vinson@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (Michael Vinson) (04/06/88)
This is something I wrote in 1984, when I first started using a Rainbow,
and rapidly became *very* frustrated at the documentation. I posted this
to rec.humor a month or so ago; someone suggested I post it here as well.
________________________________________________________________________
The Advanced User's Guide to the DEC Rainbow PC100 User's Guide
CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Introduction..................2
How to Use this Book...................2
How to Get Help........................3
Book Organization......................5
Conventions Used.......................43
Chapter 2. Getting Started...............76
Chapter 2 Layout.......................76
How Chapter 2 Differs from Chapter 1...88
How to use the Rainbow On/Off Switch...94
Using the "Return" key.................112
What To Do Next........................120
Chapter 3. Using the User's Guide.......143
How to Use Chapter 3...................143
Detailed Description of Chapter 3......165
Why Chapter 3 Is So Important..........185
How To Get Help Using Chapter 3........190
Summary of Chapter 3...................192
What To Do Next........................195
Chapter 4. Advanced User................202
Intended Reader........................202
What To Do Next........................202
Appendix A. Using a Book.................203
Index....................................302
Copyright Notice: No part of this book may, for any reason or
in any circumstances, be copied, transmitted, reproduced, reprinted,
or recorded in any form or by any means or method, including,
but not limited to, photocopying, recording on any information
or retrieval system, copying by any means whether mechanical
or electronic, or verbally communicating any part, portion,
or subset of this book in any form. Digital Equipment Corporation
makes no claims, either explicit or implied, as to the suitability,
quality, completeness, correctness, usefulness, or taste of
this or any other product.
Chapter 1. Introduction
In this chapter, you will read an introduction. It also provides
some practical experience in using a book. If you are unfamiliar
with the use of a book, refer to Appendix A, Using a Book.
How To Use This Book
To use this book, you must begin by doing the following:
1. Buy the Advanced User's Guide to The Rainbow PC100 User's
Guide, DEC part number G45-435600123-TRY09879-34563-2-12
2. Remove the Guide from its box. This is most easily done
by a) opening the box, b) grasping the Guide with your
right hand, and c) pulling the Guide from the box.
3. Turn to Chapter 1, page 2. Look for the place that
says "4. Begin reading...."
4. Begin reading. Complete details on how to read may be
found in any Elementary School education.
How To Get Help
If at any time you need assistance with this Guide call the DEC help
number. Complete details on how to use a telephone to call DEC may be
found in the manual, How To Use a Telephone to Call DEC.harri@sky.COM (Harri Rautiainen) (04/08/88)
Your satire hits home pretty accurately. DEC had problems in positioning the Rainbow. Early on it was intended to "naive end-users" instead of traditional "sophisticated DEC-users". (The sophisticated users should have embraced the Pro300 in no time at all.) I moved from traditional DEC world into a product management job in DEC's Rainbow group. (It was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work in an entrepreneurial team, which was totally different from the rest of Digital. A lot of good people and good engineers.) Anyways, I had to fight constantly the sentiment of treating the readers of manuals as pre-schoolers. E.q., I thought that the VT240 emulation users are more concerned about the particular implementation details and differences to "real terminals" than which way to insert the diskette into drive B:. (I should go back to the document to find out, if I won or lost that battle.) Later the reality sank in: Rainbows were bought (more than half a million shipped) mostly by traditional DEC customers, and often used connected to a VAX. thanks for bringing back some fond memories,