Comment On Unstructions: The Factory Reset, Irrational Installation, and Installs the Manual

As a technical writer, I apologize, and I assure you that I will be hunting down the parties responsible and dealing with them personally.

Oh my, those hard drive install instruction are a work of art.

FRIST! Paula Brilliant that magnet trick.

I was going to comment on the comment manager comment manager comment, but I had a problem with my hard dish and couldn't find a magnet.

I don't see the issue with the second one. "See our article on installing Microsoft Office with the Microsoft Office installer" doesn't cause any alarm bells, so neither should saying "Installation Manager installer". They even capitalized their product name to make it clear how to parse it.

Sounds like whoever wrote that silent install sentence needs to retake CPSC 432.

The producers wish it to be known that those responsible for the fault in the hard dish manual have just been sacked.



N0, Really! A m00se bit my sister 0nce!

Yo dog, I herd you like installers, so I made an installer for your installation manager installer.

I like how they use a Euro coin, as if that's been around long enough to be a valid point of reference. Also, what if I'm not in Europe?

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Maybe I'm just too geeky but I liked the factory reset procedure for the Xcaster. Factory reset is not an usual procedure and can cause a lot of trouble if done inadvertently. Using a magnet there is no need for a small hole (as is common in a lot of products).

Whoever designed the camera reset function has been visiting trollscience.com much too often.

frits:

I like how they use a Euro coin, as if that's been around long enough to be a valid point of reference. Also, what if I'm not in Europe?

Then you're missing out on some hot Euro action. Sucks to be you. I like two-tone coins, two-tone coins are cool.

But the question is : how do magnets work?

Hah, I received that very same manual many years ago with a cheap case I picked up on eBay. A work of art indeed, which I had completely forgotten until now.

I'm guessing 'slipper' is a mistranslation of "Sled" or "Slide"?

That has got to be the worst translation of of an instruction manual I've ever seen.

Poring, for the love of god, poring! #correction

Carlos:

But the question is : how do magnets work?

If you find out, please don't tell me. I'd rather not know.

Obligatory "in Soviet Russia, manual installs you" type quip.

Well don't leave us in suspense -- will right slippery contain word sign of on carrying the facing the HDD data line is on carrying?

Well, what exactly *is* the problem with the magnet trick? Makes it much easier to hide from those pesky C-level monkeys with propensity to twiddle anything until it breaks ("I didn't change anything. Well, I did press the Big Red Button; but I mean, what is the button for, if not for pressing?").

I agree. I think a reed switch is a slick solution, rather than having to blindly stab a paper clip through a small hole in the case, hopefully hitting a switch that doesn't have enough of a click to let me know I hit anything at all. And then probably hold the switch for at least 15 seconds before seeing any indication that I've done anything.

Because everything you buy for your computer has to have a CD so you can install something, I once got a Dell monitor with a CD.

WTF?

The "installer" basically copies a PDF of the manual to your hard disk.

Of course, it only runs on Windows.

I guess they figured if you're smart enough to have anything else, you're smart enough to figure out how to open a PDF from a CD. Or copy it yourself. Or just plug in the damn cable and forget about TFM.

bjeeb:

Poring, for the love of god, poring! #correction

Oh, I thought he was pouring gravy onto his hard dish.

alegr:

Yo dog, I herd you like installers, so I made an installer for your installation manager installer.

No, no. no... It's:

Yo dog, I herd you like managing your installations, so I made an installation manager installer so you can install your installation manager while you manage your installations.

So I was installation manager the install of hard dish when slippery the managing word sign carrying. Error'd the managing install so single press down on installation but didn't working. Can someone help please?

C-Octothorpe:

alegr:

Yo dog, I herd you like installers, so I made an installer for your installation manager installer.

No, no. no... It's:

Yo dog, I herd you like managing your installations, so I made an installation manager installer so you can install your installation manager while you manage your installations.

Hey, nice work! You're so much smarter than that guy, being able to cite memes and all. Thank God for you, C-Octothorpe. The contributions you add to the comments are just so important.

zunesis:

C-Octothorpe:

alegr:

Yo dog, I herd you like installers, so I made an installer for your installation manager installer.

No, no. no... It's:

Yo dog, I herd you like managing your installations, so I made an installation manager installer so you can install your installation manager while you manage your installations.

Hey, nice work! You're so much smarter than that guy, being able to cite memes and all. Thank God for you, C-Octothorpe. The contributions you add to the comments are just so important.

Glad I can help.

Jack:

That's not Engrish.

That's not even bad Engrish.

That is an alien intelligence attempting to make contact with the human race. See, it isn't as easy as we thought, establishing a meaningful understanding from which to start decoding each other's languages...

Exactly, except for the intelligence part.

Anyone smell that? It's the odd stench of an unjustified superiority complex.

Oh, wait, here it is:

C-Octothorpe:

Childish:

It turns out that the plastic switch was the reset button. Find the air slot on the side of the Mac Plus, & snap it in. Since Macintosh was user friendly, they didn't want regular people to have a reset switch.

Regular people don't want a reset switch, they want their computer to not crash.

Before System 6 introduced multitasking, Macs were incredibly stable. If you had a reset switch, all you gained was the possibility of accidentally pressing it and losing all your work.

Hortical:

Anyone smell that? It's the odd stench of an unjustified superiority complex.

Oh, wait, here it is:

C-Octothorpe:

You sound like my ex.

Hortical:

Anyone smell that? It's the odd stench of an unjustified superiority complex.

Oh, wait, here it is:

C-Octothorpe:

Oh wow, you actually think I care what an anonymous loser on a forum thinks of me. Cool!

AND you even took the time to tell everyone about it...

Meep:

Before System 6 introduced multitasking, Macs were incredibly stable.

Yeah, and before v1.0 introduced "booting", so was MSDOS.

--Joe

Fred:

Because everything you buy for your computer has to have a CD so you can install something, I once got a Dell monitor with a CD.

WTF?

The "installer" basically copies a PDF of the manual to your hard disk.

Of course, it only runs on Windows.

I guess they figured if you're smart enough to have anything else, you're smart enough to figure out how to open a PDF from a CD. Or copy it yourself. Or just plug in the damn cable and forget about TFM.

Just about every monitor comes with a disc, usually containing the manuals and the driver. Yes, every monitor has a driver, which tells the machine what capabilities (resolution, refresh rate) it has. Now tons of monitor drivers are included with OSes by default, and the generic driver will work pretty well for just about every monitor, but there are a lot of scenarios where the driver can be necessary or at least useful

C-Octothorpe:

Hortical:

Anyone smell that? It's the odd stench of an unjustified superiority complex.

Oh, wait, here it is:

C-Octothorpe:

Oh wow, you actually think I care what an anonymous loser on a forum thinks of me. Cool!

AND you take the time to tell everyone about it...

Then why are you responding? You wouldn't feel motivated to respond unless I was getting to you.

For instance, when you respond to this post, it will be with an explanation of how I'm not getting to you, but you feel the need to post it because the idea that I'm getting to you bothers you enough that you feel the need to post!

Don't be so predictable.

C-Octothorpe:

Hortical:

Anyone smell that? It's the odd stench of an unjustified superiority complex.

Oh, wait, here it is:

C-Octothorpe:

Oh wow, you actually think I care what an anonymous loser on a forum thinks of me. Cool!

AND you even took the time to tell everyone about it...

And then you take the time to reply to him...

Joe:

Meep:

Before System 6 introduced multitasking, Macs were incredibly stable.

Yeah, and before v1.0 introduced "booting", so was MSDOS.

--Joe

DOS was stable if you didn't have too many TSRs running, and didn't use weird hardware. It was still a PITA to configure, though, considering how many times you'd have to reboot to test your damned config scripts and how lame COMMAND.COM was as a shell language.

adam:

That has got to be the worst translation of of an instruction manual I've ever seen.

Then you were not reading TDWTF when this was posted.

As far as I know, this information is negotiated between the display unit and the graphics chip via (in case of VGA) a pair of pins (12&15) running the I2C protocol.

Captcha: Incassum - in vain (latin)

In cassum cadunt omnia tua promissa.
All your promises are in vain.

Lockwood:

I was going to comment on the comment manager comment manager comment, but I had a problem with my hard dish and couldn't find a magnet.

There's your problem! Magnets and hard disks don't mix.

If you've never had to install IBM Rational ClearCase, consider yourself lucky. On the pain scale, it sits right between taking your bottom lip and stretching it over your head to the back of your neck, and actually using Rational ClearCase.

So ... it's less painful than childbirth?

(see also: "Bill Cosby: Himself")

Am I the only one who thought instruction #5 should have been 'Be attitude for gains', or that the heading for the manual's 'Troubleshooting' section should be 'You fail it, your skill is not enough'?

CoderHero:

Lockwood:

I was going to comment on the comment manager comment manager comment, but I had a problem with my hard dish and couldn't find a magnet.

There's your problem! Magnets and hard disks don't mix.

Oh, you said *disks*... Sorry, my mind was wandering. :P

It is factory reset. I don't see how this is much worse than for example, including a little hole into which you have to put a needle to reset a calculator. In fact, it is actually not bad... You wouldn't want people to accidentally reset to factory settings whenever they fiddle with the buttons.