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Consumers' frustrations with some of the hi-tech products they purchase could also have something to do with a desire for instantaneous gratification. It's my experience that not all consumers have the patience to deal with the concept of RTFM. And just because a product's accompanying documentation is written to the sixth grade level and exceptionally well conceived, doesn't mean all consumers will turn to that documentation in search of help. Some, if not many consumers, need to have their hands held when learning how to use the products they purchase, especially if the product they purchase is a fairly complex toy like an e.g., Apple I-Phone. Even fairly technologically adept consumers might need more than 20 minutes to master all its functions.
OTOH, of course, poorly written documentation wouldn't help much either 8^)
jan cohen
Chris Borokowski <athloi -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote: Americans love gadgets and gizmos. We own an average of 25 consumer
electronics, and we'll spend another $1,200 this year acquiring more.
Yet average Americans are pretty perplexed by their gadgets. "People
love to buy them, but then they can't get them to work," said eMarketer
analyst Lisa Phillips, author of the just-released study "Consumer
Electronics Online: Converged or Confused?"
My experience is completely in line with this article's observation.
People buy stuff because their neighbors do, which is some kind of
caveman-level competitive impulse, and then haul it home and can't get
it to work. Much of the time it's because the manual is wrong, or more
commonly, the gadget doesn't quite work as advertised or is defective.
As a result, they get frustrated, and instead of admit to others that a
problem exists, they put the technological object on a shelf and ignore
it until enough time has gone by that they feel justified in throwing
it out.
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Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search
that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC
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Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
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