The unboxing phenomenon lets us vicariously enjoy the process of receiving and opening a new product by watching videos posted by other people. Unboxing videos are very popular: Unbox Therapy has over two million YouTube subscribers, and this video garnered over two million views in less than two weeks. There’s a sensuous feel to unboxing videos, because some products areContinue reading “Unboxing Day”
Author Archives: Steven Jong
Steve Jong for STC Director
6 December 2016 If you are a current STC member, I have a personal favor to ask. I ask you to sign my nomination petition to appear on the ballot as a candidate for Director at Large of the Society in the upcoming Board election. As specified in Article VIII, Section 2, Part D ofContinue reading “Steve Jong for STC Director”
What is the Value of a Volunteer?
April was National Volunteer Month, and, as it happens, when our chapter hosted InterChange, our regional conference. InterChange took a lot of volunteer work to pull off, and I have been thinking of late about STC volunteers. Like many of you, I volunteer time and professional services to STC, at both the chapter and Society levels. STC isContinue reading “What is the Value of a Volunteer?”
My latest presentation: “Embedded User Assistance: Third Rail or Third Way?”
The STC New England InterChange regional conference was held 1–2 April, 2016 at the Inn and Conference Center of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. We had excellent attendance and we heard some great speakers and presentations. (We even had fine weather for our Friday evening perambulation to the Lowell Beer Works.) My contribution was “EmbeddedContinue reading “My latest presentation: “Embedded User Assistance: Third Rail or Third Way?””
STC Election 2016: Who I voted for
The 2016 STC election is currently open. If you’re a member, you should have received a link to the election website (send email to stc@stc.org if you have not). It’s important to vote! The Society needs your active involvement. You can find out more about the candidates here. Here’s who I voted for this year.
Making Sense of the Internet of Things
One of today’s hottest technical trends is the Internet of Things (IoT). The idea is to network together physical objects containing electronics, software, and sensors on the Internet so they can collect and exchange data, offering improved efficiency, accuracy, and economic benefit. Each “thing” is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system (that is, byContinue reading “Making Sense of the Internet of Things”
The Mac Plus User’s Guide, 30 Years Later
In 1986 I was already a veteran computer software technical writer, documenting applications with command-line interfaces on operating systems that were the grandparents, uncles, and aunts of UNIX and then Linux. (One of my colleagues wrote an entire manual for a sort utility—excuse me, the Sort. I tell you, those were heady days.) My division’s softwareContinue reading “The Mac Plus User’s Guide, 30 Years Later”
Steven Jong 