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R.I.P. – Farewell, Jing Pro



Let’s have a moment of silence to acknowledge the passing of a well-respected screencasting tool–Jing Pro.


Although I long railed against Jing’s SWF export feature, eventually investing in Jing Pro to get the MP4 export option, I was still shocked to read TechSmith’s announcement today:

Don’t fret– the free version of Jing isn’t going anywhere. But in order to better meet the visual communication needs of our customers, we have decided to discontinue our Jing Pro yearly subscription option.

What?!? Jing Pro is disappearing? Lots of folks love Jing Pro–in fact, it’s a staple in my office because it’s so darn feature simple and easy to use–for it’s simple interface, cross-platform goodness (except Linux), and low annual cost (sigh…recurring, but nothing’s perfect).


The TechSmith folks–creators of awesome products like Camtasia Pro and SnagIt–point out that Jing Pro will revert to “free Jing” in 2013:

We’d like to thank our current Jing Pro customers by letting them continue to use it until February 28, 2013, regardless of the expiration date. Beginning February 28, 2013 all Jing Pro subscriptions will revert to the free version of Jing.

But I sure wish that the version Jing Pro would revert to was one that exported MP4s rather than SWFs. However, Jing Pro’s MP4 export feature will end up in SnagIt–which you pay for once–and then use forever….

With the new Snagit, you have the freedom to record longer videos, blur sensitive information, scroll long webpages, and more. Snagit is the perfect tool for recording MPEG-4 video and YouTube uploading – just like Jing Pro.

Ok, I guess that’s OK. At $29.95 price point for educators, it’s worth it since the license covers BOTH Mac and Windows! You can read more about SnagIt below and be sure to check out free video tutorials:

Snagit (Windows & Mac) http://www.techsmith.com/snagitCapture anything on your computer screen with the ultimate screen capture tool. Snagit makes it easy to create eye-catching images and videos for quick communication. 

Use Snagit to…

  • Take a photo of your computer screen, including long web pages.
  • Create quick demo videos to share with anyone.
  • Enhance images with stamps, text, and effects.
  • Organize your captures with easy auto-storing and tagging features.
  • Share your creations to presentations, social media sites, and more.
Now, there are many free tools you can use on Windows/Mac/Linux in lieu of TechSmith’s excellent products, but it’s nice to have a standard set.

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

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2 comments

  1. This is unacceptable, they created Jing, it was a major success, it's cutting into SnagIt's territory, now they are removing features from Jing, like MP4 so you will buy SnagIT. Problem, SnagIT is too cumbersome to use. Jing is way faster. Let them know you do not like this. They may give in and leave MP4 support, see my blog for a comparison of the quality of the video audio of Jing Free and Jing Pro. http://blog.unicus.com/2012/03/02/jing-pro-retiring/

    Reply

  2. This is unacceptable, they created Jing, it was a major success, it's cutting into SnagIt's territory, now they are removing features from Jing, like MP4 so you will buy SnagIT. Problem, SnagIT is too cumbersome to use. Jing is way faster. Let them know you do not like this. They may give in and leave MP4 support, see my blog for a comparison of the quality of the video audio of Jing Free and Jing Pro. http://blog.unicus.com/2012/03/02/jing-pro-retiring/

    Reply

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