LEAD STORIES:
How the Irish Government Tricked 6,500 Workers into Using XML, Without Their Knowing It

Making Friends with Your DITA-Unfriendly Documents

OTHER NEWS:
Will Amazon Finally Re-Kindle eBooks?

Yesterday's Innovations, and What to do with Them

Generation X. . . Y. . . and now V?

Microogle Books versus Open Content

Rolls-Royce Aero Engines' Steve Mulvaney on XML and S1000D

GREAT WEB SITES YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER SEEN:
Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited

ASIDE:
Geek Gifts for Procrastinators

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

FAVORITES:
Popular articles from recent issues

EXTRA:
Upcoming conferences

LEAD STORIES

How the Irish Government Tricked 6,500 Workers into Using XML, Without Their Knowing It

Any organization that has experienced change, knows that change can be difficult and met with resistance, doubly so when introducing an XML authoring environment. Who can blame the authors, really, when IT folks and executives start talking about "tag" this and "XSLT" that. The last words a busy technical publications department wants to hear are "new software." But some savvy members of the Irish government and some XML industry experts found a way to introduce workers to XML by talking less about tools and technologies and more about fixing what needed to be fixed in order to make their jobs easier.

Click for full article

Making Friends with Your DITA-Unfriendly Documents

Don Bridges | Mikhail Vaysbukh

DITA is a hot topic in the 'Tech Docs' arena, and for good reason. DITA is an open standard that addresses many of the needs of technical documentation producers - most notably content reuse needs. The big question for many companies, once they've determined that authoring in this new standard would be beneficial for them, is what to do with the treasure trove of existing documents, known as legacy documents. Would they be useful converted into DITA, and is it worth the effort?

We found that it is indeed worth it, and that documents can be converted at far lower cost than rewriting and re-authoring, getting you moving forward faster. Converting a stack of still valuable "older" documents to your new DITA-based system could give you a big boost in getting started. But you do need to prepare in order for this to be a smooth process.

Click for full article

OTHER NEWS

Will Amazon Finally Re-Kindle eBooks?

Amazon debuts Kindle e-book reader News.com
Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device Amazon.com
The Future Of E-Books Forbes.com
The Future of Reading Newsweek.com
Amazon Can Empty Bookstore Shelves Businessweek.com

Yesterday's Innovations, and What to do with Them

We don't want to rain on the new technology parade, but while talking about the latest tech-bling, what do we do with last year's technology we're replacing? Recent news has shed a ghostly light on what is being done with our old cast-offs, some reporting that even children as young as five are working in unsafe and toxic recycling grounds mining components and bits of copper for cash. Read what Tony Long, copy chief at Wired News, has to say on the topic. Then check out this list of donation programs from the EPA's ecycling Web site that could help greatly reduce the waste in the first place.

Wired.com
EPA.gov

Generation X. . . Y. . . and now V?

A New study by Gartner Inc., coins the term Generation V. It's not about age, but virtual savvy. This new generation isn't limited by its birth date, but rather consists of "multiple demographic age groups who make social connections online - through virtual worlds, in video games, as bloggers, in social networks, or through posting and reading user-generated content . . ." And for companies who want to reach (i.e., market to) these Gen V-ers they offer a bit of advice such as marketing to personas rather than a person, hiring Gen V like-minded employees, and the scary prospect of shifting investment from the known to the unknown customer.

Click for full article

Microogle Books versus Open Content

Yale's libraries have agreed to allow Microsoft to digitize 100,000 volumes despite the fact that many universities have chosen to digitize their own collections rather than get caught in the Microsoft-Google crossfire. Some of the US's most prestigious eastern universities (including Brown, M.I.T, and Tufts) are honked off by the way the scan and search giants limit each of their book collections to their own search engines. The colleges formed a consortium and recently joined The Open Content Alliance, "a nonprofit organization aimed at making collections as accessible as possible." Of course, they are backed by Yahoo, so who knows how open the content will really be. Read how some critics suggest that Yale sold out its principles to save a few bucks.

Click for full article

Not that we needed another reason to go digital, but Marvel Comics has come up with one. By launching Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, the classic comic company hopes to entice a new generation of comic fans. First, by introducing them to the classics like the first original run of X-Men, issues 1-100 of Amazing Spider-Man, and issues 1-100 of Fantastic Four; and secondly, by using an on-line reader that turns the pages for you. That should appeal to the Millennials (roughly, those born after 1983). And for a limited time, you can view 250 samples for free. That should appeal to everyone.

Click to Visit Marvel Comics Unlimited

ASIDE

Geek Gifts for Procrastinators

While there is no shortage of on-line holiday gift guides for the geeks on your list, we've whittled it down to the few we thought were the best. Geek.com provides you with a wide variety of ideas for everyone from the übergeek to the not-so-geeky ranging from external hard drives to the Leatherman Skeletool. CIO.com's list, on the other hand, is strictly for the little geek hiding in us all, with a short list of the five best tech-bling gifts of the year. For a more exhaustive list try Engadget.com where they break it down to gifts for him, her, and the kids.

Geek.com
Cio.com
Engadget.com

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Popular articles from recent issues

Is XML a Prerequisite to a Content Management System (CMS)?; A Point-Counterpoint Discussion
http://www.dclab.com/cms_xml.asp

Fully Automated Legacy Conversions to XML, and other Urban Myths: An Interview with Michael Gross, DCL's CTO
http://www.dclab.com/legacy_xml_conversion.asp

9.5 Secrets for Managing DITA XML Migration
http://www.dclab.com/xmlsecrets9.5.asp

S1000D: Six MORE Reasons to Consider It for Your TechDocs
http://www.dclab.com/s1000d_reasons2.asp

DITA-izing Your Documents: Five Issues to Think About When Converting Your Legacy Publications to DITA
http://www.dclab.com/dita_conversion_tips.asp

EXTRA

Upcoming conferences

DIA EDM Visit the DCL Exhibit February 5-7, 2008, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia, PA