But I’m just talking to a satellite;
Twenty thousand miles up in the sky each night
Yeah, we’re living in;
In a modern world…
— Jeff Lynne, Electric Light Orchestra “Calling America”
The other day, I decided to create a dog “hammock.” A friend gave me some fabric and the frame. All I had to do was sew the hammock part together. In a fit of ambition, I decided to use my treadle sewing machine to create it.
For those who are too young to know about treadle sewing machines, you use a foot pedal to make the machine sew. No electricity is involved; it’s completely human powered. Of course, that means there’s also a big opportunity for human error. Using a treadle requires that you coordinate your feet with what’s going on with the sewing machine itself.
Since I haven’t used the treadle for a little while, I had to reacquaint my feet, my eyes, and my hands with what’s supposed to happen. Plus, I had to remember how to thread the machine. Anyone who sews knows that sometimes figuring out how to thread the sewing machine correctly is a challenge. In the process, I learned something:
User documentation in 1925 was far, far better than it is today.
I have the manual for my 1925 Singer 66 treadle sewing machine. It’s oil-stained and dirty, but the information in it is incredible by today’s standards. These days, you spend $2,000 for a piece of software and get one DVD in a box. Then you get some crummy online help that is nothing more than a field reference.
When I say “field reference” I mean the type of unhelpful help that you find for dialog boxes. For example, suppose you are using a software program and there is a fill-in box with a cryptic description next to it like “Porksnout.” The help tells you to “enter your Porksnout” in the box. But you don’t know what a Porksnout is in the first place.
The problem is that even though software has gotten more expensive, the increase in price has not translated to better documentation. These days, you don’t get a printed manual and the online help you do get doesn’t actually explain how you USE the software program. What would you do first, what second? Is it any wonder people find computers so confusing?
In contrast, the user guide for my 1925 sewing machine explains how to use it. In fact, it even explains how to use all the attachments as well. Since a sewing machine isn’t particularly complicated, the manual isn’t long, but it has figures and diagrams that answer almost any question I could think up. (Including, “what is the right way to thread this thing?”)
If big software companies like Microsoft would step back and stop trying to make software “easier” and instead provide decent documentation, we’d all be better off. Many of us are not “dummies” after all. We’re smart enough to read a manual if only we HAD one.