The gestures can be hard to figure out, though, and using Windows 8 is a little clunky until you know them. So we asked Microsoft reps how the company would help new users figure out Windows 8, and the answer was essentially that they’re working on it.

Windows 8 Release Preview: new apps, improvements, and Flash support (hands-on) | The Verge

This was my immediate concern when I first tried the Windows 8 Consumer Preview on a laptop. At that point, it felt so much like a tablet OS that using a keyboard and mouse felt awkward, and getting used to using the Windows key as a home button took some time. This first experience was really jarring, having grown up comfortably from Windows 95 and the rest, then come to Windows 8 and feel helpless and frustrated that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. I haven’t touched the Release Preview, but hopefully the experience is more intuitive on laptops and desktops now.

I hope the Windows 8 team produces some friendly resources computer trainers and educators can share to make users’ first experience with Windows 8 less shocking. 

Source: theverge.com

The way I’ve made this work for me is with the following workflow. First, write a good script using the Techsmith template. Then, read the script into Audacity, putting plenty of “white space” in between each box in the template — this gives viewers a little breathing room while they are watching. Next, go back and edit out any mistakes in the audio, either in Audacity or in Camtasia after the audio has been exported. Then, to record the video, turn off all audio inputs (because you’ve already done the audio), start recording the screen, then start the playback of the audio track and just click along with whatever it is you’re saying from the script. After all, this is what your viewers are going to have to do. Once you’re finished, it’s relatively simple to sync up the audio and video (especially if you keep the whole thing short) by just moving the tracks up and down the Camtasia timeline until it looks like they work. Then trim off the beginning and end of the video to make the video and audio the same length.

Three things I learned at ScreencastCamp - Casting Out Nines - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Great ideas here. I was already a believer of using a really well done, tight script and printing it out to read, but I’ve never actually tried recording my audio and video separately using Audacity. Can’t wait to try this workflow in my next video, and apparently I’ve got to get me a dog clicker!

Source: chronicle.com