Cool site for Help authoring tools

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

My favorite thing about attending conferences (like the STC  
conference in London I just got back from) is the people you meet  
there. In talking to anyone who'll listen--or who isn't quick enough  
on their feet to escape (mea culpa <g>)--you sometimes find out about  
things long before they appear on anyone else's radar. For example:

Long-time techwhirlers and those who keep track of what's going on in  
the area of online help development know Char James-Tanny, one of the  
bright lights of our little community. Since Char doesn't like to  
blow her own horn, I thought I'd blow it for her. <g> Char has  
transformed her well-known comparison of help-authoring tools into  
something much more cool, dynamic, and interactive: www.hat-matrix.com

A few choice tools:
- picking a tool based on your needs for specific features without  
having to wade through a vendor's padded feature list: http://hat- 
matrix.com/compare_hats/
- a searchable directory of trainers (http://hat-matrix.com/ 
find_a_trainer.html) and consultants (http://hat-matrix.com/ 
find_a_consultant.html)

There's also a "what's new" page and the chance to provide your own  
review comments on tools (the site is just getting started, so there  
are no reviews yet to read). Although tool data is provided by  
vendors, the ability of users to provide reviews should keep vendors  
honest: someone who lies about their product will quickly be exposed  
by active members of the site (particularly those with an axe to  
grind <g>), and reviews will be monitored to ensure that (for  
example) an employee of Vendor X can't flame Vendor Y's product  
unless they have a legitimate point to make. This should increase the  
reliability of the data over time, and the reviews should also  
increase the value of the data by providing real-world feedback on  
how well the tools work.

If you're active in producing online help, add this one to your  
bookmarks!

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Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca

(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)

www.geoff-hart.com

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