Re: Do people want a hard copy of the owners' manual for their car?

[Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

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/

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