Could you tweak the design and add a fallback for Tahoma?
e.g. font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;
My computer doesn't have Tahoma by default so it looked awful for me. Great idea though, will try it out now.
Ok, after a few minutes of playing around - I dislike your app. It feels very rough around the edges and I also dislike the reliance on Java (though I appreciate there may be little you can do in regard to this - however perhaps Flash would be possible?).
I would heavily recommend you spend a week or two refining the UI and making it smoother and nicer to use. The screenshots on your homepage instantly put me off - they are distorted, pixelated, highlighted poorly and taken in Firefox on what looks like Windows XP. Whilst I'm no mac-lover, I'd heavily recommend doing screenshots in Safari on OS X or - at the very least - Chrome on Windows. Take time on them. They are quite possibly going to be the first interaction that a customer has with your product.
Finally, I couldn't actually run your application. I'm running this on Ubuntu 10.10 with IceTea, so that'll be why. I appreciate that Ubuntu is unlikely to be one of your target OSes but cross-platform doesn't hurt.
So, all in all - a lot of potential but a poor implementation. Sorry to be harsh but I feel it's justified as you obviously have the capability to pull this off. Keep at it! :-D
I hate sites where I can't immediately tell if it's a download vs. SaaS (in this case self-hosted vs hosted). Our company might be able to use something like this if you gave us the files to host ourself.
Furthermore… pricing is cool. A pricing page is even cooler. If it's too early have the page. Say its too early.
its hosted right now..we are currently working on the downloadable package..maybe we can have a chat sometime whenever you have a free moment...email me at spatel @ iorad
The tutorial fails to open with the Chrome FlashBlock extension. The button doesn't do anything, and I have no way to selectively enable (click to enable) flash on your page. It'd be best to pop up the overlay with the flash element enabled (so I can click to enable it) or at least give me a warning if I click on it with flash disabled.
On the tutorial, don't make me type "google" to click the start button. If I click "Start", that's enough. I'm generally a thorough reader and I still didn't really see that you were asking me to type "google" vs. just anything and the button gives no indication if you click it.
On the tutorial, on step 5, you say "Click RECORD" - there are two record buttons, and neither is highlighted. This is just as frustrating as the "Start" button not working in step 1.
On the tutorial, on step 7, your "Publish" button is way outside the general area all of the other interactions have been - it's not obvious what to click to continue.
I agree with all of kaolinite's comments regarding general polish of the website.
Once I actually launch the app I get two loading screens, one after the other - not a big deal, but I'd try to consolidate that if possible.
I have no Java plugin installed, so I just get "Pick which window to record" with nothing in the drop-down and no indication of what's wrong. I have to bail right here. If I were a normal user, you'd have no indication of why I abandoned.
The actual app UI looks good and looks like it could have high potential, but I can't use it.
There's something a little wonky about your Java detection. On my laptop, I have Java 6 Update 5 installed, but your page it telling me "we have a problem! Iorad needs you to get java" (Windows XP SP3, Firefox 7.0.1). On the other hand, in a virtual machine (WinXP SP3, Chrome 19), I logged in and got all the way to "pick which window to record", but at the same time Chrome was telling me to install Java (which wasn't installed yet!). I then had to refresh the page to get it to show my active windows. Very weird indeed.
A few comments about the product itself:
- Customization and branding is critical in companies, so make sure you quickly add a way to customize the bubbles, color scheme, and add a watermark logo on the recordings (or the "View" page).
- Exporting would be an awesome way to turn this into something trainers could use in a class environment, especially if it could be used "offline" (not for editing, just actually viewing the tutorial). Flash would be great, or even just HTML5. Make sure it can integrate into existing HTML though (embedding).
- An "Automatic" mode where things would run by themselves (non-interactive), along with mouse paths and clicks, would go a long way to compete with professional tools that do this already. In this case, exporting could be static videos.
- Voiceovers (either directly recorded or uploading audio) would be awesome. If combining voice overs and automatic mouse controls, make sure you have some timing adjustments tools there :)
You're already a good ways through to becoming a competitor to software like Adobe Captivate. I see a bright future for you and, as soon as the above features are implemented, I'm convinced that you'll get a lot of clients like my current employer lining up and saying "Shut up and take my money!".
Ill look into the Java detection stuff. Beside that yes we will have a "see it" mode (mouse trails and clicks) along with the "try it" mode. We have export to ppt, doc, and pdf...this will be a $ feature. Most of the ideas you mentioned are on the drawing board...so its good to know someone else beside me needs it and Im not totally nuts.
It really depends on the market. I'm just comparing to Captivate and similar screen simulation software, really. If they can make a buck selling a $500 piece of software, you can do it on a smaller monthly fee as a SaaS for sure. I'm happy to see you were already planning these things, can't wait to see them! Perhaps you should start a newsletter, or a notification system so we're advised of your progress. I, for one, am very interested in seeing you evolve!
* Edit *: little feedback on useability: After grabbing a share link, I visited the URL and was very confused on which ones of the "Tutorial" or "Quick Guide" option was selected. You're going against the grain with these buttons, the "pressed" version should be the active one, and not vice versa.
9 comments
[ 39.4 ms ] story [ 513 ms ] threade.g. font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;
My computer doesn't have Tahoma by default so it looked awful for me. Great idea though, will try it out now.
Ok, after a few minutes of playing around - I dislike your app. It feels very rough around the edges and I also dislike the reliance on Java (though I appreciate there may be little you can do in regard to this - however perhaps Flash would be possible?).
I would heavily recommend you spend a week or two refining the UI and making it smoother and nicer to use. The screenshots on your homepage instantly put me off - they are distorted, pixelated, highlighted poorly and taken in Firefox on what looks like Windows XP. Whilst I'm no mac-lover, I'd heavily recommend doing screenshots in Safari on OS X or - at the very least - Chrome on Windows. Take time on them. They are quite possibly going to be the first interaction that a customer has with your product.
Finally, I couldn't actually run your application. I'm running this on Ubuntu 10.10 with IceTea, so that'll be why. I appreciate that Ubuntu is unlikely to be one of your target OSes but cross-platform doesn't hurt.
So, all in all - a lot of potential but a poor implementation. Sorry to be harsh but I feel it's justified as you obviously have the capability to pull this off. Keep at it! :-D
Furthermore… pricing is cool. A pricing page is even cooler. If it's too early have the page. Say its too early.
On the tutorial, don't make me type "google" to click the start button. If I click "Start", that's enough. I'm generally a thorough reader and I still didn't really see that you were asking me to type "google" vs. just anything and the button gives no indication if you click it.
On the tutorial, on step 5, you say "Click RECORD" - there are two record buttons, and neither is highlighted. This is just as frustrating as the "Start" button not working in step 1.
On the tutorial, on step 7, your "Publish" button is way outside the general area all of the other interactions have been - it's not obvious what to click to continue.
I agree with all of kaolinite's comments regarding general polish of the website.
Once I actually launch the app I get two loading screens, one after the other - not a big deal, but I'd try to consolidate that if possible.
I have no Java plugin installed, so I just get "Pick which window to record" with nothing in the drop-down and no indication of what's wrong. I have to bail right here. If I were a normal user, you'd have no indication of why I abandoned.
The actual app UI looks good and looks like it could have high potential, but I can't use it.
A few comments about the product itself: - Customization and branding is critical in companies, so make sure you quickly add a way to customize the bubbles, color scheme, and add a watermark logo on the recordings (or the "View" page). - Exporting would be an awesome way to turn this into something trainers could use in a class environment, especially if it could be used "offline" (not for editing, just actually viewing the tutorial). Flash would be great, or even just HTML5. Make sure it can integrate into existing HTML though (embedding). - An "Automatic" mode where things would run by themselves (non-interactive), along with mouse paths and clicks, would go a long way to compete with professional tools that do this already. In this case, exporting could be static videos. - Voiceovers (either directly recorded or uploading audio) would be awesome. If combining voice overs and automatic mouse controls, make sure you have some timing adjustments tools there :)
You're already a good ways through to becoming a competitor to software like Adobe Captivate. I see a bright future for you and, as soon as the above features are implemented, I'm convinced that you'll get a lot of clients like my current employer lining up and saying "Shut up and take my money!".
* Edit *: little feedback on useability: After grabbing a share link, I visited the URL and was very confused on which ones of the "Tutorial" or "Quick Guide" option was selected. You're going against the grain with these buttons, the "pressed" version should be the active one, and not vice versa.