The user manual in advertising

A photo of a mid-1980s ledger application for the IBM PC.

The ad copy stated:

“For the introduction of the IBM PC, we designed the packages and software manual, creating, instead of the industry’s usual cheap plastic binders, hard-bound linen covers and slipcovers in pastel colors to stress cultural elegance and personal values.”

Spotted in Gearfuse, via BoingBoing.

Would an advert like this work today?

The user manual in TV advertising

I came across these classic TV adverts today, which feature the humble user manual.





Would an advert like this work today?

Technical Documentation: How it really gets written

This reputedly originates from Damien Katz of The CouchDB Project:

"Welcome to the world of technical documentation! The situation you are in is no different from any other technical author. The technical writing process:

1. Ask engineer how the damn thing works.
2. Deafing silence.
3. Crickets.
4. Tumbleweed.
5. Just start writing something. Anything.
6. Give this something to the engineer.
7. Watch engineer become quite upset at how badly you've missed the point of everything.
8. As the engineer berates you, in between insults he will also throw off nuggets of technical information.
9. Collect these nuggets, as they are the only reliable technical information you will receive.
10. Try like hell to weave together this information into something enlightening and technically accurate.
11. Go to step 6. "

I can't say it's true in our experience, but I can imagine situations where it could be.