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.jar<http://api.skoffer.com/v1/%7Bskoffer.jar…ar>,
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(a)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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