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One idea: Sign up for a course at a college, and get a student discount to
purchase the software. Or teach a class and get a teacher's discount. The
discount can be considerable. There are some sites that only sell software
to students and teachers.
PT
On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 2:00 PM, Becky Edmondson <beckyed -at- rcn -dot- com> wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
>
>
> Anyone have any creative ideas on how to get experience with expensive
> tools
> like Flare and Robohelp, when you can't afford to just buy them and don't
> ever work at places that can afford them or have the bandwidth to deal with
> changing to a dedicated doc tool?
>
>
>
> All my clients are startups, and all they ever have is Word and
> occasionally
> Frame. I now have tons of experience setting up shoestring singlesourcing
> systems, but I can't figure out how to expand into other tools. I'd prefer
> to stay a contractor now, so the obvious answer of searching out a job
> where
> they use the tool is out, and anyway, in this economic client it's hard to
> find a company willing to train you.
>
>
>
> Maybe I should be looking at opensource HATs? I can't find anything other
> than industrial-strength stuff like DITA. My clients are way too small for
> that.
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>
> Becky Edmondson
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
> solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
> HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
>http://www.doctohelp.com
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
>http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love....Pursue the
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eyes off you.”
- Dr. Maya Angelou
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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