Further, I make a habit of never buying a manual from the company that should have
provided one. I think other people should follow this practice. Microsoft either
should give you a manual or make the program easier to use. -- JD
-----Original Message-----
From: Devine, James
Sent: Fri 4/9/2004 8:05 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc:
Subject: Re: [PEN-L] unsubscribing...
ravi writes: >RTFM = read the fucking manual. <
so what do we do when Microsoft and similar companies don't provide a manual?
I know, go buy one: there's a series of books titled "the missing manual" for all
sorts of programs. That means that the cost of software and hardware isn't as low as
it seems, since the cost of buying one (or the time & money cost of printing a manual
given in pdf form that's much less convenient than an actual book) must be included.
Further, with programs and hardware changing rapidly, the manual is often obsolete,
especially if it's produced by another company (as with the "missing manual" series).
In the meantime, my wife's cell phone broke. So she got a new one (smartly
avoiding one with a camera and similar junk). But in the Microsoft tradition, the
manual is useless, with not only 1/3 of the pages dedicated to safety issues (don't
drive while phoning!) but sketchy coverage of how to use the phone.
I'd bet that 95 percent of users don't use all of the capabilities of their
hardware & software. If so, much of these capabilities are simply marketing matters.
Jim Devine
