:17 GerryWaz good question
10:17 GerryWaz they say it should be barring network calamity
10:18 Larry N What would you expect them to say? Check their reports for the past few months? Actually 12 months would be a better check.
10:18 GerryWaz I'm in HR and we have an HR IT group that work through to the main IT server group
10:19 GerryWaz They're watching out for us . . .
10:19 Larry N Our HR group also has an IT component in it.
10:19 GerryWaz We also have Gomez server monitoring so reports are easy to get
10:24 Brian Dusablon is thing over?
10:24 GerryWaz I got bumped out suddenly
10:24 Larry N I"m still here.
10:24 Brian Dusablon gotcha
10:24 Larry N But it seems like it's over...
10:25 Larry N Brian and Gerry - are you both MVPs??
10:25 GerryWaz gee, sent gabe a note and he sent me to limbo :)
10:25 GerryWaz sometimes :)
10:25 GerryWaz but yes
10:25 gabe my messaging is unpredictable!
10:25 Larry N This is my first ACC, so next time I'll come with the some detailed questions if I don't get them answered on the Fori.
10:25 GerryWaz though, in truth, I learn more
10:25 Brian Dusablon Gerry is, I am not
10:26 gabe there is a brian who's an mvp, but he's not here today.
10:26 GerryWaz ask away
10:26 gabe sounds good, larry! i'm glad you joined us today.
10:26 Brian Dusablon
http://www.articulate.com/forums/members/brianosmi…
is the MVP Brian
10:26 Brian Dusablon I'm just the lowly Brian
10:26 gabe right
10:26 gabe :)
10:26 GerryWaz there's another forum member who is great with both aicc and scorm
10:26 GerryWaz can't remember his name for the moment
10:26 GerryWaz he knows more of the details
10:27 GerryWaz the aicc documentation always puts me to sleep
10:27 GerryWaz :)
10:27 Larry N That other Brian guy looks like a real dog
10:28 Larry N Gerry is the Wall-E thing.
10:28 GerryWaz rmlowe is the forum member I'm trying to remember
10:28 GerryWaz for the moment
10:29 GerryWaz The Dark Knight is next
10:29 Brian Dusablon I'm outta here, take care everyone, feel free to hit me up for questions via the forums or email -------------------
10:29 Brian Dusablon :)>-
10:29 GerryWaz rmlowe really knows aicc and scorm
10:29 Larry N thanks.
10:29 GerryWaz hey, brian, how did you do that smilry?
10:30 GerryWaz smiley
10:30 Brian Dusablon click on the smiley in your message box
10:30 Brian Dusablon (ninja)
10:30 Larry N :)>-
10:30 GerryWaz (rapper)
10:30 GerryWaz too cool
10:30 Larry N (skull)
10:30 Brian Dusablon ninja articulate chatter
10:30 GerryWaz P)
10:30 gabe ha! nice.
10:30 gabe ninjas rule.
10:30 gabe (ninja)
10:30 GerryWaz Captain Jack Sparrow--i like it!P)
10:30 Larry N (ninja):@):@)
10:30 Brian Dusablon lol, Gabe, I think you can crop off the last half of this chat before publishing it in the forums
10:31 Brian Dusablon adios
10:31 gabe heh heh. unfortunately, i have no control over that... i usually just link to the full transcript in meebo.
10:31 gabe thanks, everyone! take care.
10:31 gabe i'm outta here, too.
10:31 Larry N bye
10:31 GerryWaz Bye, too!
