I tried Skoffer on Windows, Mac and Linux and so far it is only usable on Windows. This makes it unsuitable for user in our lab, which consists mostly of Mac and Linux users. Here are my bugs and notes:
*General issues*
- Special:Version does not work with the extension installed. It's just blank. - I notice in the screencast of Skoffer that you close the 'screen-recorder initiator' popup as it is only used for launching. This should happen automatically. Get rid of as many steps as possible. - You have to grant Skoffer special java permission to use the /tmp directory, and the only thing written there is /tmp/cache/http/ api.skoffer.com/v1/{skoffer.jarhttp://api.skoffer.com/v1/%7Bskoffer.jar, skoffer.jar.info}. This looks avoidable and should be avoided if possible. - The general method of inserting the <skoffer> tag into the page does not work across platforms and browsers. Some other way must be found. - Integration with mediawiki is poor and the interface lacks basic features, such as the ability to download the movie, or embed it in another site. - Regarding "This screencast will be available shortly," how long is "shortly," and how will the user know when it is now available? They have to continue refreshing the page? For how long?
*Linux - *Ubuntu Inrepid Ibex with Firefox 3.0.4 and Java 1.6.0 - Core 2 duo @ 3GHz w/ 8GB ram
- I get to "Uploading your screencast", it spins for a minute, and then all evidence of Skoffer goes away. It does not insert anything into the edit box - If I leave the 'screen-recorder initiator' popup, after the "Uploading your screencast" popup goes away, this popup gets redirected to ' mydomain.com/extensions/skoffer/<insert 3-4 random unicode characters>', which is naturally a 404 error. The characters are different every time. bizarre. - If I click 'Finish this screencast' before 'Pause recording' then the recording timer keeps counting. Small things like this are very confusing to users. - There are several windows that show up in my linux taskbar that are apparantly used to draw the recording interface. Can't these be consolidated into one?
*Mac - *OSX Leopard with Safari 3.1.2 and Java 1.5 - Core 2 duo @ 3GHz w/ 4GB ram
- The <skoffer> tags are only inserted into the textarea if I bring it into focus with my mouse after telling it to upload the screencast. If I don't click in the edit box, the behavior is just like linux, e.g., it doesn't work at all. - I was never able to get it to insert the <skoffer> tags again after this attempt - The red line you are supposed to move your mouse over is totally occluded by the main OSX navigation bar which resides at the top of the screen. I found this feature to be very confusing and suggest it be dropped. I suggest making the only way to stop a recording be to click the finish recording button.
Windows - Windows XP with Internet Explorer 8 beta - P4 @ 3GHz w/ 512MB ram
- It appeared to work as advertised, but I don't know how long the "This screencast will be available shortly" screen will be up. I still haven't seen an actual recorded video.
I think Skoffer is close to being usable, but right now it is a Windows-only app and I don't know anyone who uses Windows. I just tried it on my development Windows machine to check.
Cheers, Brian
On Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 3:56 PM, Skoffer.com Team team@skoffer.com wrote:
Hi everyone on the list,
I contribute to the Skoffer project, and like to point you to my Skoffer MediaWiki plugin (GPL). Skoffer is a free uncommercial project which lets you build in a screencast recorder into your website. Since MediaWiki is great to make sofware documentations, the ability to to record screencasts (in unlimited resolutions and lengths) without installing a software (it´s Java based) could be interesting for some of you.
If your website could make use of it, please have a look at http://www.skoffer.com and/or on my blog post http://www.stefanschulzesteinmann.com/skoffer-mediawiki-plugin/ If you want to see a demo: There are two screencasts in my blog post which I recorded as a demonstration. The one shows how I create the other.
A happy 3. advent, Stefan Schulze Steinmann
PS: By the way, you are the first persons who know about Skoffer. This mail is the project´s starting shot.
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