Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The Manual? What Manual?

Generally when I open the package of a new USB flash memory drive, I don't look at more than the manufacturer name, transfer speed, and capacity, but I had a closer look the other day and came across a couple of things I thought were interesting.  Well, interesting if taken at face value, which they aren't really.  It's just a legal thing.  Still, the thought of... well, let's look at the first one:
  "Please read your PC manual carefully and entirely before using this memory product."
  More to the point would be, "First and foremost, please understand how your computer works so you can properly use this device with it."  There are a lot of neanderthal users out there misusing equipment after all.  Still, I thought of a computer manual of old with its many pages and had to laugh at the thought of reading it in its entirety!  Of course, within the general race-to-the-bottom in the world today, the quest to cut costs is insatiable, so there is less and less paper documentation overall, and there are more and more "Quick Guide" or "Startup Guide" folded sheets of paper that, when fully opened, are something like A2 sized.  And if you've bought a used machine, there generally is no documentation at all.
  Anyway, the other thing in the USB flash memory packaging text that caught my attention was this:
  "Do not disassemble or modify the product."
  Say what?  About the only way you could get into a flash memory device would be to take a big hammer to it and smash it!  And modify it?  How in the world could you do that?  Well, it's just a legal thing, so I suppose the manufacturer needs to cover their bases.
  Oh - and one other sentence:
  "Turn off the PC in case the product overheats."
  How about unplug the device?  It's just a USB flash memory drive after all.  Maybe the thinking is it might be too hot to touch?  Oh well, whatever!

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
youtube.com/lylehsaxon
lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
lookback1997.blogspot.jp/

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