RE: Digital delivery of documentation?

["Al Geist" <al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com>]

Robert Lauriston wrote:

>This discussion seems weirdly anachronistic to me. I haven't done any
print documentation since 2000, when I wrote a manual for a product
that was boxed for retail sale.<


Do you document software or hardware? I do both, but the primary products
are expensive and complex standalone and cluster wafer bonding systems that
are used in Class 100 level clean rooms worldwide. Personal laptops are not
allowed in those rooms and an alternative to online has to be provided in
the event of a system failure (thus no computer to display the manuals). My
manuals are printed on clean room paper (very expensive) and, judging by the
feedback I've been getting from service and customers, they get extensive
use. They are also provided on the system disc shipped with each product,
but they are not accessed as much because the systems are usually in
production. (Stopping processing for five minutes costs the customer
thousands of dollars. Many don't want to take the chance of locking up the
computer system by opening a large PDF.)

I'd like to move from "cellulose based" delivery methods to "1s" and "0s,"
but it don't look like it will happen anytime soon.

Al Geist
Technical Communicator, Help, Web Design, Video, Photography
Office/Msg: 802-872-9190
Cell: 802-578-3964
E-mail: al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com
Website: www.geistassociates.com
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