VTC Project Updates and Information

Give the Gift of Windows 7

2009-12-10T10:42:00.003-05:00

Giving or receiving a computer for Christmas? If it's new it's going to have Windows 7 on it.
Windows 7 is a great OS, this comes from an exclusive Linux user of 5 years, so why not make sure you or your loved one knows all of the wonderful features available with this great new course from VTC. Gift cards are available.
I'm proud of this title, I think it's one of our best. Enjoy!

AutoIT

2009-10-01T10:43:00.001-04:00

Curious, how much interest is there in an AutoIT course out there?

Your Own Latest Courses Plugin

2009-07-17T14:47:00.002-04:00

On the right of this page you will see a plugin for my VTC Projects blog that allows visitors to see the latest releases and mouseover each title for a product description. (Where applicable)

It occurred to us that others may want to use it and since "installing" is just a copy and paste of one line of javascript it's pretty easy to use. The thing is it needed to be customizable so people can adjust the offset of the tooltip depending on the placement of the element.
So here is a page to allow people to customize the tooltip. You can adjust the css of the list as well. CSS info in the documentation.

Enjoy.

http://code.vtcprod.com/latestCourses/custom.php

Update 06/29/09

2009-06-29T15:51:00.005-04:00

Greetings all,

MS Exchange 2007 will be out shortly.

Next to be released is MasterClass! ActionScript3 & Payment Gateway API's. Hopefully that will be out before the first.

In editing now is Novell Zen 7, CSS2 and Facebook Development.

Keep watching twitter for constant updates.

Cheers.

Update 06/11/09

2009-06-11T09:33:00.003-04:00

Hello all,
As you've probably already seen over at twitter, 'Adobe AIR & PHP Development' is in production now and will probably be released online over the weekend.
'GIMP' is next in line. That will be out of review by tomorrow (06/12/09) and sent to production so expect that online next week.

Exchange 2007 is in editing.
Visual Studio 2008 is in editing.

MasterClass! Adobe Flex and Gateway API's should be wrapping up it's recording today or tomorrow.

PHP 5.x was reworked and restarted. That began recording this week and so did Inkscape.

Have a good weekend.

Update for the week of 06/01/09

2009-06-03T14:24:00.005-04:00

"Adobe AIR & PHP Development" is now 3 days behind schedule.
My apologies for that but we want to make sure the best course possible is released so I have taken to running checks on each edited movie twice to look for technical issues like "flashes" in the video or bad edits.
This is a good thing as we ran into a couple of issues with section two that have been remedied and the course is back on track. I am going through the second check as I write this and hope to send it to production for building tomorrow morning.

The "AIR" title was done by Richard Bates who has just launched a "Flash and PHP Development Center" with articles and tutorials for RIA/PHP developers.

At the same time GIMP is going through review and is planned to go to build next week.
This is an excellent tutorial from James Street, who also just finished recording a CSS2 course and is about to begin an Inkscape course. He has sent me some preliminary work for the Inkscape course that looks fantastic!

VTC work horse Mark Long's MS Exchange 2007 course is in editing now and he has begun recording Visual Studio 2008. Mark has recently signed up a "long term" deal so look for a title from him almost every month for the rest of 2009. Including MS Windows 7 when it comes out.

Making Your Way Through Imagefeild in Drupal 6

2009-05-27T11:37:00.005-04:00

VTC author Trevor James helps out a viewer with the sometimes daunting world of Drupal 6 Imagefield.

So here's the deal with Imagefield in D6. It works in tandem with Filefield so it's a bit confusing. When you go to that drop down menu to choose "Image" it's not going to be there. So here's what you do:

1) Choose File in the type of data to store drop down

2) A second box will show to the right - choose IMAGE from this box (form element box)

I've added a screen shot to show you.

3) Click SAVE to save your new field

4) The Image settings form will appear next. Choose appropriate settings. Make sure to add the correct image extensions - for some reason it doesn't do this by default. I added: jpg jpeg png gif

Click Save field settings

5) Go to Create Content > your content type and the form will load. You should now see an image browse button - you can browse and upload your image here

6) One trick = make sure to adjust your content field permissions in PERMISSIONS (/admin/user/permissions) for that new image field you added or your anonymous site visitors will not see the uploaded image when you post it. Also make sure that anonymous users can view uploaded files.

Want to learn more about Drupal? Visit Trevor's tutorial at VTC today.

The Tongue Depressor King of Southern Illinois

2009-05-26T16:40:00.003-04:00

Adobe AIR & PHP Development is still on track to wrap up editing and review this week.
This is a great title that gives you a very step-by-step walk through of creating an AIR applications using PHP with Zend AMF, ActionScript3 and Flex Builder. It was authored by Richard Bates.
You can see his work in php|arcitechture and Zend Developer Zone.
PHP developers will love this course.

You'll get the title in Chapter 12.

Have it Your Way: PHP OOP

2009-05-21T13:39:00.003-04:00

In a few weeks a 'PHP 5/6 Object Oriented Programming' course will go into production.
What would you like to see?
What topics are most important to you?
What are you having a hard time with and would like to see covered?

Leave a comment.
Twitter me.
Leave me a voicemail => over there on the right.
Just plain email me.

Let us know.

Look To Twitter

2009-05-19T10:05:00.002-04:00

This blog is a good place to come and see developments in VTC programming, DB, OS and FOSS course projects, but it is do not neglect the twitter. You can see the latest updates from my department to the right or follow me. You can also get instant updates of new courses released by following VTC.
Let me also take a moment to push our sister app iPlotz. A feature rich site wireframing application. You can follow them here.

Updates for this week.
Assembly Programming is being built and should be out this week.
Adobe AIR and PHP Development is looking like it can go to build by the end of the week.
GIMP is finishing up editing and will be in review soon.
Visual Studio 2008 has just gone into production.
Developing Facebook Applications is headed to editing.
MS Exchange 2007 is also headed to editing.
Python. Still in audition.

Thank you.

Update for Week of 04/27/2009

2009-04-28T16:59:00.002-04:00

Drupal is finally in the bag.
Expect it to be out next week.

The Python audition movies have been cleared. That should be in full production within the week.

Here's what is on the clock now - Fedora 11, Facebook Application Development, CSS2, MS Exchange 2007, Using Security Tools, PHP 5.x, Adobe AIR and PHP Development, Apache 2.2 and OpenOffice.

I'm talking to authors about Blender, Visual Studio 2008 and others that are too early in the works to discuss.

Exciting things coming out.

Reach Out

2009-04-02T14:30:00.003-04:00

Lots of feedback on the Google chat lately from this blog.
Glad people are using the technology, it definitely helps me focus on what you are looking for.

As you can see there is a new Call Me button on the page. This is dedicated to this sight so feel free to call with your ideas and title requests as well as using the chat button.
Although the call button is the better option since during business hours at least I am always checking movies so I will have more time to focus on your request if it's a message I can refer to.
But either way I appreciate the contact lately.
Also, besides the vtcproduction twitter which is on this page as well be sure to follow the VTC twitter which automatically announces every title as soon as it's released.
Keep in touch!

Titles: JavaScript Libraries is being built by Production now.
I am going through Drupal movies and Assembly and GIMP are in editing.

Cheers

Comments

2009-03-23T09:19:00.003-04:00

My last post yielded this comment in Chinese -
這家的情趣用品款式多樣！
情趣用品包裝隱密
你需要情趣用品輔助嗎？
情趣用品好好用！
情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品
情趣用品,情趣用品,情趣用品
情趣用品,情趣用品,台中搬家,A片,簡轉繁工具很好用的,火車時刻表查詢,
郵遞區號查詢

Which is chinese and translates to -

The diverse styles of erotic!
Packaging erotic secret
Auxiliary supplies you need to taste it?
Erotic good use!
Erotic, erotic, erotic
Erotic, erotic, erotic
Erotic, erotic, Taichung move, A片, Jane Fan transferred a good used instrument, train timetable inquiries,
Zip code inquiry

Funny Chinese spam.

Global Authoring Advice

2009-03-03T13:50:00.004-05:00

Whether you are a current VTC author, a future one or just recording your own screencasts - here are some constants you need to learn in order to do it correctly.

- Drop the verbal crutches. I am the verbal crutch repository. It's why my radio days were off mic, (or at least that's what I would mumble to myself as I decended to the basement room where they kept the production people) so I know how difficult it is especially when you are thinking through a point. My only advice is have notes if not a script handy to refer to. But simply being aware of it often helps.
Don't become solely focused on it or you will go the opposite way and the content will suffer. Just try to avoid every sentence ending with a "umm", "uhhh" or "you know".

- Slow down a little. Remember people who may not have a grasp of what you are explaining will be watching this.

- try and record each movie at the same volume. Establish your volume in movie 1. Then give it a quick listen before recording each movie.

- A common mistake when an author trips over a word or botches a sentence is to quickly repeat the word or sentence without pause and often with a completely different tone. It's natural conversation. However, this causes editors to commit particularly grizzly acts of suicide. When you do that there is no space to do a clean edit and the end of the sentence bears little resemblance to the beginning. It ends up sounding like an audio ransom note. If you stumble over a word or sentence, take a breath and restart from a point that can be edited.

- Do not to scratch your face or bump the mic when recording. Also, minimize room noise. Keep people and pets away. Give the children a quarter for the moving pictures.

- If recording on a laptop it's actually better to record on the battery. The adapter often ads a hum to the recording.

- Speak clearly! Do not mumble. Do not use slang or TLA's, or at least explain them. Do not throw around jargon. Your goal is to teach, not impress.

Slainte.

AIR Player Problems

2009-01-09T13:27:00.003-05:00

We are currently experiencing a problem with our AIR Player. The flash movies play on the web site and we are working to get the player back up.

VTC & Sony

2008-12-12T13:59:00.001-05:00

A custom AIR player for Sony VAIO Computers.

In A Flash...It's Gone

2008-06-17T09:58:00.002-04:00

I know many of you who come to this blog are Linux users who use our AIR player exclusively and many of the rest of you also use the AIR player because of its convenience. So I wanted to let you know that we are experiencing some issues with the flash servers. We are working to get the player up and streaming again ASAP.

My apologies as well as the apologies of everybody here for the inconvenience.

But we're still up more than twitter. :-)

cheers.

It's Not All Rainbows & Lemon Drops

2008-05-29T11:48:00.001-04:00

Lately it's been one frustration after another.
Seems every author has run into some problem that has kept them from finishing their titles.
Everything from a phantom 'hum' we couldn't get rid of - to seemingly disappearing off the face of the earth.
Don't get me wrong, things happen, and our authors always do their best to get the videos up. But sometimes delays can't be helped and this quarter everyone had them at the same time.

But things are starting to settle down and we will have some great titles in the next few weeks.

Look for "MasterClass! Understanding Encryption", "LPIC2" and "MS Windows Server 2008" to come out in early June.

- OpenOffice
- Ubuntu Certfication
- TCP/IP Packet Analysis
- HTML 4
These are on track and are slated to be released over the summer.

Now, I am on a hunt for good Web Services authors.
So if you actively work with API's. If you know JSON like the back of your hand. If you are a level 26 Magic User when it comes to PHP, AJAX, Adobe AIR or Python and you want to be a published author in any of these fields, contact me.
Email me.
Call me.
GTalk me.
Put your resume on the drop.io account to the right here.
Get in contact with me and maybe we can do some work together.

Crystal Reports, Joomla, Cisco 640-802 and DB2 are all titles we are actively looking for as well.
If you are interested in authoring one of these also let me know and I will set you up with the contact.

Cheers.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Update On Title

2008-04-10T09:43:00.001-04:00

Greetings All,

Here is an update of the titles in production or being negotiated right now.

Sharepoint - Building
Fundamentals of Security - Building
MasterClass! Understanding Encryption - in production
Python - in production
OpenOffice - in production
Visual C++ - in production
ACT! - in production
Adobe AIR - Waiting on audition movies
MasterClass! Protecting Yourself on the Internet - in Editing
PHP5 - Author contacted
Cisco 640-802 - Author contacted
SQL Server 2008 - in production
Crystal Reports - author contacted
Microsoft Server 2008 - in production
Joomla - in production

More to come...

Slainte!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

AIR for Linux Alpha Released

2008-03-31T15:26:00.001-04:00

Today Adobe released the alpha for AIR Linux, as well as the SDK. Adobe also joined the Linux Foundation! Leading to the assumption that they are taking their new commitment to Linux seriously.
So far the apps I have used have worked just fine, including our application for viewing tutorials.
So, Linux users please feel free to download the player and let me know how it works for you.

The AIR bin is very easy to install.
Download the bin. (adobeair_linux_a1_033108.bin)
cd to where the .bin was downlaoded and run ./adobeair_linux_a1_033108.bin

That's it. You will be asked for the root passwd and AIR will be installed.
After that just download the vtcflashplayer.air and it will install like any other AIR platform.

I've been running it all day and so far it is working fine, however it is an alpha so I can't promise there won't be any problems.

I'm running on openSUSE here, tonight I'll go try it out on Ubuntu and Mandriva. Let me know how it works on your distro.

Cheers!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

VTC Update 02/24/08

2008-02-24T15:12:00.004-05:00

Greetings Earthlings,
Well, as you can imagine, the news of Microsoft's new openness with it's API's, protocols and data portability - as well as its pledge to give college students free versions of most of its development platforms has created a bit of a buzz - even in our little corner of the tech industry.
I've had more requests this weekend just for Visual Studio 2008 than I have had since the release date was announced.
We have been looking for some authors for a while actually, I'm talking to two guys this afternoon, one has already produced a few great VTC tutorials. I'm hoping he jumps on it.
But all of the 2008 MS platforms are in active author search mode.

User Poll (well, question really) -
A quick question - How many of you would like to see a Cocoa title?

Ultra-Portable Devices and VTC -

We have had quite a few inquiries about iPhone/iPod friendly videos recently. Here's what I can tell you. We have been looking into the possibility for some time. There are several issues.
1 - Security. Originally we were looking at reformatting the videos in an iPod friendly codec. However, it opened up our servers to some questionable security holes.
2 - Size. This is the biggest problem. When we have run tests with formats that fit the iPod window and even the new, larger screens on the iPhone/iPod, the tutorials become practically unreadable. Especially my departments titles.
3 - Format. Now that these devices are coming standard with wi-fi capability and fully functioning browsers viewing the tutorials should be as easy as on any computer. Right? Well, as it turns out these are not quite FULLY functioning browsers. iPhone's version of Safari is STILL lacking flash support (rumored to be remedied with the release of the SDK) and the quicktime version does not support our codec.

So, we continue to research the possibility of having these tutorials accessible from ultra mobile devices. But those are some of the issues we have to solve to get there.

You can get a look at the size issue on your iPhone by using iPhone's YouTube widget and visiting user 'Johnnyvtc'. (Apologies for the lack of link. As I write this YouTube seems to be down.)

This Week -
Look for 'Introduction to Wikis' and 'Java 6' titles to come out this week.

Coming Up -
'Sharepoint' and 'Fundamentals of Computer Security' are in development/editing.

In The Works -
'OpenOffice', 'Python' and 'LPIC 2' have begun recording.

Podcast? -
Finally, I have had several inquiries into a VTC podcast this week. Which, sort of caught me off guard frankly. What is the interest out there for that and if we were to do one what would you be most interested in hearing?

Thanks to everyone for your input and have a great week.

/john

Sharepoint, Python and the Rest

2008-02-10T13:21:00.000-05:00

Hiya,
The Python samples are in and they look great. The title should go into production next week. Sharepoint and Java6 are in editing, which has been slowed down recently by a Cloverfield monster like rampage of the flu through VTC HQ. OpenOffice is also in the development process. Should begin soon.

Just a quick update on the latest. Look for a bigger update this week.

Cheers.

John

First Update of 2008

2008-01-27T21:52:00.001-05:00

So now that Linux users can finally view our titles I am looking to step up our service to you open source folks. I am happy to say that openSUSE 10.3 will be out this coming week. With that we'll have a good mix for the desktop set of the big 3. Red Hat, Ubuntu and openSUSE.
Next we're moving into the enterprise tools. SUSE Linux Enterprise as well as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.
Also on the list are more database titles. PostgreSQL, db2 and new MySQL titles.
On the programming side Python and Java6 are in the works.

Many of you will be happy to know that Sharepoint is in editing and Citrix will probably start recording in a week.

Plenty more on the list, but those are the highlights for now.

We've worked hard to build the programming and open source department almost from scratch and now with the support of flash delivery we're hoping to have a break out year.
Of course the point of all of this is to serve your needs so please keep the requests coming. I get the best requests off of this blog, so keep sending them in. john@vtc.com.

We haven't forgotten the MS people, Visual C++, ASP.NET 2.0 and C# are being actively sought now. Also looking into some gaming programming titles, including HLSL. I've had quite a few requests for game programming titles.

So that's how things look for 2008. Thanks for a great 2007.

Cheers.

John Mangino

FINALLY!! updated

2007-10-25T10:07:00.000-04:00

I am so very happy to report that after two and a half years of begging, arguing, reasoning and finally hostage taking*, Linux users will FINALLY be able to watch VTC movies!!

When you visit most product pages, you will see an option for .mov OR Flash versions of the movies. If you are a Linux user just choose Flash and you are on your way!

I'm sitting here now watching SBS2003 on my OpenSUSE laptop. It's great!

Now, before I go popping the champagne, some disclaimers.
Here's the deal. We have converted most of our tittles to .flv, however there are tens of thousands of these things so not all titles will be available right away.
We are uploading them now but it is slow going. As of this writing only 18 45 titles are fully loaded but we are running 24 hour processing on this and hope to have the bulk up by next week.

So bear with us for a week. But after all this time of waiting, what's a week?

All of you who have been emailing and keeping in contact with me about this, I appreciate your patience and your help. A big part of finally getting this done was the vocal demand of Linux users. Thank you and I hope you enjoy.

/John

* No actual hostages were taken in the pursuit of Flash.

Linux Player News

2007-04-09T23:22:00.000-04:00

Greetings All.
It is with great pleasure that I announce a Linux work-around for the VTC Player!
No, it is not the native player we would all like just yet. But it will allow you to watch the movies without dual booting or switching from machine to machine.

I have been using the Player on my laptop (running SUSE 10.2) since thursday and it's been a blast.

The documentation is available here.

Now, this is not the end of the road. Not by a long shot. But it is progress and it will get you going.
BTW, I will be testing other distros and posting any differences on the documentation site but please send me your experiences.

Enjoy!
And Keep You FOSS Flag Flying!

It's that time of year

2007-03-28T17:10:00.000-04:00

Due to some scheduling conflicts Flex2 and NetWare 6.5 are switching release schedules.
Pollen is in the air, Keith won't stop talking about baseball and I can't stop sneezing.

Flex 2 has drawn a lot of interest. The movies are done and they are currently in editing. It will be a few weeks before it comes out.

'C Programming' has been finished by the author and has just entered editing. What I have seen so far is very very good. It will lead nicely into the C++ title that the author is preparing now. One of the biggest complaints with the current C++ title is that it is almost all C. So the C++ (the first one of at least 2) will run on the assumption that you either have C experience or have watched the C title.

Netware 6.5 Admin is being built now and should be out next week. (An advanced admin title is already in production)

"Red Hat Certified Technician" has also begun production. I think this will be one of the better titles we have. The author is very good and very thorough. He's very good and very thorough.

Crystal Reports, Wordpress, ZENworks and Samba are all in the audition phase.
That's all for now. I'll be back later hopefully with some news on Apache.

Still looking for that sed/awk author

cheers

John

New Release

2007-03-20T13:11:00.000-04:00

REALbasic is an object-oriented programming language that is based on the BASIC language. It was developed by REAL Software. REALbasic is a cross-platform development vehicle. You can use REALbasic to create software for Windows, Macintosh and Linux from a single set of source code! VTC author Al Anderson guides you through the basics of setting up, designing and creating your first REALbasic program in this tutorial. To begin learning simply click the link.

'C' Senor

2007-03-07T17:59:00.000-05:00

Greetings True Believers,

Two titles to update.
First, I am going through the early movies of the new C Programming title and they are fantastic. I think you will all be very happy with this. The author is quite good.

Second. REALBasic. Yes, it is coming out...YES this year. It's a HUGE title done by Al Anderson. You may remember him from such VTC Titles as "Ruby on Rails" and "He Sed, She Sed. Unix Stream Editors". (*kidding on that second one - but wouldn't that be a killer title?) It should be out next week.
Speaking of Al. For those of you who have been asking about a straight Ruby title I am happy to say that Al is putting an outline together for that very title as I type this.
So actually that's three updates. THREE! Our THREE updates are...

FOUR! Our Four updates!
I am waiting on the sample movies from a new author on a php5 title as well as samples for (5 UPDATES!)
a Crystal reports tutorial.

That's all for now.
cheers
/j

* actually I am looking for a 'sed & awk' author

"no one expects the Spanish inquisition!"

New Release

2007-02-22T22:23:00.000-05:00

Ubuntu Linux is a free, general-purpose operating system for the PC desktop that often rivals Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OS for ease of use, security, and freedom from restrictions. Since its founding a few years ago, Ubuntu Linux has become extremely popular and has helped popularize free and open source software. This step-by-step beginner's course to Ubuntu Linux is designed to guide a user with no previous linux experience. This course, presented by VTC author Chess Griffin, also the host of "Linux Reality," a popular podcast for new Linux users, starts at the absolute beginning. Including an explanation of what Linux is, how to obtain a free copy of Ubuntu Linux, and how to boot the "live" CD to test Ubuntu Linux. You will learn configuration, customization, adding software to the system, and working with the desktop environment. As well as the many included programs and features of Ubuntu Linux. To begin learning simply click the links.

VTC News 10

2007-02-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

Greetings all!

It's been a while.

We've had a lot going on here in Happy Valley since I last posted.

CISSP, Windows Vista, Mashups and Linux Security are among the recent releases since my last post. I hope you are enjoying them.

I would also like to thank you all for the comments and emails. A lot of very good suggestions and concerns have been addressed since I started this. They have been very helpful and I am using them where I can.

One title that has had a lot of mail has been the C++ title. A new C++ title is at the top of the author search list. We will try and have it out asap.

The next titles to come out will be Ubuntu (more on this very exciting title in the next post) RealBASIC, a new javascript and NetWare 6.5 Admin.

“Adobe Flex 2”, “UML”, “Wireless Network Administration”, “Design Patterns” and “70-271 Maintaining & Troubleshooting Windows XP for Desktop Techs” are in productions.

Also, Apache is now entering the production stage. We are working out the outline now. This will be a Brad Causey title. Brad has done some of our best titles, both solo and working with Bobby Rogers. He is one of the best and I am very excited about this title.

As always, if you are and author or programming, web design, sysadmin professional and feel you would make a great VTC author. Drop me a line.Until next time!

Cheers

VTC News 09

2006-11-02T10:36:00.000-05:00

**EDIT 02/08/07**

Unfortunately the site didn't work out. I couldn't put enough information in it and I must agree that the small info that was allowed didn't really tell anymore than you can already see in the In Development List. So that's gone.
Live and learn.

Greetings all,
Below you will find a link to a table of all titles actively in production in my department. This info is constantly changing so it will be linked on the right as well. But I thought you all would like to see what was going on in the Programming, Certification, OS, Database and F/OSS areas. Enjoy.

~~Programming, Certification, OS, Database and F/OSS Table~~

VTC News 08

2006-10-06T13:52:00.000-04:00

Greetings all!

Hope you are all enjoying Ajax and Ruby on Rails. Look for at least a second AJAX title in the near future.

In the meantime, Ethical Hacking is finishing up and should be out today.

Followed by ColdFusion MX7 and Linux Security.

Production on Ubuntu is being held a few weeks until Edgy EFT (v 6.10) is released. That way we'll have the latest one for you.

Hopefully I will have the PHP 5 author signed soon.

I am also looking for a MySQL 5 author to replace our, good, but somewhat out-of-date current one. It's at the top of the list.

Remember to keep sending me your title requests and feedback.

'kyou

VTC News 07

2006-09-14T11:35:00.000-04:00

AJAX is finally out!
I hope you are all enjoying it.

I am taking a break from building the Ruby on Rails title to write this. So that is the next title coming out. Next week.

It will be followed by Linux security and ColdFusion MX 7.

Now, for the linux people. We are still working to get the site accessible for you.
Emails are becoming increasingly frustrated and, believe me, as a Linux and F/OSS user myself I completely understand.
I apologize, but I have to be a bit cryptic here, and say that a change to a flash player is in the works and linux compatibility is high on the list.
More updates as they are made available.

That's the news from VTC - No sooner done, than said.
slainte!

OSM 06

2006-08-23T12:49:00.000-04:00

Well...

July was a disaster. However, your movies should be loading smoother now.

But we are back on the main road and the vehicle is coming to speed.

- First off, AJAX.
YES it is coming. The editing is done. I am checking the edits and preparing to build now.

- I have a call this afternoon with an author for MS Visual Studio 2005. Let's hope all goes well.

- Ruby on Rails was just finished editing this morning. Look for it after Ajax.

- Ethical Hacking and ColdFusion MX7 are also done editing and will be built after Ruby.

- Linux Security, Ubuntu, Javascript, Programming C and PHP5 are all in the sample movie phase.

- My RHCT author seems to have disappeared on me. I will be auditioning a new person next week.

- Actively looking for an asp.net 2.0 author now.

As always. feel free tp drop me a line with questions.

Slainte!

OSM 05

2006-07-13T10:38:00.000-04:00

Here are some long awaited notes for July 13th, 2006.

Ajax is in.
The final movies were uploaded last night. They are being edited with dispatch at this very moment.
I am going to try very hard to have this out for you by the end of July.

The first 'Ethical Hacking' title, from the giant throbbing brain of Brad Causey and Bobby Rogers, is done editing and waiting for building.

Candyce Mairs' ColdFusion MX7 is in and will begin editing this week.

Bill Ferguson checked in to say CISCO 642-801 BSCI is coming along nicely and should be up soon.

New author Al Anderson has been hard at work on the 'Ruby on Rails' title. It looks great so far. Will keep you up-to-date on the progress.

keep the cards and letters coming kids!

cheers

Re: Linux

2006-06-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Hi all,
Had a comment from "James" inquiring about the Linux situation.

Thought I should answer for everyone to see. So here goes...

Well, I got it to work with our compression.
mplayer and the mplayerplug-in for firefox works like a charm.

HOWEVER!
**sigh**

We have a container movie wrapped around the movies that prevents the 'bad' people from stealing our content.

Unfortunately the program used to do this is not compatible in any way, that I can find, with linux. It buffers to 94% and stops.

So, we are now trying to figure out a way around that. There is the problem of finding a new way of protecting the content and then we have to consider the impact that using this new way will have on the 40,000+ movies that are already up there.

As always, if you have any thoughts or suggestions on this. Send them my way.

We're working on this everyday, so I am very hopeful we will have a solution soon.

BTW, you can watch the video's on the CD's with no problem.

cheers

Some Stats

2006-06-14T12:39:00.000-04:00

I love stats!
Here are some stats showing who's hitting this blog, from where and with what.
For curiosity purposes only.
Enjoy.

Browsers
45% MSIE 6
43% Firefox 1.5.0
04% Mozilla
03% Safari
02% Firefox 1.0.7
01% Opera
01% MSIE 5
01% Konqueror

ed. Good to see Firefox so high up. Opera and Konqueror! Excellent!

Country:
57.62% U.S.
12.64% U.K.
10.34% Canada
04.15% Norway
03.60% Australia
03.60% India
02.45% Greece
02.30% France
01.15% Italy
01.15% Viet Nam
01.00% Uruguay

OSM 004

2006-06-13T11:13:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone.

It's been a while.
Did you miss me?

Ok, here we go.

- Very happy to report that the contract for "Ruby on Rails" has been signed and the title is now in production.

- White hat Hacking is in editing

- Several linux authors are in cue and almost ready to go. We are also extremely close to linux viewability (did I just invent a word?) Very close. What I can tell you is you will need mplayer and the mplayerplug-in for Mozilla Firefox. I'm putting together a list of best and easiest packages for the major distros. Very exciting!

more to come

cheers!

Offsite

2006-05-30T21:15:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody,
I am doing offsite training this week so no big updates.

I did get a great comment on the site asking for Solaris 10, which has been added to the author search list.

Thanks to the poster for that

cheers

OSM 003

2006-05-24T12:03:00.000-04:00

Hello all,
Here are your notes for Wednesday May 24, 2006.

- Brad Causey and Bobby Rogers are just about to wrap up "Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing".
Brad will be moving on to the advanced EH&PT title followed by an Apache title.
Bobby will be doing CISSP and then Linux security.

- Look for a SUSE 10.x title in the fall

- Looks like Ruby on Rails has an author! The samples were approved and I'm just waiting on the outline. Huzzah!

- Jesse Feiler is putting together a 'Mashups' (Web 2.0 Applications) tutorial. I'm pretty excited about that one.

- The ColdFusion MX 7 contract has been signed and is in production.

- It is very early in negotiations on these next ones, so I mention them cautiously. RHCE, Visual Studio 2005 and a new CSS titles are in the early negotiation stages. Fingers crossed.

- ATTENTION Authors! Looking for a Perl author, a PEAR author and an author to do XM Programming. Send your resumes!

As always, keep your ideas and requests coming in.

Cheers

COBOL

2006-05-21T23:05:00.000-04:00

So I had a request for a COBOL tutorial today.
I did some digging and found that there are indeed a sizeable number of people still using COBOL and that it is still being developed for today's environment.

So, who else out there wants to see a COBOL title? Or any other legacy language for that matter.

Be sure to let me know what you think.

cheers

Ruby Soho

2006-05-18T12:44:00.000-04:00

Hello all,
I have had quite a few requests for a Ruby title. So I thought I would address that one directly. At least one Ruby title is planned for this summer and I'll keep you up-to-date as they get closer to production.

cheers

OSM 002

2006-05-17T13:16:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody,
Thought I forgot about you didn't you?

Here are your notes for Wednesday May 17th 2006.

-Unfortunately yet another Linux author has dropped out. I promise I'll get you these titles. Here's what I'm looking for: Fedora 5 Desktop, OpenSUSE 10, Ubuntu, Samba, Networking with Linux, Linux Security, OpenBSD, OpenOffice and GIMP.
Now, some of these I have authors I am talking to. But it's too early to name names.
Please, send me your ideas, wishes, needs and I will work to take care of them all.

- Talking to an author about a webObjects tutorial. He has signed the NDA so it should be soon.

-Also talking to a new author to do the Home Networking course. Hopefully that will be resolved soon.

-Looks like we have a JavaScript author as well.

-Happy to say that Ben Waldie's "Applescript" and Jesse Feiler's "OS X Dashboard" are in editing now. Brad Causey and Bobby Rogers have begun the much anticipated "White Hat Hacking and Penetration Testing", and Candyce Mairs has begun ColdFusion MX7. I did talk to Steve Holzner a few days ago, the Ajax title is coming along. I anticipate this will be one of our best titles.

-Once I log this entry I will be emailing two possible authors. One for a new CSS title and one for one of those Linux titles.

By the way, the reason I name some authors and not others, as you've probably guessed, is I do not want to name authors before they sign a contract just in case the bail. Once contracts are signed you will know who they are. Because we have some great people doing these and you should know who is doing what.

That's it for now.

Please, keep the requests, suggestions and even resumes coming.

cheers

Give Me Your Ideas

2006-05-10T12:43:00.000-04:00

Had a great email from a customer asking for a FoxPro tutorial.
Did a little digging and found that it would be a very nice addition to our repertoire.
So, it has been added to our list and agents have been alerted that we are looking for an author.

It's that simple.

If there's something you want to learn. Suggest it! We're listening.

Cheers

Like Fishing Without a Hook

2006-05-04T23:38:00.000-04:00

One of the hardest parts of brining you these tutorials is finding the proper author...and having them stay around long enough to finish one.

Often, we have authors come aboard, begin the production and then, for one reason or another, they pull out.
Unfortunately, this has happened again. I'm afraid the 'Programming XML' has been delayed once again while I try to find another author.

My apologies, I promise we'll get this out if I have to do it myself.

Anybody program with XML want to do a title?

cheers

CISSP Author

2006-05-04T12:06:00.000-04:00

Many of you have been asking about a CISSP title for a while.
I'm happy to report that Bobby Rogers , the 'silent' partner in the LPIC and upcoming Introduction to Computer Forensics tutorials, has signed on to handle that title.
He's already got an outline, sample movies to follow.

cheers

OSM 001

2006-05-02T11:03:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody,
Here are your OSM notes for Tuesday May 2, 2006

- The Ajax tutorial is in production now! The contract started a week ago, which means the author is currently recording the lessons. This is one of the most exciting titles so far this year.

- Expecting samples for ASP & SQL by weeks end. If those are approved the contract should start by next week.

- Introduction To Forensics is going well, almost done checking the edits. Had a problem with some corrupted movies but most, if not all have been corrected. Should begin "cleaning" them by mid week.

- HTML 4.1 NDA has been signed. However, the samples are not expected for 2 weeks.

- The NDA has also been signed by the author for a "Programming with XML" title. Hopefully, his samples will be in soon as well.

- Also had the NDA arrive for an "OpenOffice" title. Waiting for samples and outline for that as well.

Sometimes getting authors to respond to emails or keep you up to date on projects is like pulling teeth. But, I'll stay on them and keep you guys up to date.

Cheers

VTC Wants You!

2006-04-29T19:42:00.000-04:00

Do you have mad Javascript skills? Are you Neo and JavaScript is your Kung-Foo?
Because I need an author for a new JavaScript title. As you can see here
our older JavaScript title is a bit short and out of date.
So, if you are interested please contact me [john at vtc.com] and we will discuss our beautiful future together.

cheers

CSI: VTC

2006-04-28T10:29:00.000-04:00

This morning I am going through the edited movies for 'Introduction to Forensics'
It's all about tracing activiy on a network, either on a corporate level or legal. It's pretty interesting stuff.
It's also the first entry into a series of computer CSI-ish titles. Coming up this summer, not one but TWO 'White Hat Hacker' titles!

I'm telling you, we are doing some exciting hollywood stuff here lately.

Stay tuned.

cheers

VTC Linux!

2006-04-27T13:36:00.000-04:00

We are working on linux compatible movie formats. Actually, a VTC-Linux-Open Source section of the site.
Ask me, it's about time!
This includes many more open source titles. Last week's LPI 101 was just the start. Some of the titles in the works now I can't name at present. (They're still in negotiations) but as soon as the contracts are signed I will let you know.
Got an Open Source project/program/language you'd like to see us cover? Send them to me. john 'at' vtc.com

Cheers

Let's Launch This Puppy

2006-04-26T15:34:00.000-04:00

Ok.
Welcome to my brand spanking new blog involving all thing VTC.

My name is John. I am the product manager at VTC for programming, OS, database, Linux, Open Source and certification titles. The purpose of this is communication. I wanted a better and more open portal to communicate with viewers, as well as get your feedback into titles, both present and future.

As much as I can get away with I am going to open up the process of what I do to get titles out for you guys. Please feel free to comment, ask questions...Whatever.

Hopefully this will lead to a more satisfying experience with VTC.

Or it will be a complete disaster.

Either way, let's go...

VTC Project Updates and Information

Give the Gift of Windows 7

AutoIT

Your Own Latest Courses Plugin

Update 06/29/09

Update 06/11/09

Update for the week of 06/01/09

Making Your Way Through Imagefeild in Drupal 6

The Tongue Depressor King of Southern Illinois

Have it Your Way: PHP OOP

Look To Twitter

Update for Week of 04/27/2009

Reach Out

Comments

Global Authoring Advice

AIR Player Problems

VTC & Sony

In A Flash...It's Gone

It's Not All Rainbows & Lemon Drops

Update On Title

AIR for Linux Alpha Released

VTC Update 02/24/08

Sharepoint, Python and the Rest

First Update of 2008

FINALLY!! *updated*

Linux Player News

It's that time of year

New Release

'C' Senor

New Release

VTC News 10

VTC News 09

VTC News 08

VTC News 07

OSM 06

OSM 05

Re: Linux

Some Stats

OSM 004

Offsite

OSM 003

COBOL

Ruby Soho

OSM 002

Give Me Your Ideas

Like Fishing Without a Hook

CISSP Author

OSM 001

VTC Wants You!

CSI: VTC

VTC Linux!

Let's Launch This Puppy

FINALLY!! updated