Re: CD-ROM Manuals

rseligma_at_oracle.com (Russ Seligman) writes:

> Try these scenarios:
>
> You get the doc, and you want a printed copy.
> Now: do nothing, because the company already supplies printed doc.
> Future: print it yourself. (Reduced cost.)

In some places, particularly government shops, there may be a long lag time between ordering something and getting it. So discovering you are low on toner may mean a decision between printing the manual and letting the users do their work.
Manuals disappear.
>
> You only really need a few pages printed.
> Now: too bad. You're stuck with a 700 page book.
> Future: print only the pages you need. (Increased convenience.)

Print the pages you need, after the 5000 pages the users are printing are done. Then print a few more. Then reprint the original pages, because they are buried in the pile of stapled together pages of the manual sections you printed, and you couldn't find them digging through the pile. Throw out the pile because you know you haven't looked through it in six months, and do it all over again. Then try to convince the people who are printing out the entire manual they can do it online.
>
> You want to make some extra copies.
> Now: bend the book at the spine, and get a nice copy machine tan. Or, y
> can always just buy more copies from the company.
> Future: print what you need.

printing is more expensive than copying. What about copyright? And, as above, you may not be able to buy from the company.
>
> I use my online doc almost exclusively, and I believe that as more people get
> used to it, that will become the norm.
>
Give me a big-screen sparcstation everywhere I go, and I still could use a manual. Paper has a larger information bandwidth than computer screens. Printers are mechanical devices and you never know when they won't work.

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