It is a general term for Services, Software, and Applications etc that may involve delivery of hosted services over the Internet or even Intranet.
It should be flexible and simple and quickly deployable, and at the same time being highly scalable and cost-effective.
It is a new and still evolving concept but it is leading to a general shift towards next generation data centers hosted by large infrastructure companies such as Amazon, Google, etc.
The biggest advantage is that users need not have expertise over the technology and may use cloud computing for reducing upfront capital cost and/or for simplifying their job.
Cloud Computing is one of the fastest growing segments of software services. The sector has emerged as an important part of software services over the last few years.
Cloud Applications generally use large data centers that host Web Applications and Web services. Anyone with a suitable Internet connection and a standard browser can access a cloud application.
Cloud computing helps in minimizing the level of detailed interaction with the underlying technology stack i.e. it does all this in a way that minimizes the interaction with the underlying layers of the technology stack.
Cloud computing is more of a process than one set technology and accessed over a network.
These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and other recent technologies that rely on the Internet to satisfy the computing needs of users.
The platform supports a variety of software including the traditional Java and Linux, Apache,
MySQL, PHP (LAMP) stack based applications as well as new architectures such as MapReduce.
According to Gartner Says Worldwide Cloud Services Revenue will surpass $56.3 billion in 2009, a 21.3 percent increase from 2008 revenue of $46.4 billion.
The market is expected to reach $150.1 billion in 2013.
According to IDC "Cloud computing is a broad and diverse phenomenon. Much of the growth represents a transfer of traditional IT services to the new cloud model, but there is also scope for creation of substantial new businesses and revenue streams.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Push Up Your Pc Speed and Accelerate Your Browsing With PC Pick-Me-Ups
PC speed slows down over the life of your computer. A good PC registry cleaning and a few pick-me-ups can push up your PC Speed and give you the boost you need to change your lethargic PC back into the speed demon it was meant to be.
PC Speed determines your productivity, your gaming scores, and the amount of time you have for daily non-PC activities. (If you have any non-PC activities.) Using your PC takes its toll on the computer's hardware and software. Your overworked PC becomes slow and lethargic. You can wait to speed up your PC with biomolecular computer parts made up of DNA and enzymes that the MIT scientists are playing with. But until your PC contains live DNA, your PC will slow down the more you use it. Your computer will eventually crash, freeze and die if it's not taken care of.
Taking care of your PC keeps it up to speed. A fast computer is a clean computer. There are pick-me-ups for your PC that will accelerate it out of its passive lethargic moments and into the long-forgotten fast response times that your computer once gave you.
The first pick-me-up for your PC should be a healthy crash diet. Just as people slow down after stuffing themselves, your PC will decrease its speed if it's full of files. Set aside a day (perhaps after a night of overeating), to delete your unnecessary files and unused programs from your hard drive. If your hard drive is full, your PC will not be up to speed. If you have an older computer with the latest fastest and biggest programs installed, you should consider upgrading your processor, memory or hard drive to keep the hardware capable of handling the software. Or you can wait until those MIT scientists finish their other PC experiments using E-coli bacteria for data storage.
After clearing out your hard drive, you can delete unnecessary files in your Windows registry using a registry cleaner. If your PC is slow and you haven't cleaned out your registry before, then it is highly likely your fat and lethargic Windows registry is not allowing your PC to experience life in the fast lane. A registry cleaner will act as a quick pick-me-up for your PC and bring it up to speed.
Your Windows registry is your PCs speedy coach. It gives instantaneous input output directions through your Windows Operating System in fractions of a second. It directs all commands. The Windows registry even tells your PC what speed to use with your software and hardware. It also does some fast talking with Internet Explorer and lets IE know how to react. It communicates what graphics and videos you see, and tells your PC how to handle errors. In fact every time your computer has an error, your Windows registry works harder.
Registry errors often cause computer freeze ups and PC crashes. Internet explorer errors, Windows installer and uninstaller errors, ActiveX errors and Javascript errors all take their toll on your Windows registry. The more files and errors that accumulate, the slower the PC. A first time registry scan can show thousands of registry errors.
PC speed can be increased swiftly and smoothly with a fast, easy-to-use registry cleaner. Remove-PC-Errors.com can give you a quick view of how a top-notch registry cleaner can increase your PC speed and accelerate your gaming and productivity. Pay a quick visit to Remove-PC-Errors.com and get a quick pick-me-up to increase your PC speed. Your PC will thank you with a speedy response, and you might find you don't need to upgrade that hardware after all.
PC Speed determines your productivity, your gaming scores, and the amount of time you have for daily non-PC activities. (If you have any non-PC activities.) Using your PC takes its toll on the computer's hardware and software. Your overworked PC becomes slow and lethargic. You can wait to speed up your PC with biomolecular computer parts made up of DNA and enzymes that the MIT scientists are playing with. But until your PC contains live DNA, your PC will slow down the more you use it. Your computer will eventually crash, freeze and die if it's not taken care of.
Taking care of your PC keeps it up to speed. A fast computer is a clean computer. There are pick-me-ups for your PC that will accelerate it out of its passive lethargic moments and into the long-forgotten fast response times that your computer once gave you.
The first pick-me-up for your PC should be a healthy crash diet. Just as people slow down after stuffing themselves, your PC will decrease its speed if it's full of files. Set aside a day (perhaps after a night of overeating), to delete your unnecessary files and unused programs from your hard drive. If your hard drive is full, your PC will not be up to speed. If you have an older computer with the latest fastest and biggest programs installed, you should consider upgrading your processor, memory or hard drive to keep the hardware capable of handling the software. Or you can wait until those MIT scientists finish their other PC experiments using E-coli bacteria for data storage.
After clearing out your hard drive, you can delete unnecessary files in your Windows registry using a registry cleaner. If your PC is slow and you haven't cleaned out your registry before, then it is highly likely your fat and lethargic Windows registry is not allowing your PC to experience life in the fast lane. A registry cleaner will act as a quick pick-me-up for your PC and bring it up to speed.
Your Windows registry is your PCs speedy coach. It gives instantaneous input output directions through your Windows Operating System in fractions of a second. It directs all commands. The Windows registry even tells your PC what speed to use with your software and hardware. It also does some fast talking with Internet Explorer and lets IE know how to react. It communicates what graphics and videos you see, and tells your PC how to handle errors. In fact every time your computer has an error, your Windows registry works harder.
Registry errors often cause computer freeze ups and PC crashes. Internet explorer errors, Windows installer and uninstaller errors, ActiveX errors and Javascript errors all take their toll on your Windows registry. The more files and errors that accumulate, the slower the PC. A first time registry scan can show thousands of registry errors.
PC speed can be increased swiftly and smoothly with a fast, easy-to-use registry cleaner. Remove-PC-Errors.com can give you a quick view of how a top-notch registry cleaner can increase your PC speed and accelerate your gaming and productivity. Pay a quick visit to Remove-PC-Errors.com and get a quick pick-me-up to increase your PC speed. Your PC will thank you with a speedy response, and you might find you don't need to upgrade that hardware after all.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
PDF Password Finder - How to Find Lost PDF Passwords
PDFs are great ways to pass documents around. You can even password protect them. But what happens when you come to open a PDF and it asks you politely for a password but you don't recall what the protection was. It's at times like these that you need a PDF password finder to help you find those lost strings of letters and numbers.
The degree of security on Adobe Acrobat files depends on the version of the software that was used to create the file you're desperately trying to open. Like most things to do with computers, older versions aren't as secure as newer versions.
Added to this is the person who created the file in the first place.
In fact, if you're trying to find a password this is often the first place to start.
Ebooks that you've bought are often protected by a password. Quite why, I've never worked out. After all, you've just bought the product so it's not as though you're trying to rip off the author. But each to their own.
If you're organized, you'll rename the ebook on your desktop so that the password is part of the file name. This quick and dirty method sure beats digging through past emails trying to remember what the subject of the email was so you can get to the protection.
Work based files can incorporate passwords as well. Most likely because you don't want the whole company reading your sales and profit projections. If the person who gave you the file regularly uses one particular password, start with that.
If that doesn't work, it's time to put on your thinking cap. Or splash out on a piece of software that will find the missing link for you.
Some software comes in "demo" mode first. This can be good or bad. Often the demo will only search through the first handful of possible characters and then give up unless you buy the full version.
So if you're not sure if the file will open with "london" or "new york" then this demo version may be enough to give your mind the way into the file.
But if the software is just sitting there with a smug grin on its face, with a message saying something along the lines of "Yes. I've got the password cracked. I know it and I won't tell you until you buy me" then you have a couple options:
Pay the blackmail cost and get your file open.
Delete the software and try the next program on your list.
Scream to yourself and curse whoever sent you this darned password protected PDF file in the first place.
Trouble is, there are just too many possible combinations for you to be able to sit down and type them away. Even the basic 4 digit PIN that comes with your credit card has 10,000 possible combinations and that only uses numbers. If it could only use either upper or lower case letters, there are 456,976 possibilities. You've got better things to do in life than go through all those, so PDF password finder software is almost certainly your best solution to quickly cracking a PDF password.
The degree of security on Adobe Acrobat files depends on the version of the software that was used to create the file you're desperately trying to open. Like most things to do with computers, older versions aren't as secure as newer versions.
Added to this is the person who created the file in the first place.
In fact, if you're trying to find a password this is often the first place to start.
Ebooks that you've bought are often protected by a password. Quite why, I've never worked out. After all, you've just bought the product so it's not as though you're trying to rip off the author. But each to their own.
If you're organized, you'll rename the ebook on your desktop so that the password is part of the file name. This quick and dirty method sure beats digging through past emails trying to remember what the subject of the email was so you can get to the protection.
Work based files can incorporate passwords as well. Most likely because you don't want the whole company reading your sales and profit projections. If the person who gave you the file regularly uses one particular password, start with that.
If that doesn't work, it's time to put on your thinking cap. Or splash out on a piece of software that will find the missing link for you.
Some software comes in "demo" mode first. This can be good or bad. Often the demo will only search through the first handful of possible characters and then give up unless you buy the full version.
So if you're not sure if the file will open with "london" or "new york" then this demo version may be enough to give your mind the way into the file.
But if the software is just sitting there with a smug grin on its face, with a message saying something along the lines of "Yes. I've got the password cracked. I know it and I won't tell you until you buy me" then you have a couple options:
Pay the blackmail cost and get your file open.
Delete the software and try the next program on your list.
Scream to yourself and curse whoever sent you this darned password protected PDF file in the first place.
Trouble is, there are just too many possible combinations for you to be able to sit down and type them away. Even the basic 4 digit PIN that comes with your credit card has 10,000 possible combinations and that only uses numbers. If it could only use either upper or lower case letters, there are 456,976 possibilities. You've got better things to do in life than go through all those, so PDF password finder software is almost certainly your best solution to quickly cracking a PDF password.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Boost Your Computers Performance With A Registry Cleaner
Many people have no real understanding of what their registry is all about. They figure if their computer is having troubles it must be the result of a virus, spyware, or adware. However, while viruses, spyware, and adware are all very prominent issues, many of your computer problems might be solved with a registry cleaner.
Your registry is the hub of all of your computer operations, if you use a Windows based operating system that is. To put it in an easy to understand format, it is a database. This database is used to store information in regards to you system. This means all configurations, applications, hardware, and so forth. This is the hub for all activity and operation of your computer.
With each use of your computer, for any reason, the registry continues to grow and thus becomes a mess. Think of a filing cabinet that has papers overflowing, with no real organization. After a time, your registry can become like that, which will result in a poorly operating computer. This is where registry cleaners come in very handy.
If you start to notice that your computer boots slowly, takes a lot of time in loading programs, or even has frequent freezes, it may very well be a problem within your registry. The good news is that a registry cleaner can fix the problems in a very short time, boosting your computers performance dramatically.
You might be asking if you can clean the registry yourself. This is generally not a good idea unless you are skilled in the IT profession and then it may still not be a good idea. Your computers registry is very sensitive. If you make the slightest error, you could render your computer completely useless. That is how essential and critical your registry system is.
You can find many different registry cleaners all over the internet. All it will take a simple search using your favorite search engine. Many of these cleaners will allow you to download their software for free and even run a free scan. However, if the program finds any errors within your registry, you will most likely be required to pay for the program in order to fix the problems.
However, even if you have to pay a few dollars for a registry cleaner it is far worth the boost in your computers performance and health than it would be if you left the errors alone or tried to fix them yourself.
Your registry is the hub of all of your computer operations, if you use a Windows based operating system that is. To put it in an easy to understand format, it is a database. This database is used to store information in regards to you system. This means all configurations, applications, hardware, and so forth. This is the hub for all activity and operation of your computer.
With each use of your computer, for any reason, the registry continues to grow and thus becomes a mess. Think of a filing cabinet that has papers overflowing, with no real organization. After a time, your registry can become like that, which will result in a poorly operating computer. This is where registry cleaners come in very handy.
If you start to notice that your computer boots slowly, takes a lot of time in loading programs, or even has frequent freezes, it may very well be a problem within your registry. The good news is that a registry cleaner can fix the problems in a very short time, boosting your computers performance dramatically.
You might be asking if you can clean the registry yourself. This is generally not a good idea unless you are skilled in the IT profession and then it may still not be a good idea. Your computers registry is very sensitive. If you make the slightest error, you could render your computer completely useless. That is how essential and critical your registry system is.
You can find many different registry cleaners all over the internet. All it will take a simple search using your favorite search engine. Many of these cleaners will allow you to download their software for free and even run a free scan. However, if the program finds any errors within your registry, you will most likely be required to pay for the program in order to fix the problems.
However, even if you have to pay a few dollars for a registry cleaner it is far worth the boost in your computers performance and health than it would be if you left the errors alone or tried to fix them yourself.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Make Sure You Have the Best Backup Software
Some people think that the best backup software is only good for the largest of companies. But, if you have just one computer at home, you are in just as precarious a situation as a big company is. All of your data is tied up on one machine, and if you don't have a backup system in place, you will be in a very bad situation if you suddenly cannot access your information. Imagine if you woke up one morning and found that you could not boot your computer, or that it had been damaged by water or an electrical surge, or that a malicious virus ate all your data. It could happen, it does happen, and if you aren't prepared for it, it could happen to you.
The best backup software will help you not only backup your data but also recover it quickly. Most people only think about having a backup in place, but they fail to realize that getting access to it is just as important. If you have customers online, waiting for you to rebuild your database or get your website back up, you have only minutes to get the job done. You can't wait for days while you find someone to re-install all of your missing data. You need software that works easier than that.
The best backup software that you can find right now for either a large enterprise or a single user is Store Craft. This company, which began back in 2003, is dedicated to providing data backup solutions to both the large company and the individual user, making sure that you are always covered, no matter what kind of data you are holding on to. A backup program is the best insurance you will ever buy for your business, and it will be well worth the cost.
The best backup software will help you not only backup your data but also recover it quickly. Most people only think about having a backup in place, but they fail to realize that getting access to it is just as important. If you have customers online, waiting for you to rebuild your database or get your website back up, you have only minutes to get the job done. You can't wait for days while you find someone to re-install all of your missing data. You need software that works easier than that.
The best backup software that you can find right now for either a large enterprise or a single user is Store Craft. This company, which began back in 2003, is dedicated to providing data backup solutions to both the large company and the individual user, making sure that you are always covered, no matter what kind of data you are holding on to. A backup program is the best insurance you will ever buy for your business, and it will be well worth the cost.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Registry Software Complaints
If you have been doing a search for review or complaints for Registry Easy and you have arrived here, this article will hopefully seal the deal for your and solidify your search with a nice big, The End. Registry Easy. Simply put, Registry Easy repairs registry problems! Improve your PC performance! You will understand why there is no comparison as you read on about this widely trusted product.
When I am searching for anything online I use a tried and true search query. First I'll have a product in mind or type, then I do a search for the reviews and even more over , the complaints. This is a very important point to make sure that you can get all sides of what's being said. The nature of a search engines have been optimized be as smart as possible to find what it is you are looking for but it will not give you intuition and human intervention. This is why when people buy over the internet and have been burned, and lots have, we look for reviews and complaints. It's just smart.
Speaking of smart, since we take such a apt approach to narrowing our searches communally, here is the searches best smart utility product found that is a must have for the PC owner. Registry Easy, with it's still to this day, record of 'NO COMPLAINTS' is unbeatable. This product has measured an efficiency rating of a 30-50% faster functionality experience for it's owners computers and is great for novices as well as experts. Best of all, this products doesn't take you away from your work.
Made from the ground up, this products has won accolades and boasts over 3 million satisfied users, mostly by word of mouth! Now if there is no complaints to date on the internet and people are experiencing high percentages of functionality after it fixes their PC issues, 3 million or so of us can't be wrong. If you work or play on computers it's a must have.
I have had a lot of experience wit h other software's such as Regcure and Perfect Optimizer and Uniblue's suite of products to name a few but I, like many other users new something felt wrong about the computers functionality. A major problem to take into consideration is that some people can walk forwards but have a little problem backing out. In other words, some individuals are not knowledgeable enough about what to do with there computer when it needs to be restored from it's backup. Particularly when they have to do it themselves, people will try almost anything.
Also have you ever taken a gander at all of the different file types? It is enough to make your jaw drop even for the experts. Registry of a computer has a long history of being known as delicate and more importantly, something you do not mess with . Also because it can destroy your whole system if fixes are not properly executed. It's just sad when you buy a software to address a problem and it winds up making it worse either when you use software to initially clean your registry or that dreaded, restoring your of your systems files. Registry Easy takes away a mountain and a couple of hills of that stress.
For me I don't like wasting my time. A lot of people use their computers to run their business's from them and for some, is their whole business! No one likes to waste money and time. The investment in Registry Easy is worth saving your hard work for.
Is Registry Easy the real deal in town? Let's look at the facts. A no-risk, 60 day money back guarantee of which they honor. A supremely designed and fast functioning software that uses very little computing resources, easy to navigate user interface, a 'NO COMPLAINT' record to this date, which is simply amazing, high consumer regards with millions of happy customers and a mountain of other tweaking and optimizing services built right in.
Check out some of Registry Easy Features and Benefits:
Windows Installer Errors
ActiveX Errors
ActiveX Control problems
Windows Startup Errors
Windows Explorer Errors
System Crashes
Slow PC Performance
Computer Freezing
Internet Explorer Errors
Javascript Errors
Hardware Malfunction
Blue Screen
Vista, XP, 2000, 98 and ME Issues
Driver Errors
Computer & Application Shutdown
Registry Easy detects the most registry problems
Cleans registry, fixes errors, and optimizes your PC for better performance
You can relief the stress on yourself and your computer with Registry Easy.
When I am searching for anything online I use a tried and true search query. First I'll have a product in mind or type, then I do a search for the reviews and even more over , the complaints. This is a very important point to make sure that you can get all sides of what's being said. The nature of a search engines have been optimized be as smart as possible to find what it is you are looking for but it will not give you intuition and human intervention. This is why when people buy over the internet and have been burned, and lots have, we look for reviews and complaints. It's just smart.
Speaking of smart, since we take such a apt approach to narrowing our searches communally, here is the searches best smart utility product found that is a must have for the PC owner. Registry Easy, with it's still to this day, record of 'NO COMPLAINTS' is unbeatable. This product has measured an efficiency rating of a 30-50% faster functionality experience for it's owners computers and is great for novices as well as experts. Best of all, this products doesn't take you away from your work.
Made from the ground up, this products has won accolades and boasts over 3 million satisfied users, mostly by word of mouth! Now if there is no complaints to date on the internet and people are experiencing high percentages of functionality after it fixes their PC issues, 3 million or so of us can't be wrong. If you work or play on computers it's a must have.
I have had a lot of experience wit h other software's such as Regcure and Perfect Optimizer and Uniblue's suite of products to name a few but I, like many other users new something felt wrong about the computers functionality. A major problem to take into consideration is that some people can walk forwards but have a little problem backing out. In other words, some individuals are not knowledgeable enough about what to do with there computer when it needs to be restored from it's backup. Particularly when they have to do it themselves, people will try almost anything.
Also have you ever taken a gander at all of the different file types? It is enough to make your jaw drop even for the experts. Registry of a computer has a long history of being known as delicate and more importantly, something you do not mess with . Also because it can destroy your whole system if fixes are not properly executed. It's just sad when you buy a software to address a problem and it winds up making it worse either when you use software to initially clean your registry or that dreaded, restoring your of your systems files. Registry Easy takes away a mountain and a couple of hills of that stress.
For me I don't like wasting my time. A lot of people use their computers to run their business's from them and for some, is their whole business! No one likes to waste money and time. The investment in Registry Easy is worth saving your hard work for.
Is Registry Easy the real deal in town? Let's look at the facts. A no-risk, 60 day money back guarantee of which they honor. A supremely designed and fast functioning software that uses very little computing resources, easy to navigate user interface, a 'NO COMPLAINT' record to this date, which is simply amazing, high consumer regards with millions of happy customers and a mountain of other tweaking and optimizing services built right in.
Check out some of Registry Easy Features and Benefits:
Windows Installer Errors
ActiveX Errors
ActiveX Control problems
Windows Startup Errors
Windows Explorer Errors
System Crashes
Slow PC Performance
Computer Freezing
Internet Explorer Errors
Javascript Errors
Hardware Malfunction
Blue Screen
Vista, XP, 2000, 98 and ME Issues
Driver Errors
Computer & Application Shutdown
Registry Easy detects the most registry problems
Cleans registry, fixes errors, and optimizes your PC for better performance
You can relief the stress on yourself and your computer with Registry Easy.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Documentation and E-Learning (Part 2) - Show, Don't Tell
For several years now, I've been writing poetry. The local poet who taught our class showed us a huge variety of poetic "forms": ABeCeDarius, Acrostic, Anaphora, Ars Poetica, Blank Verse, Crown of Sonnets, Eclogue, Haiku, Internal Rhyme, Nested Word, Ode, Pantoum, Rondelet, Sestina, Shape Verse, Triolet, Villanelle...just a few of the thousands of poetic forms out there. And the drumbeat mantra that helps to differentiate all of them from plain old ordinary prose is: "Show, Don't Tell."
The following short poem helps to illustrate the concept:
Fandango
(Inspired by the phrase "--a hat of wind"
from "The Death of the Hat" by Billy Collins.)
Autumn brings Earth
o the harvest dance,
her amber locks tossing
under a hat of wind.
Her olive-skinned fields
flowing into silk-stocking streams,
and wildflower tulle twisting
over twirling heels.
An indigo sash circling
her sunset neck,
and her star-flashed eyes
daring Winter to cut in.
(Copyright 2009, Dave Powell)
If one simply told readers what the poem is saying, it'd be a bit of a yawn:
""It's autumn... yellow leaves toss in the breeze... fields are green...streams flow...wildflowers twist in the wind...it's sunset... stars appear in the evening sky...and winter is near."
But a poetic picture that shows the same thing using the animated image of Earth as a dancer helps readers savor the raw facts, internalize them, and perhaps even enjoy their delivery. All of these aid in remembering, which is key to successful training.
""Show, Don't Tell" also applies to user documentation.
When I arrived at SyberWorks a few years ago, the existing Web Author User Manual described the software's features and controls, but said little about how to use them to actually build online courses.
So I wrote a completely new manual that shows users-step-by-step-how to create online training from Word files through Web Author.
And our internal customer-support people started to use the new manual to train both new customers and themselves.
Some companies have stretched this "showing" idea as far as it can go...through something called "docs without words." Hewlett-Packard and IBM were among the first to create picture-book manuals that were mostly show with little tell.
I'm not sure that this would work in my SyberWorks software manuals. But I am noodling ways to use the idea to shorten them (and maybe even to inspire more users to crack 'em open).
And "Show, Don't Tell" applies just as well to e-Learning.
As you prepare to create any new training, first outline the raw facts you want students to learn. And instead of simply telling them those facts on course pages, think of interesting, creative ways to demonstrate what you want students to internalize...perhaps even (as in poetry) using as few words as possible. Active Images, Flash movies, and animated Web Demonstrations are all wonderful tools for doing this.
But you're the course developers...You can think of more!
Need some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Just microwave some popcorn, curl up in front of your favorite PC, free your mind, and watch some of the thousands of educational videos on YouTube and iTunes. Heck, if it would help, you might even try writing poetry.
The following short poem helps to illustrate the concept:
Fandango
(Inspired by the phrase "--a hat of wind"
from "The Death of the Hat" by Billy Collins.)
Autumn brings Earth
o the harvest dance,
her amber locks tossing
under a hat of wind.
Her olive-skinned fields
flowing into silk-stocking streams,
and wildflower tulle twisting
over twirling heels.
An indigo sash circling
her sunset neck,
and her star-flashed eyes
daring Winter to cut in.
(Copyright 2009, Dave Powell)
If one simply told readers what the poem is saying, it'd be a bit of a yawn:
""It's autumn... yellow leaves toss in the breeze... fields are green...streams flow...wildflowers twist in the wind...it's sunset... stars appear in the evening sky...and winter is near."
But a poetic picture that shows the same thing using the animated image of Earth as a dancer helps readers savor the raw facts, internalize them, and perhaps even enjoy their delivery. All of these aid in remembering, which is key to successful training.
""Show, Don't Tell" also applies to user documentation.
When I arrived at SyberWorks a few years ago, the existing Web Author User Manual described the software's features and controls, but said little about how to use them to actually build online courses.
So I wrote a completely new manual that shows users-step-by-step-how to create online training from Word files through Web Author.
And our internal customer-support people started to use the new manual to train both new customers and themselves.
Some companies have stretched this "showing" idea as far as it can go...through something called "docs without words." Hewlett-Packard and IBM were among the first to create picture-book manuals that were mostly show with little tell.
I'm not sure that this would work in my SyberWorks software manuals. But I am noodling ways to use the idea to shorten them (and maybe even to inspire more users to crack 'em open).
And "Show, Don't Tell" applies just as well to e-Learning.
As you prepare to create any new training, first outline the raw facts you want students to learn. And instead of simply telling them those facts on course pages, think of interesting, creative ways to demonstrate what you want students to internalize...perhaps even (as in poetry) using as few words as possible. Active Images, Flash movies, and animated Web Demonstrations are all wonderful tools for doing this.
But you're the course developers...You can think of more!
Need some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Just microwave some popcorn, curl up in front of your favorite PC, free your mind, and watch some of the thousands of educational videos on YouTube and iTunes. Heck, if it would help, you might even try writing poetry.
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