Technical writing is about clarity; marketing copy writing is about obfuscation.
Mixing of the two will lead to widespread panic, packs of roving hamsters, destruction of property, impaired judgement, and irritable writers.
Tech tip: no more moiré patterns in scrollbars
Here’s a little quick-fix that all technical writers will appreciate. As you have probably noticed, if you make a screen capture of a Windows screen, then print it, the scrollbars appear to have an ugly moiré pattern. This is caused when the dots that make the scrollbar colour (called dithering) are matched to the printer’s dot screen.
How do you avoid it? A quick change to your registry will make your scrollbars a solid colour instead of a dithered colour.
- Select Start » Run, type regedit, and press Enter. The Registry Editor appears.
- Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER » Control Panel » Colors.
- Change both “ButtonHilight” and “Scrollbar” to 230 230 230.
- Close the Registry Editor.
- Logout and log in again to make the registry changes take effect.
The scrollbars should now be a solid colour. You can check this by making a screenshot and magnifying it. The scrollbars will remain solid until you next choose a Scheme in the Display Properties dialog box. If you like, you can save the current appearance (including the scrollbars) for later:
- Right-click the desktop and select Properties.
- In the Appearance tab, click Save As and enter a descriptive name, like “Solid-colour scrollbars”.
Now you can choose your solid-scrollbar scheme any time you want to make screenshots.
Freedom of expression
Over at Webraw, Eric raises the issue of censorship. Specifically, “How much longer until >>YOUR EMPLOYER<< shuts down your blog like http://www.denishorgan.com?”
Eric’s comments are worrysome… not only because he highlights a threat to freedom of thought and expression, but also because in his effort to comply with the desires of his own employer, he has effectively given away essential rights and freedoms. What possible right does an employer have to curtail a personal creative work that’s done on personal time?
Events like the closing of Denis Horgan’s site seem to be more common these days. We see legal fights over the employer’s desire to control their employees versus the right to freedom of expression. More and more, corporations are taking the legal postion that employees are chattel: the activities and ideas of employees fall under the control and ownership of the employer. This is very wrong.
An example is the case in which DSC Communications fired an employee because the employee wouldn’t surrender an idea that he had (link). This idea was unrelated to his job, concieved on his personal time, and wasn’t written down.
With the popularization of blogs, it’s more important than ever to draw a defining line between one’s work life and personal life. It’s a frightening prospect to imagine a world in which thoughts and opinions may only come from corporate HQ. The right to freedom of expression means having protection from those who seek to silence you, to control you, and essentially to own you.
Faux-pas
Agent Q and I wandered into the Fairview Pub for a couple of final pints before she disappeared back to Toronto. It was, of course, the night of The Big Game — game seven of Vancouver versus St.Louis — so even an hour before the game, the pub was filling up fast.
The Fairview, and I hope its patrons will forgive me for saying this, is a bit of a dive. Crappy music blares from the overhead speakers, and they keep the lights “moody” to hide the filth. But I suppose that, compared to my usual haunt, it’s fine. Unlike the Jolly Alderman, the Fairview actually has windows.
Because Q and I had arrived so early, we had front-row seats for the big screen, and the jersey-wearing flag-wavers in the back looked at us enviously. When I overheard a couple of guys behind me trying to find enough seats for a few of their friends, I turned and said, “Hey, we’re leaving in about twenty minutes. You can have our table if you want.”
He stared at me in disbelief. “You’re NOT STAYING FOR THE GAME??”
The music stopped. All heads turned. And in the silence, I think I heard a cricket chirping.
“We’re… uh…,” I sweated, “watching it… somewhere else.”
The music started again. All heads turned back to the big screen.
It was a very close call, but Q and I escaped without injury.
Operation ‘Free Big Mac’
Someone on the ground floor phoned me to complain about the noise my stomach was making. This is indeed a serious situation, and as I mentioned earlier, I cleverly left my wallet and security card at home today.
I need not resort to squishy things under rocks, however. In my desk, under the spare packets of ketchup, I found a coupon for a FREE McDonald’s Big Mac.
Will they honour the coupon? Will I get my Big Mac both free and gratis? Will I walk away from Satan’s personal grease-factory with a full stomach or will I need to go hunting in the alley for some extremely fresh squab?
Cry havoc! and let slip the hamburgers of lunch!