VisorCentral.com - How do I format my Visor?

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- How To / Troubleshooting (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=2)
-- How do I format my Visor? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=8642)

Posted by ASPGuy on 10-14-2000 06:03 PM:

I am selling my Visor Deluxe and need to know how to "format" it so that when I sell it the recipient can view it like I did when I first got it out of the box nearly 10 months ago.

Would someone please be kind enough to tell me how I might go about doing this? Has ayone done this with success?

__________________
tc.

Posted by MarkEagle on 10-14-2000 06:11 PM:

All you need to do is a hard reset (reset while holding down the power button). That will erase everything from the Visor, leaving it in the same state it was in when first removed from the package.

For an additional level of insurance, you can remove the batteries overnight and then do the hard reset.

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by ASPGuy on 10-14-2000 06:14 PM:

Thanks!

Thanks, MarkEagle! I appreciate it!

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tc.

Posted by fixitgal on 10-14-2000 08:08 PM:

Typical...

Sigh, why don't guys ever read the manual?

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Queen of Parts

Posted by MarkEagle on 10-14-2000 08:13 PM:

Re: Typical...

quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
Sigh, why don't guys ever read the manual?

Genetically, that's not allowed.

Besides, if it doesn't have pictures, we're lost!!!

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by fixitgal on 10-14-2000 08:20 PM:

Got an idea...

Not too many pictures in the Handspring manual...boy, you're in trouble.

Gives me an idea for a new topic though...What would be the top 5 things to put in a "troubleshooting guide" for the Visor? The "Getting Started Guide" is a good start...but there's a gap between that and the User Guide.

Hmmmm....(Must be all those years of technical writing.)

Thoughts?

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"When I am Empress...Heads will roll!"
Queen of Parts

Posted by MarkEagle on 10-14-2000 08:29 PM:

Re: Got an idea...

quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
What would be the top 5 things to put in a "troubleshooting guide" for the Visor?

Visit the VisorCentral Discussion area!
See #1
See #2
See #3
See #4

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Posted by BudPritchard on 10-14-2000 11:44 PM:

"Manuals are for the weak and timid!.
--Worf

Posted by yucca on 10-15-2000 01:01 AM:

Re: Re: Got an idea...

quote:
Originally posted by MarkEagle
quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
What would be the top 5 things to put in a "troubleshooting guide" for the Visor?

Visit the VisorCentral Discussion area!

See #1

See #2

See #3

See #4

Wouldn't that be SEARCH the VC Discussion area?

Posted by fixitgal on 10-15-2000 01:48 AM:

Okay smart guys...

An audit of the topics discussed on VC (How To/Troubleshooting) reveals the following general topics:

1. HotSync
2. Desktop
3. Apps (Built in and Third Party)
4. General Questions (How do I ...?)
5. Crashes/Errors
6. Beaming

Did I miss any?

The manual hits a few of these areas, and the HS website has these general categories in the Product Support articles. I found the answer to ASPGuy's original question there under the "General Visor Questions", Resetting Visor.

So it's not just the manual, no one looks at Tech Support stuff either... Granted it's more fun to post questions here, and you get a very broad range of information from folks.

Makes me glad I'm no longer a technical writer... no one reads the manuals

There's got to be a better way about getting technical information out about a product, services, or troubleshooting. Is it the format, or the content? Or am I just dreaming?

__________________
"When I am Empress...Heads will roll!"
Queen of Parts

Posted by MarkEagle on 10-15-2000 02:33 AM:

Re: Okay smart guys...

quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
There's got to be a better way about getting technical information out about a product, services, or troubleshooting. Is it the format, or the content? Or am I just dreaming?

IMHO, the Handspring manual is not all that good, certainly not for non-techies. It glosses over most of the topics and doesn't really answer anything other than the most basic of questions. The Handspring Product Support site is not much better. Again, mostly the basics.

The Visor was my first PDA. Now, I'm no technophobe, but I had several questions when it first arrived that weren't addressed in either of the above locations. Most of my knowledge of the Visor and its' workings come from 1) experimentation (remember, I don't read manuals

), and 2) this wonderful discussion area.

I believe that the average user (and not just in the PDA arena) reaches frustration overload rather quickly and either goes without the use (or the incorrect use) of certain features or just simply abandons the device. It's really a shame because clear, concise, and thorough manuals (printed or online) can be terrific, yet I've seen very few in the 20 yrs I've been playing with computers.

Here's a question I'd like to see an answer to: how many Visor owners don't even know about the manual on the CD? I'll bet the number is significant...

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by yucca on 10-15-2000 03:49 AM:

I'm sure you are right. Judging by many of the questions here and elsewhere, it is clear that many users don't consult the manual. Maybe they don't know the manual is on the CD-ROM, and maybe they have just learned that the manual is going to be crap anyway.

[rant]
What has driven the devolution of manuals is the apathy of consumers. Too few consumers complained as the quality of manuals declined during the 1980s. Then the monolithic manual was broken down into pieces - typically an installaiton/quick start guide, a users guide and a programmers guide (for apps with a macro language). The 1990s saw programmers guides repacked into the "Developer's Edition" and sold at a premium. Next the users guides were put on a diet; and then either dropped entirely, or sold as an extra cost "option." The advent of the Internet hasn't helped. Now alot of software is sold with nothing resembling a manual, even on disk.

The justifications for bad or MIA manuals are:

Why should everyone pay for something that only a few users demand?
Why should a vendor spend all that money on a manual when users can purchase a third-party manual that caters to their experience level? This is usually tied to the first justification.
Users prefer to learn as they go; and do so via the vendor's web site, newsgroups, training courses, etc.
"The user interfaces are so refined and intuitive that users no longer need manuals. Besides, our integrated help and Tool Tip features fulfill the same function as a manual. " Don't laugh; I've been given this explanation by more than one vendor. Another version of this excuse is "our manual was replaced by our interactive web site [is there any other kind of web site?]. The web site allows us to keep the information current, and we can change content to meet customer demand." This latter point is not so funny when the product is an operating system, and the user can not access the web to get answers (maybe even get some help?) because they don't have a functional OS to begin with!! I guess I shouldn't complain; helping these folk out has threatened to become a second career for me.
"Once UCITA is universally adopted, we won't even have to ship software that works as advertised. If this is so, what makes you think we care if you know how to operate the software?" For info on UCITA, see below. Yes. I'm guilty of "quoting" what no software vendor has ever said. However, I'm fairly certain that I am spot on regarding their intent.

What I find even more depressing is that these companies are now repeating with tech support what was done to the manual. These companies are increasingly looking to keep the customer at arm's length. For the worst example of this trend, look at what is going on with Symantec. Not only can you no longer call for tech support; but your e-mail appears to be run through a parser, and you get "canned" responses which have little or no bearing on your problem.

BTW, if you are not already working to defeat the new Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) in your state, you should be. If you think license agreements are bad now, wait until this baby is law in your state. Oh. If you live in Maryland, you are already screwed. For a primer on UCITA, see - http://www.infoworld.com/articles/o...809opfoster.xml
[/rant]

[Edited by yucca on 10-14-2000 at 10:53 PM]

Posted by fixitgal on 10-15-2000 07:01 PM:

So I'm not crazy...

MarkEagle and yucca,

Thanks for the feedback. You both make a lot of really great points. The HS manual and website need to be beefed up and focused. My biggest gripe is that manuals in general have been more fluff than "real world" information. A lot of effort goes into the initial creation of a manual, but nothing major gets overhauled over time. The advantage of an electronic version is that it is easier to update. But I think that content should be the major focus.

I like the idea of a poll to see how many people know the manual is on the CD.

BTW, does VC have any feedback mechanism into Handspring? Seems like there's a great pool of talent that could be tapped... yucca is right, too many companies hold their customers at "arms length". It seems as if the "customer focus" is all internal input (call centers, help desks, sales). How should companies get "real world" feedback?

Okay, enough ranting. Time for action.

Any more ideas? Keep 'em coming...

__________________
"When I am Empress...Heads will roll!"
Queen of Parts

Posted by MarkEagle on 10-15-2000 07:32 PM:

Re: So I'm not crazy...

quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
BTW, does VC have any feedback mechanism into Handspring? Seems like there's a great pool of talent that could be tapped... yucca is right, too many companies hold their customers at "arms length". It seems as if the "customer focus" is all internal input (call centers, help desks, sales). How should companies get "real world" feedback?

Okay, enough ranting. Time for action.

Any more ideas? Keep 'em coming...

I'm sure that Handspring monitors this site (they'd be fools if they didn't). Of course, that doesn't mean that they'll necessarily do anything.

I've often wondered if there would be any benefit to publishing the user manual online, complete with a hyperlinked contents and index. Certainly this would be beneficial here as another reference to point the newbies to. Another thing that would be of value would be a comprehensive FAQ... you know, loaded with "how do I..." type stuff. The FAQ here at VC is good but not nearly complete enough for the basic stuff I'm talking about.

We all need to remember that the membership here is a very small percentage of actual Visor users. The key is getting this kind of information to the masses. One could assume that the typical Visor user has a desktop with internet access, so something web-based would seem to make sense.

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by fixitgal on 10-15-2000 08:11 PM:

Re: So I'm not crazy...

quote:
Originally posted by MarkEagle
[QUOTE]

I've often wondered if there would be any benefit to publishing the user manual online, complete with a hyperlinked contents and index.

The Handspring site has a .pdf version, but no hyperlinks. There could be a lot more "interactivity" on a hyperlinked version, not just an electronic paper version. The key is to identify the information that each level of user would need, then deliver that information in the format most useful to each level (not just newbies).

For instance:

Beginners
Info
Set up instructions
First time use
How to use basic functions

Delivery
Step-by-step instructions. Easy to follow and understand.

Intermediate
Info
Troubleshooting
Advanced Features

Delivery
Outlines, bullets. Detailed and concise

Advanced
Info
Programming/Customization
New features
Technical details

Delivery
Specifications, procedures, "white" papers. Highly detailed, in-depth

I agree that the Web is a great delivery mechanism. At one point Handspring customers were 100% web-connected (since that was the only way to buy). Now that Visors are in retail, it's a little less. But I would estimate that 80-90% of Handspring customers have web access.

I'm starting to like this idea more and more... (uh oh)...

__________________
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Queen of Parts

Posted by MarkEagle on 10-15-2000 08:17 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
Makes me glad I'm no longer a technical writer...

Uh oh is right!

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by fixitgal on 10-15-2000 08:49 PM:

Drat...

quote:
Originally posted by MarkEagle
quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
Makes me glad I'm no longer a technical writer...

Uh oh is right!

Yeah, and it's all your fault!

I stopped writing because it was so frustrating. Now you got me thinking about new ways of posting data. I really like this idea. That giant sucking sound is what's left of my free time...So, you in, or am I on my own?

[Edited by fixitgal on 10-15-2000 at 03:59 PM]

__________________
"When I am Empress...Heads will roll!"
Queen of Parts

Posted by MarkEagle on 10-15-2000 09:36 PM:

Re: Drat...

quote:
Originally posted by fixitgal
So, you in, or am I on my own?

rutroh!!!

<gulp>

Heck... what's another iron in the fire?

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by fixitgal on 10-15-2000 09:50 PM:

Re: Re: Drat...

quote:
Originally posted by MarkEagle
Heck... what's another iron in the fire?

Attaboy!

Send me an email and we'll get this goin'.

(We must be nuts...)

__________________
"When I am Empress...Heads will roll!"
Queen of Parts

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