Dec
19
Writing procedures can be much more difficult than you’d think. We see procedures everywhere, so it’s natural to think that we should be able to write one without too much trouble. For that reason, I wanted to take you through some terrible real-life procedures. This is at least partly so we can all have a …
Nov
14
OSDC 2011 kicked off today at the ANU. I tripped along to the OSIA (Open Source Industry Australia) miniconf, which Red Hat sponsored, and was mightily pleased to hear Stuart Gutherie reference one of my favourite pieces of historical weirdness: the mechanical turk. I couldn’t help but hold forth, and eventually gave an impromptu lightning …
Jul
06
linux.conf.au is the biggest Linux and open source conference in the southern hemisphere, and rightfully so! I was a speaker at the conference last year in Brisbane (the video is on my videos page) and had a great time. This year it’s being held in Ballarat, Victoria, and I must say I’m quite looking forward …
Jun
13
At Red Hat, we have a content services department that is about sixty people strong. Even though the department is pretty big these days, back when I started with the company, we were still trying to work out the best way to run a successful enterprise-level documentation team. What that means is that I have …
May
31
Don’t tell anyone I told you, but here’s my slide deck for the presentation I’m giving in Cincinnati this weekend at the Open Help Conference … Open Source Documentation in Four Easy Steps (and one slightly more difficult one) View more presentations from Lana Brindley Not sure if there’ll be recording on the day or …
May
01
The Open Source Developer’s Conference (OSDC to its friends) is being held in Canberra in November this year, which is a little bit exciting, and they have just opened their call for papers. Also this year, for the first time, they’re asking for miniconf proposals too. I would love to do a whole miniconf on …
Apr
30
![beer [DesktopNexus.com]](http://lanabrindley.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/beer-DesktopNexus.com_-150x150.jpg)
The Grass is Greener on the Open Side Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Oh my, here we go again. Another open source advocate banging on about freedom”. Well, yeah, I have to admit to at least a little bit of truth in that. Open source advocates do like to talk about morals, …
Apr
27
Tonight, I gave a talk about Open Source for the Canberra Society of Editors (who invite the ACT branch of the Society of Technical Communicators, of which I am a member). There was a reasonable crowd, who all seemed interested and who asked lots of questions. It is always satisfying to give a talk and …
Apr
20
![among-grass [DesktopNexus.com]](http://lanabrindley.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/among-grass-DesktopNexus.com_-150x150.jpg)
Some time ago, I gave a web seminar for the Society of Technical Communicators (STC) in the US, which was an interesting experience. Considering it occurred at 4am local time, I’m not entirely certain I was at my best, but luckily I’ve been given the opportunity to repeat the talk at a more reasonable time. …
Apr
17
(Except the snow and the rain) It looks as though I’ll be winging my way back to the United States again shortly. I’ve been asked to speak at the Open Help Conference in Cincinnati (and one day soon I’ll learn how to spell it!), Ohio on 3-5 June. If you’re half as dedicated as I …
