RE: If user manuals were written in steampunk

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-
> l.com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin.mclauchlan=safenet-
> inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Chris Morton
> Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 3:31 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Cc: Fred Knorr; Brooke Morton; Jamie Morton; juankoogai -at- aol -dot- com;
> Michael Morton
> Subject: OT: If user manuals were written in steampunk
> 
> *The illumination of my brass lamp faltering at times, your humble
> servant
> had a lovely encounter with this fascinating descriptoid in the
> noontime of
> the day past...*
> 
> If you visit the Google library in these days, the librarian will find
> plenty of articles and depictions of so called "Steampunk Monitors". In
> my
> imagination though, I envisioned the creation of a device that could
> show
> static but also moving pictures generated by means of computation and
> modulation of waves generated by my ingenious new invention.... (Any
> resemblance to devices used in "City of Lost Children" is purely
> coincidental).
> 
> I also wanted to add "loudspeakers" (E. Siemens, et al.) to the device
> to
> present an even more pleasurable experience.
> 
> The device will be able to reproduce sound and static/moving pictures
> and
> will be powered by another invention of mine, based on the works of my
> fellow researchers Nikola Tesla, using hyper-condensed steam applied to
> a
> turbine by the same name, Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio
> Volta
> and Michail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, able to produce alternating
> current in the amount of 110 volts.
> 
> The glass storing containers and part of this generator will be visible
> atop
> the base cabinet. Due to an yet undiscovered effect, these jars light
> up in
> the rhythm of the reproduced sound. (Not depicted in this
> Instructable.)
> 
> Please bear with me, your humble servant will keep you updated on the
> progress of this Instructable, for you to enjoy and, if you feel
> inclined,
> to reproduce.
> 
> *Excerpted from
> http://www.instructables.com/id/Miss-Betsys-Steampunk-Monitor-1/*
> 
> > Chris

I own nothing that's steampunk, but I rather enjoy the 
esthetic, when well done.
Here at the office, as they labored to come up with the 
front-dressing for our most recent server-room appliance, 
I kept advocating a lovely Steampunk look, with rosewood, 
leather and brass.  So WHAT if we added a couple of 
hundred bucks to an item that sells for 30 grand?

But no. 

I was imagining the direction my docs could take, 
and the sort of decoration and illustrations I 
could make.  Oh well.

The OTHER unfortunate happenstance that your missive 
brought to mind was related to Google. Some of you 
might have been aware that a few years ago a company 
had developed tech for efficiently digitizing microfilm 
and other such off-line records, and then Google bought 
them and began a massive project to digitize and make 
searchable all the newspaper archives of the world. 

This week, they announced that the project is stopping. 
The archives of several major papers are online, and 
will remain so, but no others will be processed.  The 
original developer and owner of the technology expressed 
sadness.  As he noted, Google could toss a paltry hundred 
million bucks at the project, out of petty cash, and 
have a marvelous resource for all kinds of sociological, 
historical, anthropological, geneological, and other 
research, for virtually every country of the world. 

But no.


So, um, what new takeover target might be sucking up 
all of Google's discretionary funds? 

Never mind.   [OT] 

 - k
<steampunk legalese starts here?>
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission 
may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected 
from disclosure. If you have received this communication in 
error, please notify us immediately by replying to this 
message and deleting it from your computer without copying 
or disclosing it.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
http://www.doctohelp.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat