[ Retro Scan of the Week ] USB Instructions
May 27th, 2013 by Benj Edwards
Words cannot express how hard it is to use USB plugs properly.
This is not particularly retro — in fact, it’s from 2005. But I find it so amusing that I have to share it. I believe this insert (about 5 inches wide) came with a Kodak scanner that my father bought some years ago.
The back side of the paper is blank.
Discussion Topic of the Week: Do you read instruction manuals before using electronic gadgets?
May 27th, 2013 at 9:54 am
You mean.. the USB connector won’t go in sideways? Universal, my buttocks!
I read all my instruction manuals, even when I KNOW I don’t need to. I love manuals.
May 27th, 2013 at 8:37 pm
… Seriously? This was such an issue that they had to make explicit instructions about it?
I read manuals to electronics to be certain of how to access certain features before I start playing with it and potentially screwing it up.
May 27th, 2013 at 10:51 pm
I enjoy reading instruction manuals. Like mentioned above, it’s a great way to find out about how to access the features of any gadget.
Way back when software (read: games) were physical things, one thing I would take into account before laying down my money was how much the box weighed from the instructions/manuals/”flavor” documentation contained within.
May 28th, 2013 at 12:56 am
count me in as someone else who loves reading instruction manuals. i will at least skim the manual for anything i buy, even the simplest ones.
May 28th, 2013 at 5:30 am
I ALWAYS read the manuals…but I’m the only one in my family who does. My wife and two sons will just pull something out of the box and go to town (and then they are surprised when it doesn’t work or that I know how to do things they don’t). Shocking!
June 2nd, 2013 at 11:50 pm
It depends. If I know how something works, I won’t bother. Then I’ll find it 5 years later, and read through it.
For new games, on the off chance I buy a physical copy, I will read it. Especially for RTS games.
If I’m completely out of my element, I will read through one. That is unless I’m super excited about my new hardware/software, in which case I will skim over it.
January 7th, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Maybe they’re trying to represent the universal truth: USB connectors only plug after the third time you flip them 🙂