PeepCode

Frequently Asked Questions

• Are these screencasts safe for work?
• Can I subscribe for a discount?
• Can I purchase any other way?
• Is there a suggested sequence to view the screencasts?
• Are captions available?
• I have a topic to suggest.
• Are you planning an introductory series for people who want to learn Rails from scratch?
• Are you hiring?
• How often are screencasts and PDFs published?
• Are the files tarnished with evil DRM?
• Do I get an upgrade when new screencasts are released?
• Why aren’t they free?
• Do you have an affiliate program?
• What software do you use?
• Equipment?
• iPad and iPhone Viewing
• Are there translations of the screencasts?

Are these screencasts safe for work?

Definitely! They are all G-rated and are highly recommended for friends, family, co-workers, bosses, and schoolmates.

Can I subscribe for a discount?

See our subscription page for details on all the bulk credit and yearly plans we offer (including business plans).

Can I purchase any other way?

You can pay via your choice of Google Checkout or PayPal.

If your country or credit card is not supported by Google Checkout or PayPal, contact us at peepcode@topfunky.com for other payment options.

Is there a suggested sequence to view the screencasts?

A suggested viewing sequence has been published.

Are captions available?

We provide a transcript with most screencasts (ask us if you want a transcript and didn’t receive one).

Captions are more difficult given the quickly moving nature of open source software projects. We will reconsider when video production and viewing software support captions better than they do now.

I have a topic to suggest.

We would love to hear it. Enter it at our suggestions page or send it to peepcode@topfunky.com.

Are you planning an introductory series for people who want to learn Rails from scratch?

Yes! Rails from Scratch is now available as a two part series.

We plan to update it for Rails 3 within the next few weeks.

Are you hiring?

We are producing multimedia minibooks in PDF format. Download our author guide. Contact us at peepcode@topfunky.com if you are interested in writing for us.

How often are screencasts and PDFs published?

Once or twice a month, with a goal of twice a month.

Are the files tarnished with evil DRM?

No. They are regular Quicktime files. We trust you to use them wisely and encourage others to buy their own copy if you think they would benefit from the screencasts also.

Do I get an upgrade when new screencasts are released?

Yes!

Bugfixes to existing screencasts you’ve purchased are provided without an extra charge.

Unfortunately, this offer doesn’t include:

• New releases of a screencast translated into different languages
• Completely revised screencasts for new versions of software

We’ll notify you if a screencast you recently purchased was re-produced from scratch (to address a major revision of a software package). We generally give a free upgrade if you made a purchase within a few months of a major rewrite.

Why aren’t they free?

Writing, recording, and producing a PeepCode screencast takes 30-40 hours of work. A portion of the profits is donated to noble causes like the Rubinius Project.

Do you have an affiliate program?

No, we don’t offer an affiliate program and have no current plans to do so.

What software do you use?

• iShowU Classic for screen capture
• Final Cut Studio for video editing, voiceovers, and animation.
• Apple Keynote for titles and diagrams.
• Adobe After Effects and Apple Motion for motion graphics and animated diagrams.
• TextMate and Emacs for editing source code.
• Typefaces from Process Type Foundry and Raph Levien
• Other home-grown tools to wire it all together.

Our PDF minibooks are generated with a custom-built Ruby-based build system. Final layout and PDF export is done with Adobe InDesign.

Equipment?

Mics, pre-amps, and amps from Samson, Shure, and AEA.

Hosting at RailsMachine.

iPad and iPhone Viewing

You can use native or third-party apps to view PeepCode content on your iPhone or iPad.

Dropbox (referral link) is the best way to sync PeepCode files to your iPhone or iPad device. It has a built-in PDF reader and movie viewer. Mark items as a favorite to download them to your device’s drive, or stream them over the air. Most files will upload instantly from your computer since Dropbox already has our copy.

GoodReader is a popular PDF reader for the iPad and can load PDFs from your computer or receive them from Dropbox.

Or, use Apple’s built in apps to sync to the iPhone’s iPod application or the iPad’s Movies application. We’ve tagged all recent m4v files as TV shows for the iPhone. Use the mov version on the iPad for the highest quality. (We’re in the process of adding the proper tags to mov videos so they will show up as TV shows on the iPad, too.)

Are there translations of the screencasts?

We don’t have any current plans to translate PeepCode material into languages other than English. We’re a small company and want to devote our time to producing new content.

We experimented with publishing a few translations of early PeepCode content but there wasn’t much interest in our initial attempts. Most people want to read technical content as soon as it’s published in English.

However, there is a Belorussian translation of this FAQ at Web Hosting Geeks.