the ******* manuals

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006, Eric Neilsen wrote:
> Margery, There is a web site that will decode all the symbols of the
> internet. I don't recall the address, but I'd read that one to say, "Read
> the F____ Manual". As in a distain for many manuals lack of clarity, not
> that Dan's is.

Eric, if anything you understate the case. (Not about Dan's, but manuals
in general.) The problem is that the person writing the manual has the
info in his/her head and doesn't realize it isn't on the page. I have
$150 worth of Photoshop manuals,for instance, a couple of them recommended
by this list -- they are ABOMINABLE. They boast about how clever they are,
but too often do NOT tell you how to actually do something.

The most recent -- and last, final, THE END ! case -- was trying to change
a color in Photoshop, and finding it a bit tricky, resorted to the
Blatner/Fraser book. The miserable stinking overblown overpriced SOBs
(and that's praise) spent I don't know how many paragraphs showing off
their knowledge of different effects of color, but nothing about how to
actually DO "change color" or not under that topic. (Like Victorian "sex
education" about the beauties of conjugal love without a hint of how it's
done.) "Katrin," recommended by this list (I hesitate to point out) I
found even worse -- that is, she said less about fewer things. I can
however credit her with recommending the magnetic lasso tool, which I'd
never tried. Thus I found, for some conditions it's great. (So I guess it
was worth the $49 the book cost -- but the hours to get that far reading
it?)

The latest experience, and why I rant today, was yesterday, with the
notorious Canon PS 5. (MY NEXT camera I'm going to choose, not by
features, they aren't that different anymore I think -- but by the
manual.) I got a red icon in upper left corner of monitor... was it low
light, hand shake, or battery out symbol? (It's a while since I've seen
that battery-out & didn't remember -- my memory is also on low.) I
couldn't look at it closely because -- I admit I need new glasses after
15 years, but mostly because I was balanced on a ladder and didn't want to
tempt fate.

I figured the so-called "Short Course" dedicated to this camera by Dennis
P. Curtin (also recommended here) would tell me. I figured wrong. And I
definitely DISrecommend that book... there is for one thing no index, or
rather, worse perhaps, something he CALLS an "Index to Quick steps" that
is not however arranged in alphabetical order, but in page order. IMO,
someone who doesn't know the difference between an index and a table of
contents is not a good guide to anything.

What the book probably does adequately is explain some basic concepts of
photography to newbies, but to a photographer trying to deal with the
Canon so called "manual" (which did not reveal the info I sought, at least
not under "battery"), even worse. Aside from a lucid explanation of OTHER
light signals on the Canon, I've never found anything useful in the Curtin
-- tho that, mercifully, was only $24.

And speaking of INDEXES, manuals for upgrades may not even have menu items
listed. That's probably because they're sticking odd stuff into an
existing text -- tho they charge enough for the upgrades for a decent
manual (IMO). Another example, in the Blatner manual, I came across a
reference to "High Pass." Said it was a filter, but not where to find it
(much less how it operated). Not under "filter" in the index. So I went
one by one through the filter menu & finally found it in the LAST filter
folder. Category? "Other"!

In other words, there probably is some useful information in some F-----g
Manuals, but you can't blame folks for doubting it.

Judy
Received on Wed Mar 15 15:35:49 2006