RJ Jacquez, Senior Product Evangelist at Adobe, posted a sneak peek of Captivate for Mac on his blog last week after demoing it at the Adobe Learning Summit / DevLearn 09 in San Jose (an event I was unable to attend).

The radio silence regarding Captivate for Mac has been deafening, so I was thrilled (yet not thrilled – see below) to see some updated information regarding this much-anticipated application.

Tech support note: if you’re a card-carrying über-geek like me and are already running the Flash Player 10.1 prerelease version on your Mac, you will likely find (as I did) that the recording will not play (I tried Safari, Firefox and Camino). I managed to view the recording on another Mac that does not have the 10.1 prerelease installed.

A couple of takeaways from RJ’s recording:

First: the UI is not horrible like the current Windows version of Captivate, but it’s not very Mac-like either. When TechSmith created a Mac version of Camtasia, they scrapped the also-horrible UI of the Windows version of Camtasia and designed a beautiful Mac-like interface (as covered in my review of the application). Adobe, in contrast, is taking a more middle-of-the-road approach. Rather than create a Mac-like version of Captivate, they are going to make the UI of both Captivate for Mac and Captivate for Windows more CS4-like. The application on both platforms will, per RJ’s description, be very similar in look and feel (and code base). So while that’s a disappointment on the Mac side (let’s face it, the CS4 UI is nothing special), at least we can expect to see the terrible UI on the Windows side be put out of its (our) misery. I understand how such standardization between platforms is beneficial to both Adobe and its customers, but the homogenization is a disappointment to many of us Mac users who like seeing Mac apps shine in their own unique way.

Second (and this is the alarming tidbit): RJ said Captivate for Mac is currently in alpha status. Whoa, what??? Didn’t Adobe solicit for beta testers way back in May??? With so much time having passed since the beta solicitation, I had hoped a release announcement was imminent. Mark hopes as “dashed.”

RJ will be giving away a free copy of Captivate for Mac to one of his Twitter followers (see his blog entry), so jump in. You could be the lucky winner. You know, when the app is finally released. Sometime in…2012. *sob*

Anyone who has ever taken an eLearning course or watched a PowerPoint presentation (i.e. all of us) knows that the effective use of color is not a common human ability. Based on countless cans of unused interior house paint I have chosen with much deliberation, only to become horrified once I actually put the paint on the wall, I can attest to this assumption.

Fortunately, there are tools available to compensate for these shortcomings. Adobe Kuler comes to mind. Create your own color theme for your eLearning course with the online tools, or choose from thousands of themes created (and rated) by design professionals.

Best of all, it’s free.

And Adobe TV even offers a short (and also free) how-to video for Kuler.

Now there’s no excuse for offensive color combinations in your eLearning courses.

Helpful hint: unless you’re designing a Christmas card, red + green = NO.

Adobe unveiled its new Adobe TV site today, offering a variety of video-based instructional sessions (with real talking heads!) focused on using its vast arsenal of creative development tools.

I’ve made the obvious argument several times in the past (An Educated Customer Is a Happy (and Loyal) Customer, Adobe Video Workshop: Adobe Teaches You Adobe, eLearning Is Selling, Hold on, Kawasaki! (And Tippie Too!)) that a significant future trend in eLearning involves companies teaching current (and potential) customers how to use their products. Adobe continues to illustrate (pun?) this trend with the new Adobe TV site.

The line between marketing and education truly is becoming blissfully blurred.

If you use Adobe products (and as an eLearning developer, you almost certainly do), have a look at the new Adobe TV site.

As an appetizer, I highly recommend Caffe Fibonacci – Rufus and Tim’s Digital Kitchen, produced in a classic cooking show format. Educational and entertaining – it hits the eLearning sweet spot! Mmmmm!

Might I even be so bold as to give it an eLearning Hall of Fame nomination? Perhaps I might.

Bon appetit!

Sidenote: hey Adobe, how about ponying up some extra bandwidth and giving us the option of high-definition video? I like the full-screen viewing option, but the available resolution hardly does it justice.