Microsoft is pretty sneaky - LCDS released!

I'm not quite sure how long ago this was released (I believe in the last month), but Microsoft has released a free xml learning content development system.

From the help files:

The LCDS, or Learning Content Development System, is a forms-based tool for creating e-learning content. The LCDS is designed for authors and trainers who need a quick and easy way to compose e-learning content with all of the re-use and flexibility of the XML format. Fortunately, no knowledge of XML is required in order to use the LCDS. This allows you to focus on creating rich, engaging content and keep pace with the industry evolution to XML, without having to learn any programming.

By using the LCDS, you can:

Author rich, interactive e-learning content without tagging.
Preview your course, exactly as students would see it, at any stage of development.
Set up a course structure that you can easily rearrange at any time.
Deliver SCORM-compliant e-learning content.
Create courses in 16 different languages.

Downloaded it and first impressions are a bit...well....stifled. It's not as intuitive as I would wish. Maybe I'm spoiled by Captivate, as I was up and running with that in a matter of 5 minutes. Like some other bloggers have commented, this product seems to have appeared out of nowhere with little fanfare. That impression, along with my first experiences with the product lead me to think LCMS may not be worth investigating until it undergoes some version updates.

It's currently installed on my XP box at work, but plan to download it at home on my Vista laptop, as I am brave and enjoy that sort of silliness like seeing if it will actually work. We'll see if I can post an example or two......