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Is this why paper books will never disappear? (a bit long)
Subject:Is this why paper books will never disappear? (a bit long) From:Patrick O'Connell <patricko -at- EICON -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 22 Jul 1994 09:59:00 PDT
For monster packages like Microsoft Office(*), where does all that
impressive weight and volume come from? How impressive would they be on
store shelves, in the office, or in the home without that weight and volume?
(*) Applies for ANYthing that ships with (a) hefty manual(s)
What's the FIRST thing you put your hands on when you crack open the new
software package you've just received? Do you immediately seize the disks
and begin installing [whatever]? I think not!
How do you feel when you open a software package with little or no
documentation? Ever had that let-down feeling?
Why does anyone ever register a shareware package to a tiny little
saddle-stitched, 8-page manual containing nothing new in the way of
instructions, and hints that could jsut as easily be transmitted in an ASCII
text file?
A-HA!
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that anyone proposing to completely
eliminate paper documentation from any software product, anywhere, should
first think about their own reactions to packages with voluminous, average,
and little-or-no paper docs. As with technical writing, one of the best
things you can do for your users is to put yourself in their place. What
product or development manager, or even company president, has never opened
and installed a software package? If you're up against some such management
type about keeping paper docs, getting them to think about their own
experiences could be a useful strategy.
PatO'
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| |Patrick Brian O'Connell !Intermediate Writer,Eicon Technology|
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