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RE: Do people want a hard copy of the owners' manual for their car?
Subject:RE: Do people want a hard copy of the owners' manual for their car? From:"Sarah Stegall" <sstegall -at- bivio -dot- net> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:12:30 -0700
Duh. That's where you get out your manual for the hydraulic lift.
Sarah
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sstegall=bivio -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sstegall=bivio -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Keith Hood
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:29 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com; VincentLatella
Subject: Re: Do people want a hard copy of the owners' manual for their car?
Speaking from experience, it's darn difficult to drag a monitor under the car while you're torquing the last of the bell housing nuts.
--- On Tue, 9/22/09, Latella, Vincent <VINCENT -dot- LATELLA -at- saic -dot- com> wrote:
> From: Latella, Vincent <VINCENT -dot- LATELLA -at- saic -dot- com>
> Subject: Do people want a hard copy of the owners' manual for their car?
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 3:10 PM
> I know that we've been through the
> whole "do you really need a printed
> manual" thing before on TECHWR-L, but at this very moment,
> presumably
> non-writer types are hashing out that very topic as it
> pertains to
> automobiles on The Truth About Cars:
>
>
>
>http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ask-the-best-and-brightest-do-you-need-
> a-full-paper-owners-manual/
> <http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ask-the-best-and-brightest-do-you-need
> -a-full-paper-owners-manual/>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Reading comments on the topic from random individuals
> (instead of
> technical writers) is interesting, I think, so I thought
> I'd share.
>
>
>
> For those who don't want to visit the website, the basic
> gist of it is
> this: Chrysler is apparently replacing its owners' manuals
> with DVDs and
> abridged printed guides, and there's a blog post about
> it. The poster
> indicates that he wants one "in the glovebox, in paper
> form, ready to
> go."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The people posting comments seem divided. Here are a
> few excerpts:
>
>
>
> "Works for me... this leaves more space for useful
> [stuff]."
>
>
>
> "I'm glad I have it... when a rear tire blew I used it to
> find the jack
> and decipher the spare-tire-lowering mechanism."
>
>
>
> "So while at the arena at 11:30 on a minus 20 degree night,
> and I need
> to know (at a glance) which blown fuse controls whatever,
> I'll just
> power up my laptop and scroll through the pdf owner's
> manual. Genius.
> Why's Chrysler in the situation it's in again?"
>
>
>
> [In response to the comment above:]
>
> "FYI - Typically, the back cover of the fuse box has a
> diagram of which
> fuse controls what function....no need for the manual."
>
>
>
> "I don't see any problem with it. Chrysler's website lets
> you can
> download the manual free of charge, so those who feel the
> need could
> always just print a copy themselves."
>
>
>
> "Going forward an iPhone/blackberry app and access via URL
> from a
> smartphone should do the trick. No reason the manual
> shouldn't be
> available at [URL]"
>
>
>
> "Not that the printed material is correct most of the time
> anyway.
> Speaking on the documents for my Government-Motors CTS, the
> full-printed
> manual and the quick start guide have a few inconsistencies
> (and
> wrong/incorrect information) on how to do certain things.
> Duh.
>
> But, I'd rather have the printed than the DVD, I can go
> through the
> former at my own pace as opposed to slow, tortuous DVD
> instructional
> videos."
>
>
>
> "I looked at the owner's manual of my '07 Accord just a few
> weeks ago,
> to find out how the heck to change one of the headlight
> bulbs.
>
> I want it in print, and not at the hand of my own printer
> which will be
> way too large."
>
>
>
> "I think to not print the owner's manual is an error in
> judgment on
> Chrysler's part. I'm surprised their legal department
> allowed it. With a
> DVD, third party equipment is required.
>
> Say someone puts in the wrong tranny fluid, damage is done,
> and a court
> claim is filed. To say it was in the lovely HD-DVD won't
> fly in front of
> judge and jury. Before, if someone used the wrong ATF,
> Chrysler could
> say 'But we put it in the manual so that wouldn't happen'.
> Now the onus
> is on them instead of the customer
>
> In a liability case it strengthens the plaintiff's cause,
> probably
> guaranteeing Chrysler to found liable. If none of their
> competitors are
> doing, there may be a good legal reason. Laws aren't
> recorded on paper
> just cause of tradition."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers
> developing Table of
> Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as
> Doc-To-Help
> 2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
>http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for
> individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface.
> Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and
> version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>
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Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices. http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as sstegall -at- bivio -dot- net -dot-
Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices. http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
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