Node.js screencasts : Nodecasts.org | Hacker News Reader

Node.js screencasts : Nodecasts.org

nodecasts.org

34 pointsbriandek11 comments

I still don't understand the benefit (for the user) of the screencast format for programming tutorials vs plain old text and code snippets/screenshots. In some cases, the screencast might be helpful as a supplemental format, but otherwise I find them to be frustrating. For example, if I want to study some code for a longer duration than the author allows, I have to pause the screencast. But, of course, I often pause too late and have to scrub backwards and/or rewatch portions of the video to find that point again. With a text tutorial, I can follow at my own pace, quickly find where I left off, copy+paste code, etc.

Edit: All that said, anyone who takes the time to teach others, regardless of the format, deserves a lot of credit.

I still don't understand the benefit (for the user) of the screencast format for programming tutorials vs plain old text and code snippets/screenshots.

Emphasis on the word "I." Some people don't "get" books. Some people don't "get" e-mail newsletters. Some people don't "get" movies. Some people find in-person, live presentations useless to learn from.

Different strokes for different folks.

Video has an interesting psychological effect for many users. Most of us have grown up watching a fair bit of TV and, often, watching a lot more TV than reading books. There can be some comfort and ease with video versus reading, at least to build motivation and to "get going" with a topic. But, of course, not for everyone.

I never thought I would, but I really enjoy screencasts. Sometimes they are useful to just watch in an environment where I can't actually practice, so it gives me the opportunity to go learn a little... get an overview. I see screencasts as complimentary to the normal text/book format

Disclaimer: I run learnivore.com (and nodecasts will appear up there).

For most people who appreciate screencasts (I surveyed my ~ 1500 users), it's mostly a casual way to get familiar with a given subject before diving into it through books or articles or blogs, or a way to keep up to date (eg: railscasts).

It seems to be really appreciated while commuting, for some reason.

But there are also people that cannot stand screencasts at all, too.

At the end, I believe it's really more a supplemental format, yes.

Some people learn more easily by watching / listening to a presenter than they do reading on their own.

I generally like screencasts because they're small tidbits and I usually remember the gist of how something is done.

As an aside, you can use -O with curl to save the file as the filename, instead of having to redirect the output and rewrite the filename

So instead of this: curl http://nodejs.org/dist/node-v0.2.3.tar.gz > node-v0.2.3.tar.gz

You can just write this: curl -O http://nodejs.org/dist/node-v0.2.3.tar.gz

for the same effect.

curl http://nodejs.org/dist/node-v0.2.3.tar.gz | tar xzvf -

Nice job. A small nitpick maybe, but the sound level of the intro and outro is very disproportionate to the rest of the screencast's sound. Quite unpleasant when wearing headphones.

That said, I'm looking forward to the next one, subscribed to the youtube channel.

I enjoy screencasts, but I really can't understand what Mr. Macedo is saying in his screencast.

I enjoyed the RoR screencasts because I didn't really need to watch them, I could just listen and work in another window.

This would be a great idea if Mr. Macedo spoke in better English, it's not something he can control but it's a big deal from a final product viewpoint.

Mr. Macedo speaks perfectly comprehensible English. I understood every single word he uttered. Your comment is unnecessary and hurtful. What would be a "great idea" is if you added value somewhere instead of putting people down.

Mr. Macedo keep up the great job!

Well done. I am excited for more. [bookmarked] (And I love the accent. The presenter speaks english very well, and the accent does not detract in the least, but it adds an interesting texture.)

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