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Lack of manuals revisited
I must’ve missed the manuals post a week or so ago. Found it tonight, after I got FCS 6 and was entirely po’d that the new software doesn’t include manuals. Oh, wait, it includes something like 5 manuals for FCP and a setup guide for Color. But DVDSP, nothing. Soundtrack, nothing. Motion, nothing. My old DVDSP manual from a few years ago is fine, since they haven’t touched the app, but Motion is a huge overhaul as is soundtrack. FCP has some new features but honestly, the application isn’t THAT deep. It is, in fact, a fairly basic application wth some concepts that need to be grasped, but beyond that it’s a tool. It’s very long winded. I think a basic manual could’ve been created that’s 25% the length. Then throw some basic manuals in for the other apps.
I just wanted to reiterate how freakin lame this is. PDFs can bite me. Reading a PDF is a horrible experience. Don’t we all love our cow magazine? I love taking it in the car to a doctors appt or shopping with my wife. 🙂 I can take my manuals on vacation or to the can. I can fold over the page corners or write notes or stick bookmarks in them.
Macromedia pulled this with MX2004 and I felt the same way. Argh.
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17 Replies
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Print the pdf file. Papers not that expensive.
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Director-At-Large
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
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only if you by OEM ink.
Never pay retail!
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Director-At-Large
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
Boy, I have to agree with Bret on this one. Reading PDF’s on-screen does suck big time, plus there’s no substitute for an open page on the desk next to you.
Shane is right on about the ink costs, and as for third party cartriges at half cost, you get what you pay for, most I have used don’t work or the leak like crazy, and I’ve tried a few. Then there’s the time it take to print a 100+ page tome, and if you should happen to spill some water or soda on a page it’s toast.
No I totally agree with Bret, the 4 or 5 manuals in the Studio package on FCP are a total waste, could easily have been a quarter of the amount, and for god’s sake, THEY could have printed the goddamn pdfs on decent paper in one color like every manual that comes with a camcorder or deck, and it would have SAVED them money, instead of those slick BS two color things. Amen Bret.
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PDF’s do save paper, so for the long term benefit of the planet we may want to adjust to PDFs.
Speaking of adjust, here’s a way to make the PDF experience less irritating:
https://www.poynton.com/notes/reducing_eyestrain/index.html
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You’re right. And it’s even cheaper for Apple to buy in bulk. Ditto for ink. Same for time and resources. Printing the PDF. Binding the PDF. Carrying around a PDF single sided and 8 inches thick on 8.5×11 paper. Sounds like a blast. I’ll take that on the plane with me.
I don’t know about you, but my time is worth more than what it would take to babysit an ink jet printer changing papaer and ink for 12 hours (or more?) to print the manuals. C’mon.
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You want Apple to be green. You don’t want Apple to be green. Which is it? Drop the pdf off at Kinkos and let them do it. The additional printed manuals to FCS2 would surley increase the $1,299 price tag. Of the 800,000 registered users, how many have even cracked a manual? 10%. If more people read the manuals Shane would not have his stock answers number 1 through however many he has.
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Nice try Steve,
I’m all for saving a tree here and there, but seriously, I have better things to do with my time than tweaking my monitor and room lighting to make reading pdfs a better experience on-screen. Bulls__t. There’s no way I’m ever gonna like or cope with that. Plus, it takes up a goddamn screen for crying out loud! I WANT A BOOK!
Apple, (or somebody) could use recycled paper, cheap, and print one-color 5×8 two-sided booklets that would be just great, on a plane, on the can, or at your desktop. Someone should just do this, and call them the “Earth-Conscious Missing Manuals.” Contact me for where to send my royaty checks for the idea.
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By the way, the planet will be fine, it’s the humans that should be worried! (George Carlin) 🙂
I save a manual a day. I don’t get a newspaper. 365 days a year I don’t get a ridiclulous 2 inch thick piece of useless jibberish at my doorstep wrapped in a plastic bag delivered by a filthy old muscle car. There. I’ve done my part. Now, am I permitted to post the argument that I think spending $500 every year or two should entitle me to utilize one of the most replenishable substances on the planet so I can learn some software so I can create some videos so I can grow the economy so people can get to work so people can earn a living so we can have the time to worry about the nuances of whether my manual was a waste of trees?
Ok, this is so ridiculously off topic, and I say it lightheartedly. But am I the only one that is going nuts in this political climate? I can’t seem to go anywhere or do anything without the people I interact with voicing their opinion about abortion, Jesus Christ, George Bush, global warming, recycling, the war on iraq, SUVs, immigration, etc. and always in a manner that assumes I agree with them. We should all be informed. We should all have opionions. But we don’t need to bring them up at every miniscule opportunity. I find myself now making decisions about music, television, movies, restaurants and coffee shops based on whether I agree with them. Maybe coffee shops and actors should worry about making me better coffee for my 3 bucks or making more entertaining movies for $10 instead of snubbing their opinion in my face and forcing me to take action. Maybe, I just want some coffee and a good movie. And I’d like to drink it without feeling guilty about not signing their protest or watch it without knowing their opinion on global warming. And I’d like to request a printed manual without worrying about how many trees have died. Sosumi.
So there, now I’ve done exactly what I’m complaing about and brought up an issue where nobody wanted to hear about it or discuss it. I feel better.
Like I said, ridiculously off topic. I just used the recycling comment as a minor jumping off point. Sure, the recycling is a legit point, and I would thnk Apple could offer a small discount to those who DIDN’T want the manuals, or maybe a credit toward iTunes or something. Or simply charge for the manuals.
I love writing these little rants and I usually never press submit, but what the heck.
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Take your PDF to Kinkos and have them print it double sided in a loose leaf binder. Pages lay flat.
Problem solved.KB
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