Why would I read about it when I could be doing it instead?
I spend about 10 hours a day reading and have yet to read a software manual for any of the 50 apps I have on my computer. They don't make sense to me and they insist on putting too much stupid stuff in there like disclaimers and marketing hyperbole. What good is that after you've already bought the software?
Personally, I read the more sensible "Quick Start" guides and then only skim those to get the key points. The way I use the software is usually different than that envisioned by the designers and even other users, so it really only makes sense to look up stuff when troubleshooting.
If I read the manual for my digital watch, my cell phone, my two-line digital cordless phone, my PDA, my printer and my ebook, I'd never use them for lack of time. What do I need to know more about my software for if it is serving it's purpose? What I need is for everything to be a hosted app on the web and universally accessible wirelessly with built-in voice recognition troubleshooting software.
That way I could just say "Diagnose error" and it would fix itself. I don't care HOW it works, just THAT it work. If it isn't relevant to me, it isn't relevant.
Why do you think the trend is toward sytsem on a chip (SoC)? Have you ever read the owners manual for your car? If you have. Did you learn anything? Did it make you a better driver? No need to read marketing hyperbole or disclaimers, I just want it to work. When it breaks, I don't want to learn why, just fix it please. I won't buy another one of those because it breaks too often.
I think only help-desk personnel, who would rather be hacking the Pentagon and technical writers are upset that they aren't writing best selling novels. They don't get paid as well for hacking and nobody reads the work of technical tomes of the unfulfilled writers. At least they are both being paid to do something.
In the early days of photography only scientists could be photographers because they needed to know how to obtain and mix the chemistry, apply the emulsion to glass plates, develop those plates and do that entire process again when transferring negative image the to paper. Are we any less well-off now that cameras are disposable and we can see our film in an hour without going into a dark room even once to do it?
My wife is ready to throw away her new $1000 computer because it won't accept the password when logging on to the ISP. There is a real disconnect between the problems and the source here. That is usually the case when things get so complex. Reading manuals won't help.
I look forward to the day when the software designers realize that the users don't care how they created that amazing software and that as long as it will do what they bought it for without fuss, it will be popular and well- liked by the buying public. If it takes a day of reading, I'll go buy something that works without study instead.
Is your VCR clock still blinking? If not, I bet you still end up seeing the "blue screen of death" as often as I do.
About the author: Mike Banks Valentine WebSite101 "Reading List" Weekly Netrepreneur Tip Sheet Weekly Ezine emphasizing small business on the Internet Subscribe by e- mailto:WebSite101-subscribe@listbot.com e-tutorial online at: http://website101.com/shortcourse.html By week's end you're ready expand your business to the web!