Screencasting Software News Roundup; ViewletBuilder 5

Here are some quick updates from the wonderful world of Screencasting:

» After a long break, Qarbon is all set to release a new version - Qarbon ViewletBuilder 5 - in January 2007. Meanwhile existing users can download ViewletBuilder 4.5.8 here. [Read our review of Viewlet Builder 4.5] The upgrade price from VB4 to VB5 will be $199.

» Camtasia Studio 4 for Windows Vista - Techsmith have just released Camtasia Studio 4.0.1 to make the popular screencasting software work with Windows Vista. Camtasia Studio 4.0.1 will overwrite a previous installation of CS 4.0.0 but will not overwrite 3.1.2. [download here Username: betatester Password: gnaws55]

» Some pleasant surprises are in store for Mac users. One, there are strong hints that Techsmith is developing Camtasia Studio for Mac platform. Second, Qarbon has resumed development of ViewletBuilder for Mac and according to Jay Lucke, the new version is expected sometime in Q1 2007. Download ViewletBuilder for Mac trial here.

» Tanida Inc. released a new version of their very popular simulation and authoring tool - Demo Builder 5.1. You can password protect your screencasts and even set an expiration date. Unfortunately, we do not quality for a free update. [Read detailed review of Demo Builder 5]

» Paul Pival delivered an excellent talk on Screencasting at the SirsiDynix Institute. You can download Paul's Powerpoint slides or listen to the presentation in MP3 format or read his FAQ here.



» Camtasia Studio users just can't afford to miss this excellent series - 30 Videos in 30 Days - a series that will transform you into an expert Camtasia Studio screencaster. Thanks Betsy Weber, Troy Stein, Brooks Andrus and others.

» Here's an excellent Screencasting blog by Manuela Hoffmann - screencasting.de - Though Manuela writes in German, there's plenty of interesting stuff for English readers as well.

» Pascal van Hecke has extensively reviewed the various online video sharing websites for hosting screencast videos. Revver and Blip.tv get the most points though screencast.com was missing from the list since that's a paid video uploading site.

» Molly McDonald produces some interesting video reviews of latest Web 2.0 apps in the form of screencasts at Screeniac.com. If you like to know more about Molly or how she does her screencasts, read her interview with Centernetworks here.

» Meredith Gorran Farkas has just finished writing a very interesting article on Screencasting. Meredith is a distant librarian and the brain behind some of the best screencasts that I have seen including this one on creating conference wikis (produced with Adobe Captivate).

Related: Screencasting Software List, Free Screen Capture Software