JDoors Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 First thing I do when I get something new: Read The Manual. Cover-to-cover. Only then do I start to play with the item in question. How many of you ever crack open a manual? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dan72 Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 most of the time i don't , especially video games Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hitest Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 On initial set-up of a new piece of hardware I usually take a look at the manual. Sometimes I just fly by the seat of my pants:-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
isteve Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 What's a manual? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Honda_Boy Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 My dad's and my policy on stuff like this:If all else fails, then read the manual. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Carnevil Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Manuals are great reading while sitting on the crapper. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheTerrorist_75 Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I always RTFM. Then I open the English section and read it again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Then I open the English section and read it again.LOL... ROTFLMAO! Me too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
irregularjoe Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I always read the manual cover to cover (if my S.O. hasn't thown it away while tearing the package open.)Then I carefully assemble the product (if my S.O. hasn't thrown away half the parts while tearing the package open) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JDoors Posted January 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 What's a manual? Somebody had to say it! (Great Avatar isteve!) Here's a hint about how obsessive I am: When I first got a real computer, I read the DOS manual. Cover-to-cover. Didn't know the first thing about computers. Nothin' about DOS. Didn't even understand 99% of what I was reading! But once I started using the computer, some of that knowledge had somehow leaked into my brain, and I picked up DOS pretty darn quick (well, if you don't count all the time I spent reading and re-reading what I just read 'cause I didn't have a clue what I just read). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TymeKyller Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 I always dive in head first! I love to figure things out on my own, it is fun and exciting to me. Doesn't mean I don't look into the manual while on the "crapper" lol...I will say this tho, Manuals can be great for little tweaks or just simple things people tend to generally over look that could significantly give you an advantage with your new what ever.This is one example of many for me....Years back I bought a Sony dvd/cd rw drive. It would burn at 40x's cd speed, It didn't really bother me, I was normally burning dvd anyways...I was looking in the manual one day and noticed something intriguing. It showed me that if I put a blank cd in the drive and hold the eject button in for 5 second, it will burn a max speeds of 52x or 48x I can't remember, anyways my point is that it is sometimes good to look into a manual, it won't take your "pride" away, if anything you will learn "tweaks" that may not be the same with another burner or any kind of device etc. Ever since then I have always double checked the manual when buy dvd drives or anything like that to see if there is an extra little tweak to speed things up or make things easier.Tyme Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete_C Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 First thing I do when I get something new: Read The Manual. Cover-to-cover. Only then do I start to play with the item in question. How many of you ever crack open a manual?I long since learned that this is the first thing to do.I also buy additional manuals for vehicles (like the chiltons repair manual) as soon as I can.You never know when some brilliant mind will decide to do things the exact opposite of how they have always been done (don't you just love it when they put in a reverse threaded screw without telling you?) .Besides which it is always good for a laugh when the manual was translated by someone who had no real knowledge of the subject. Like "Make the grabbing foot and stoppping pedal depressed before moving the changer lever into backwards moving direction" (Press down on clutch and brake before shifting into reverse ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
echobay Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 (edited) Look over the object in question. Read the manual..Wrestle with said object until frantic, then call my oldest to come over and put it together! i know ..Sad! Edited January 12, 2008 by echobay Quote Link to post Share on other sites
isteve Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Did anyone every get one of those manuals that you swear needed a manual just to figure out how to use the manual?How about using something for a good period of time, then you look something up in the manual and find that the device has a feature or two you didn't know it had?JDoor, yea, though it was time for a new avatar and though of the Mac guy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Besttechie Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Manuals are great reading while sitting on the crapper.B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JDoors Posted January 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Did anyone every get one of those manuals that you swear needed a manual just to figure out how to use the manual? ... Grrr. Not sure if I like the "solution" of printing one side of a booklet in one language, and if you flip the thing over it's done in another language. I guess it's the easiest to deal with considering the other options. Sure beats those map-like mega-folded things where you can't figure out if you've seen the entire manual or not because there's print EVERYWHERE. Another bother: TEENSY PRINT. OK, if you just bought a microscope , I guess it's ok. Don't remember what I bought but I tried to read the manual and I just gave up, "Yeah, RIGHT! Whatever!" On "hidden" features: I hate when this-and-this combination of button presses and lever-flips will do something entirely unintuitive. If it's such a worthwhile feature, GIVE ME A BUTTON for it! I have NO idea how to access many of the features of my cordless phone handset, no amount of reading of the manual will ever ingrain into my teensy brain all the different combinations of multi-labeled buttons and what they all do. Change the ringtone? No idea. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JSKY Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Did anyone every get one of those manuals that you swear needed a manual just to figure out how to use the manual? ... Grrr. Not sure if I like the "solution" of printing one side of a booklet in one language, and if you flip the thing over it's done in another language. I guess it's the easiest to deal with considering the other options. Sure beats those map-like mega-folded things where you can't figure out if you've seen the entire manual or not because there's print EVERYWHERE. Another bother: TEENSY PRINT. OK, if you just bought a microscope , I guess it's ok. Don't remember what I bought but I tried to read the manual and I just gave up, "Yeah, RIGHT! Whatever!" On "hidden" features: I hate when this-and-this combination of button presses and lever-flips will do something entirely unintuitive. If it's such a worthwhile feature, GIVE ME A BUTTON for it! I have NO idea how to access many of the features of my cordless phone handset, no amount of reading of the manual will ever ingrain into my teensy brain all the different combinations of multi-labeled buttons and what they all do. Change the ringtone? No idea.You nailed that one..... I look at the manual... Most do have picture I understand. But as for reading them.... I'm a man, who needs them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bozodog Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 OMG! My camera has a 180 page booklet, all in English. I don't even want to know what is in the book for our DVR... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sultan_emerr Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 I don't need no stinkin manual.(Hey, anybody know what this thing is, and where it goes?) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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