Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/04/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It's not just that engineers can't write, it's what they write, jargon and such. When working for the airplane factory, as a photographer I had occasional contact with the guys from the handbook department. Moat of those guys were not engineers, and their job was to do translations from engineer to english. Later I had a client that I had to edit stuff for a really lot as they handed me stuff written by engineers. Those guys could turn a phrase till it broke off. -----Original Message----- From: Jim Gmail Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 9:28 PM To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] OT: Sony Sucks, big time That's what happens when the liberal arts are discarded in favor of more "practical" majors. Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 13, 2014, at 20:19, Herbert Kanner <kanner at acm.org> wrote: > > Nathan, > > You may just have been a victim of the fact that most engineers cannot > write, whether it?s in English or Japanese. > > Here?s how I achieved fame in my department at Apple. A couple of guys > ?invented? a piece of software that gets independently invented at just > about every company that writes software. The system controlled editing so > that two or more people couldn?t simultaneously make changes and step on > each other?s work. So, if one person ?checks the software out? for > editing, all others can get it on a read-only basis until the first person > checks it back in. > > I had to use this simple thing, and the write-up by it?s authors was so > damn unintelligible that I had to figure out how to work it by trial and > error. After then using it, I just decided, on my own to write a manual. > My boss was so impressed that I got an imaginative reward: three bottles > of wine a month for a year. > > Subsequently, I was picked to edit our release notes, which ultimately > grew to about 350 pages. I had a great experience editing the writings of > people, with a few exceptions, couldn?t write. > > Herbert Kanner > kanner at acm.org > 650-326-8204 > > Question authority and the authorities will question you. > > > > >> On Apr 13, 2014, at 1:44 AM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> >> wrote: >> >> I have never owned a Sony camera, and now I know for sure that I never >> will. >> >> We just bought a 65-inch Sony Bravia TV, one of the latest models, not >> cheap to put it mildly. Great picture, but we have struggling for 2 days >> with the simple task (or should be simple) to connect a garden variety >> laptop to the TV using its wifi interface so that the TV in effect acts >> as a computer monitor, but without the clutter of HDMI cables and all >> that. The menus and instructions for Sony products were apparently >> originally written in Klingon, then translated into Japanese and then to >> English. And it appears that unless your computer is a Sony Vaio, you >> have to perform various unnatural acts. Everything Sony seems to be >> proprietary. >> >> I think the TV is going back to the store (fortunately, we bought >> locally), to be replace by a Samsung or LG. >> >> Cheers, >> Nathan >> >> Nathan Wajsman >> Alicante, Spain >> http://www.frozenlight.eu >> http://www.greatpix.eu >> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws >> Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ >> >> YNWA >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information