In my entire life I have certainly never read a user's guide from cover to cover. I would assume that most people have never read a user's guide in its entirety. I think that for most people user's guides are something to be referenced only when needed and usually only once every other option has been exhausted. When I purchase a new product (cell phone, computer, Ipod), I generally spend awhile getting acquainted with the user interface and exploring the features. Only when I have difficulties getting my new product to do what I want it to do do I ever consult a user's guide.

Perhaps it is this aspect of the nature of user's guides that has given them their form: well-organized, specific, user-friendly, easily navigable, etc. When an individual encounters a challenge in using their technology, they want to be able to find an answer quickly and simply. By using the table of contents and skimming the headings the text, users are able to locate the information that is relevant to solving the problem at hand without having to do a great deal of searching. The average user probably only ever reads a small fraction of the total text in a given user guide.

The text did not discuss online user guides, a fact which surprised me. A great deal of today's user guides are available online, or at least have an online companion of types. My computer, for example, came with a print user's guide as well as an online, interactive tutorial option. Virtual user's guides that offer interactive activities and video tutorials are, I would imagine, very useful.

It was interesting reading about the process through which user's guides are written. The fact that a proposal of the user's guide and accompanying materials are presented, and then a plan written before any writing even takes place was new to me. It does make sense though that these two things would have to be done before work was begun so and individual or firm that is creating the user's guide could provide the company for whom the guide was being produced with a basic idea of how much text will have to be generated, what format that text will take, and a gauge of how many individuals will work on the project and for how many hours.

I would like to thank the first group of facilitators. I found your presentation professional and informative. You have set the bar high.

Manual for 1988 DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine

Specifications:

            Engine: Your new DeLorean Time Machine is equipped with a naturally aspirated, Bosch fuel- injected, plutonium-electric powered, Renault PRV6 V 6 engine with aluminum alloy block and head.

            Drivetrain: The DeLorean Time Machine comes with diagonal radius arms, double unequal length wishbones, coil springs, and upper and lower link suspension systems. The vehicle is rear-wheel drive with rack-and-pinion steering system, disc brakes, five speed manual transmission, Flux Capacitor, and Wormhole Generator. The frame is stainless steel mounted on backbone chassis.

            Performance: The standard DeLorean DMC-12 generates 156 bhp/ 116 KW @ 5700 rpm of power and 235 Nm/ 173 ft lbs @ 3000 rpm of torque at peak performance. Your upgraded model, the 1988 DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine, is equipped with the very latest in time travel technology: the DeLorean Time Travel Expansion Pack.

            The Time Travel Expansion Pack requires a nuclear reaction (fusion) within the Flux Capacitor or an equivalent amount of power from another source, for example, electricity from a lightning bolt, in order to travel through time. No matter what the source of power, the Flux Capacitor and the Time Travel Expansion Pack cannot operate without at least 1.21 Gigawatts of power. The power generated by time travel is immeasurable and therefore cannot be accurately expressed in a traditional specifications summary. This is because the actual, measurable amount of power generated by the DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine varies dependent upon how many years in time a particular trip spans. The greater the number of years that the trip through time spans, the longer the period of time for which the wormhole necessary to make that trip must stay open. Sustaining a stable wormhole on the surface of planet earth requires tremendous amounts of energy; sums of energy so great that, if used improperly, your DeLorean Time Machine is capable of generating a sizeable explosion. PLEASE ALWAYS USE EXTREME CAUTION WHILE OPERATING YOUR DELOREAN DMC-12 TIME MACHINE.

*all DeLorean DMC-12 specs were taken from Ultimatecarpage.com’s DeLorean page. (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/112/DeLorean-DMC-12.html)

Operation:

            Your DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine will operate in an identical manner to an ordinary automobile accept for when the Time Travel Interface has been activated. The Time Travel Interface has two components: the Time Circuits and the LED Display Module.

             In order to travel through time you must first turn on the Time Circuits. Do this by flipping the black switch with the red indicator light located directly in between the two Time Circuits to the “on” position. Next, you must enter your destination date and time into the first field of the LED Display Module, your present date and time into the second field, and make sure that the dates of your last departure and arrival (stored in the third field of the LED Display Module) are correct. Once you have entered your dates and confirmed that your previous departure and arrival dates are correct you must press the “Lock” button below the LED Display Module in order to assure that during your trip the dates to and from which you are going and coming stay constant.

ONCE THE TIME TRAVEL INTERFACE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED, DATES HAVE BEEN ENTERED, AND THE DATE “LOCK” BUTTON HAS BEEN PRESSED, YOU ARE READY FOR TIME TRAVEL. REMAIN CONSANTLY AWARE OF YOUR SPEED. ONCE YOUR DELOREAN DMC-12 TIME MACHINE REACHES THE SPEED OF 88 MILES AN HOUR YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO A DIFFERENT PLACE IN SPACE AND TIME.

            After activating the Time Travel Interface, make sure you have enough room in front of you to reach 88 mph and begin acceleration. When the DeLorean Time Machine reaches 88 mph the Flux Capacitor will activate, causing a flux in space/time and opening a wormhole. The wormhole opened by the Flux Capacitor will then be projected to the front of the vehicle by the Wormhole Generator, allowing the vehicle to enter the wormhole in one place in space/time and exit the wormhole in another place in space/time. The time that the actual trip through time takes is perceived by occupants within the vehicle as instantaneous.

            Upon arrival at your destination (after time travel) the exterior of the Delorean will be very cold. Be Careful! The exterior of the entire car will be covered in a thin layer of super-chilled time frost. If you touch the time frost with any part of your person you will be frost burned instantly.

Warnings and Disclaimers:

            Time travel is not for those who are pregnant, seriously ill, or suffer from low immunities. Time travel places serious and occasionally life threatening stresses on the body. Only able-bodied adults who are in good physical condition should attempt time travel.

            Time travel is intended for observational purposes only. Due to the interconnected nature of life in this universe, all choices made and actions taken in the past both directly and indirectly affect future outcomes for not only the individuals who take part in time travel, but all living creatures. Changing the past in any way, even when changes are made with best intentions and based on sound reasoning, can have dire consequences. Because it is impossible to predict the exact implications of any alteration made to the past or future, all individuals who participate in time travel are asked to do so responsibly by keeping interaction with peoples of different space/times to a minimum, not removing any artifacts from another space/time, not leaving anything behind in another space/time, and, most importantly of all, never purposely trying to change the present by taking actions in the past.

ENJOY YOUR NEW 1988 DELOREAN DMC-12 TIME MACHINE!!  

*Some of the basic theories of time travel described here as they apply to the Back to the Future series have been borrowed from the Wikipedia page dedicated to the DeLorean Time Machine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_time_machine)  

I found the chapter on instruction manuals interesting. Prior to this course I had not really conceptualized what, exactly, technical writers do. I understood that they were writers who were hired to write materials that were “technical” in nature, but I had never really considered myself in the shoes of the individual who writes the instruction manual for, say, my new laptop. I have always considered myself to be a person who writes just to write and a person who could write anything about anything, so long as I am constantly writing something. The idea of writing something like a user’s guide or an instruction manual or an online get help article is new to me.

While trying to place myself in the shoes of a technical writer who has been assigned the task of writing a technical instruction manual I came upon the notion that today’s technical writer is not only one who must be a master of the English language and not only one who is quick to learn and understands vast concepts easily and readily. Today’s technical writers must also, through their endeavors, become masters of an entirely exclusive type of discourse. The type of person who can write a technical manual for a computer one month and an installation manual for a car stereo system the next, and a video game system the next, must be absorbing tremendous amounts of technical information all the time. If I am correct in my assumption then the best technical writers must be the ones who already come with a large stockpile of technical knowledge. If the individual whom company Z hires to write the manual for product Y has already written one or a few manuals for product of a similar nature, or has through some other endeavor required specialized knowledge of the product, that writer will certainly be better equipped to product an exceptional manual in a time-effective manner.

I had a chance to sneak a peek at Anne Gentle’s introduction and first chapter of Conversation and Community; I think it will be a fun and informative read. It seems to me that she is advocating that professional writers, specifically technical writers, adjust their approach to publishing works and finding projects and job opportunities and interacting with their audiences by utilizing what she calls Web 2.0. Gentle defines Web 2.0 as a second internet generation where now we are seeing not only an abundance of information and data, but an interaction between that information and data and literally billions of people (amateur and professional). This interaction, according to Gentle, is an exciting new opportunity for writers to reach their audiences and, in fact, build new audiences all together. As a writer I am looking forward to exploring the new and ever-changing world of digital publication

There are writers who need to be excited about their subject in order to write effectively and there are writers who can write about absolutely anything, regardless of whether or not they have any personal investment in the subject matter. I would say I am more like the latter batch of writers. Although I enjoy writing more when it is on a topic in which I am in some way personally interested/invested, I can effectively convey just about anything through written language. Also members of this latter group of writers must be all individuals who write instruction manuals.

One technology that I own that I believe can make a positive impact in the lives of my classmates is a wireless mouse. Using a laptop as one’s primary computer has its advantages (portability, accessibility) but many people, myself included, are not fond of the onboard touch-pad mouse system. My wireless mouse sleekly plugs right into any USB port, allowing me to use a traditional mouse on the go.

The wireless mouse system is useful not only to those who operate exclusively on laptops either. One may utilize the considerably long range of wireless mouse systems in order to control what happens on a traditional desktop PC from across the room.

I have always been a bit of a “late adopter;” primarily for monetary reasons. Because my personal “new technologies” fund has been very low or very empty for most of my life I have experienced life-long technological lag. Despite my general lack of technological funding, I usually am aware of many of the new technologies and consumer items available or in development at any given time. My knowledge of new technologies in the way of consumer items usually comes from two sources: word of mouth and major media outlets.

Many of my friends are avid “tech geeks,” in fact, I am personally acquainted with four employees of my local Best Buy. I have my own personal Geek Squad. I also count among my friends a computer assembly and sales entrepreneur and a former Circuit City employee. Of all of my technologically literate friends, I would consider my friend Jay to be the one who possesses the most technological skill and specialized knowledge. Jay is the head IT tech for an entire EDS facility and he runs his own web design and hosting cite.

Most of my friends are what one may call “hardcore gamers,” whatever that means. Most of them also have the latest technology in cell phones, laptops, GPS, and the like. When my tech friends assemble they interact within a school of discourse with which I am well acquainted but far from an insider. I find new technologies interesting. I am an attentive and active listener in these conversations about advancements in gaming, phones that come with projectors, how to save battery life while upping performance, and silent, water cooled fans for the backs custom built of pc towers. I think that most all of my friends would agree with my classification of myself as a “late adopter.”

I also learn about new technology through major media outlets. Television commercials alert me to the newest advances in cell phones, computers, “smart” automobiles, and the like.   

Today, technological literacy is nearly essential for anyone who wishes to interact fully in society. Because technology is now all-pervasive, it is often easier or faster or simpler to interact via internet than it is to get someone to actually sit down face-to-face. Many companies and organizations do the majority of their business online. Those who are technologically illiterate are excluded from the massive social networking tools that are sites like facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. Individuals who are technologically illiterate will also have difficulty applying for jobs, as many companies now only take applications via internet or fax. “Snail” mail is outdated, out of style. The technological world has become the real world, the two are now and in the future to remain inexorably linked.