Adobe Launches Two New Content Authoring Suites
Thursday, January 22, 2009 5:50Adobe Launches Two New Content Authoring Suites
Content management tools aren’t just used for posting content to websites – they can also be used for authoring and presenting documentation, creating interactive courses and countless other purposes.Adobe (NSDQ: ADBE) this week announced the launch of two new content authoring suites, each with a separate target audience but a similar focus on delivering compelling content using mature, well-integrated tools.
The two suites, Adobe eLearning Suite and Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2, are a mix of newly upgraded tools – the eLearning courseware authoring tool Captivate 4 is included in both suites – bundled with perennial favorites such as Photoshop CS4 and Acrobat Pro. A number of the products in each suite include additional plug-ins and extensions to customize them for eLearning and technical communication respectively.
The Adobe eLearning Suite includes seven products: Captivate 4, Flash CS4 Professional with Learning Interactions, Dreamweaver CS4 with CourseBuilder Extension, Photoshop CS4 Extended, Acrobat 9 Pro, Presenter 7 and Soundbooth CS4, an audio recording and editing tool.
At the foundation of the Technical Communication Suite 2 are FrameMaker 9, a DITA-compliant tool used to author and publish technical documentation, and RoboHelp 8, a well-regarded tool used for creating knowledge bases and content for Help systems within software and on websites. Also included in the package are Captivate 4, Photoshop CS4, Acrobat 9 Pro Extended and Presenter 7.
Neither package is cheap. The eLearning suite retails for about $1800 and the Technical Communication Suite 2 goes for about $1900, but when you consider the cost of buying each program separately, the suites end up being a good value. As with most Adobe software, you can download a trial to see if they’re right for your organization.
Source: informationweek.com
