Why was the Project Charm announcement and beta blog removed from Adobe's website?

[Brian Stevenson]

It was scrubbed yesterday with zero communication to current Captivate customers and interested beta participants.

Is it dead? Delayed? What?  Literally, just say something.

[Brian Stevenson]

Bumping this to attempt to get an actual response.

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

I'm just a user like you so I don't have definite answers to your questions. Presently, Project Charm is in private beta where select users have been invited to look at and experiment with this early build. At some point, it will transition to a public beta where everyone will have access to a future build and offer their feedback. I don't know why the post was removed but probably to reduce the number of people reaching out with requests to participate in the beta.

[chrisw8211277]

This seems like kind of an optimistic take, given Adobe's approach to communication on this long overdue product offering. Months have passed since the announcement of the private beta, and still nothing has been communicated about future steps. The scrubbing of all mention of Project Charm from the update page without replacing it nearly 2 months later is kind of ominous. I hope you are right that the project is still underway, but I could also see them walking away from Captivate, which would be a severe drag, in my opinion.

[chrisw8211277]

^^^Edit: happy to have been wrong about that. Looking forward to finally trying Project Charm at the elearning summit.

[craig_kasnoff]

Interestingly enough, none of the links to the Captivate learning videos in the Adobe eLearning Hub https://elearning.adobe.com/learning_hub/ are working. If you click on ANY of the link options (Getting Started with Captivate; Add Objects; etc.) alls it does is go to a blank page with a search box. Curioser and curiouser.

[craig_kasnoff]

And that would be curiouser and curiouser (misspelled the first one and surprised I got the second one right).

[Lilybiri]

Portal often has issues, don't know why it is not managed more professional.

Try again, it works for me now.

[craig_kasnoff]

Lilybiri...

It is now working for me as well. Thank you for pointing that out.

Also, thank you for all the the work you do in the Captivate forum to help those individuals who want to learn Captivate or are having problems or issues with the program. Your insight and expertise are both valuable and appreciated. 

Craig...

[Lilybiri]

Thanks for your kind words, at least you don't think I am condescending and need to be banned...

[craig_kasnoff]

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." e. e. cummings

Lilybiri...

There are those who will recieve your help as you offer it. And there are those who may not like how you offer it and are certainly free to seek help elsewhere. I hope you will continue to be yourself and offer your help in a way that fits "you."

It is appreciated.

Craig...

[RodWard]

+100 from me.  

Well said Craig.

[Lilybiri]

Thanks Craig (and Rod), this was a much needed balm.

It is sometimes very difficult after decades of struggling and being scold at...

[Suroky5]

I am presently waiting for this 'Charm' update due to my employer wanting to completely redesign all their old lessons.  However, I am stuck with Captivate due to sensitive materal and cannot use a competitors cloud based platfrom.   I did upload this 'rant' earlier due to my 3-year frustration with Adobe Captivate and how behind it is compared to Adobes other software and the competition.   However, I doubt it will be accepted so I pasted below.

According to GMI the E-Learning Market size surpassed USD 315 billion in 2021 and is projected to observe 20% CAGR from 2022 to 2028. Yet Adobe, who have created some of the best software for designers and developers on a range of products, seems to have completely lost track of the main eLearning platform that is Captivate.

Now, many other multimedia designers and companies are stuck with Captivate, due to the fact it can be used for sensitive material for defence, health etc and not cloud-based like Articulate. If I could, I would use Articulate in a heartbeat as this software is years ahead of Captivate in its design - Yet, ironically Adobe have had years to catch up with Articulate.

If anyone else has had the pleasure to use Adobes other products like XD, InDesign, After Effects etc, then they will know how well designed they are, look extremely modern with fantastic integration with other Adobe software. So, the talent is there at Adobe to build a good eLearning authoring tool. Adobe have been lagging behind storyline for years and we are stuck with an outdated product that looks like it was designed in the 90s and it shows.

It seems like Adobe need to put more money and manpower into eLearning and stop dragging their feet. Utilise other developers and their skillset from projects like XD and an implement that style into the next Captivate. We have all been crying for 'Project Charm' for a while now, yet I have reservations that it will show up this year and still be outdated and clunky compared to Adobes other software and the competition.  On the other hand,  Adobe were ahead of the game by including 360 imagery etc, so there is hope.   ELearning will grow in the near future, so please Adobe, start to address this software  and you will see a surge of developers move back to Captivate. 

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

I admit that Adobe was probably premature in announcing Project Charm, but I still use Adobe Captivate 11 daily. I don't seem to struggle to create engaging and interactive eLearning for my clients using the current release. What features do you feel are missing from Adobe Captivate 11 that you feel Adobe Captivate 12 will improve your ability to deliver eLearning to your organization? For that matter, what's missing in Captivate that competitors like Articulate, Lectora, and iSpring have? I'm serious. I want to know what isn't there in Captivate. I'm happy that the Adobe team is taking their time to ensure they get this release right. I would hate if they rushed something to market just because the current product is tied to an older release date of 2019.

[craig_kasnoff]

Considering the Adobe Captivate team announced it in 2019 at the Las Vegas Education Summit, yeah, I'd say it was a bit premature : )

There is something to be said about both points of view here; it does seem Adobe is "dragging their feet" on this launch, and yet Captivate still provides some serious tools to author solid eLearning experiences. 

My issues are two. First, I am not sure how much time I should spend going "deep" into learning the current version of Captivate not knowing what new tools will be available in the next launch. From what I remember (from September 2019) the new version of Captivate will have some very innovative and intuitive tools available for authoring. So how much time should I be spending learning the current version rather than spending that time on going deep on Premiere Pro or Audition or some of the other Adobe products I also need to learn for eLearning authoring. I mean how many developers spent a lot of time learning how to use the 3D tools in Photoshop (including me) only to have that tool taken away. So that part is a little frustrating. 

The second thing is the lack of communication from the Adobe Captivate team. Agreed that from 2019 to 2021 there were a lot of reasons the new Captivate release could have been slowed down. My world and productivity certainly slowed down during the pandemic. But then, after the Captivate team makes the most recent announcement about the "Charming" version of Captivate, they go silent. That announcement was over seven months ago and there has been no communications from the Captivate team about the product either positive or negative.

Now perhaps I am a bit more sensitive about this since my background is in communication, but I think it only "considerate “that since Adobe has "made the announcement and set the expectations" for its users, it should take the responsibility for that announcement and stay in touch with the user base about the products development. I certainly couldn't tell a client that I had a new version of their website that I would shortly show them (and get them all excited) and then just disappear without any communications at all. That would not be the right way to treat a client. And I don't think the Adobe Captivate has taken enough responsibility for their announcement to their clients by keeping them in the loop about either the progress, or the lack of progress for the next version launch. 

All that being said, I will continue to work with the current version of Captivate until the new version is released, or until I get tired of waiting for it to be released and just move on to another eLearning authoring tool.

The good news is there are other options for those who have already reached their breaking point. It doesn't mean it will be easy (or cheap) to move on, but that is simply the choice.

And call me crazy for thinking this, but my guess is Adobe doesn't really care how many of their current Captivate users get frustrated and leaves for another eLearning authoring tool. Adobe is just a large corporation churning out some (amazing) design products in order to makes lots and lots of money. And the reality is no matter how many of the current Captivate users get frustrated and leave for another eLearning authoring tool, Adobe will just market their new version to new users and just get on with making lots and lots of money.

It's the world we live in. 

[chrisw8211277]

  Literally, just say something.

By @Brian Stevenson

This is all I've been asking for as well. Apparently even that is asking too much. 

[craig_kasnoff]

Well I've pretty much said everything I can say about the "pending" Captivate Charm release...but on another topic...which is kind of sort of related...has anyone noticed that Adobe is charging $499 for the Adobe Learning Summit being held in Las Vegas in October 2022?

Event Details:
Adobe Learning Summit
Venue: The Mirage, Las Vegas, USA
Dates: October 4th – 6th, 2022
Price: $499 $299 (Early bird pricing*)

My recollection is that when they last held the Summit in 2019 it was free (which is when and where I was Adobe Captivate certified) I did go back to confirm this was the case; and according to my research it was free in 2019. 

So what's with that? $0 to $499 in three years? And I thought the price of gas and food was soaring. 

I actually tried to post this question in the initial announcement but my post was "blocked" (it even said that in the header of the post : ) So I thought I might as well post it here as it just adds to the question about how Adobe is treating its eLearning customers these days. 

Here is the information I researched about the 2019 Adobe Learning Summit.

FROM THE ADOBE WEBSITE: 

https://blogs.connectusers.com/adobeconnect/2019/09/join-us-at-adobe-learning-summit.html

September 16, 2019 /Events /Uncategorized / Alistair Lee

The Adobe Connect team is excited to be participating at Adobe Learning Summit again this year and we’d love for you to join us in Las Vegas for this fantastic event which brings industry leaders and practitioners together to share insights and learn from each other.

In addition to participating in the “What’s New” general session, the Adobe Connect team is managing a Virtual Learning track with some great topics. I wanted to take an opportunity in this blog post to include the titles and descriptions for each of the sessions.

We hope to see you there. It’s completely free to attend, so register today!

[Jacob Hokland]

Btw. I can't see anywhere that the 22 Summit has been announced in here as the previous ones. 
For me, no news, is bad news. I think Adobe is milking the cow before the end of CP life. Instead people must jump to Adobe Learning Manager.

The best way to chain your customers is by Cloud, cloud, cloud and sit on the data.

Adobe knows there are to many things that will end op not working if you use a client based tool to build HTML5 interactive projects. Different browsers with security updates, Apple and Windows updates, iOS and Android limitations. You don't see many Web App tools that are not build for specific servers. And your browser can only compile Javascript without installing a plugin.

/Jacob

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

Hi Jacob. The Adobe Learning Summit was announced over in the Adobe eLearning Community. Events such as the Learning Summit are less of a user forum topic and more about marketing which the eLearning Community does. Here is the link to the Adobe Learning Summit in October 2022: https://adobe-learning-summit.elearning.adobeevents.com/

You will notice that an event called the Project Charm test kitchen is announced on day two. Sounds to me like they are moving forward with Project Charm after some not-so-surprising delays. It isn't uncommon in the software industry to encounter delays. I suspect that since Adobe Captivate is available on Mac and PC, some of these delays may be related to the changes in the macOS world. I prefer Adobe gets it right rather than rush to market with buggy software. Their only mistake was perhaps announcing the new release earlier than they should.

[Brian Stevenson]

I don't think anyone has any problem with delays, Paul. That's the nature of software development and we all want the best product possible. It's the communication strategy, or total lack thereof, that leaves a tremendous amount to be desired.

[craig_kasnoff]

Can "total lack of" be a communication strategy?

I wonder if Wharton will add that concept to one of their business seminars : )

If they did, they would certainly have the Adobe Captivate Team and the Captivate Charm release as a ready to go "case study."

[chrisw8211277]

A "Test Kitchen" 11 months after the previously announced beta release is hardly a normal and customary delay, even in this industry. I'm glad the project is still alive, but this was a serious dropped ball on the part of Adobe. They should have said *something*.

[Paul Wilson CTDP]

It was free because that was the first year they were doing a conference like this on their own. In years prior, there was a fee for the event.

[craig_kasnoff]

I'm not trying to make an issue of it...but as someone who does reporting as a profession I try to do a little research before I write. With that in mind, below is one of your posts Paul saying the 2018 Adobe Learning Summit was free as well. So from what I can research online both 2018 and 2019 were free. 

However, after reading your post I did find that in 2017 it was $249 Register by July 21, and take advantage of the super early bird price. Block your seat from as low as $99. That’s a sweet deal for a regular ticket price of $249.

So I guess a price increase from $249 in 2017 to $499 in 2022 is better than a price increase from $0 to $499 which it would be for the 2018 and 2019 years.

However, having said that, the $249 to $499 does means a 100% increase in price over the last 5 years (2017-2022) which would be a 20% increase each year. And that is still running 2x higher than the current inflation rate for 2022 (9%) and 7x the inflation rate for the previous 4 years (at 3%).

Just saying : )

Here's your 2018 post Paul...

Summary: "Once again I will be speaking at the Adobe Learning Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year Not only is registration free, but Adobe is also offering the Adobe Captivate Certification the day before the conference."

https://elearning.adobe.com/2018/09/dont-miss-adobe-learning-summit-2018/