TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Will you as a tech writer be ready for Y2K? Let's consider a few common
tech writing tools and their applicability:
Computers: Forget them. Remember that on midnight, December 31, 1999, the
ghost of Thomas Edison will alight on Times Square and take away
electricity. Therefore no computers will continue to operate, with the
exception of a few laptop models which will run on battery power for two or
four hours into the new century.
Typewriters: Possibly useful, with some limitations. Barring unforseen
problems such as a need for mechanical repairs, typewriters might continue
to funtion as long as you can provide them with ink and paper. Hoarders
have already snapped up all 31 remaining typewriter ribbons in stock in US
stores, so you will have to re-ink your existing ribbons when the time
comes. Start saving your used coffee grounds for this purpose.
Paper: Limited supplies of 8.5X11 sheets will drive market value.
Eventually it will be profitable to mine old sheets out of landfills and
recondition them. Farther into the future there will be no new paper at
all, and we will have to scribble in the margins of cast-off Kaypro manuals.
Pencils, pens: Various types of pens will function as long as their ink
supply lasts. Pencils will all eventually be sharpened down to nothing, and
we will have to use recycled pencils made from pressed pencil shavings.
Mechanical pencils will be museum oddities once the supply of graphite
refills is exhausted.
Berry juice and birch bark: Robust, renewable, and affordable. Far more
portable than stone or clay tablets, with the added advantage of still being
useable as fuel at the end of the documentation life cycle.
Stone (or clay) tablets: Cumbersome, but with unsurpassed durability.
These may gain further acceptance if writers can find a way to bring the
audience to the documentation, instead of having to distribute documentation
to the audience. Data fragmentation could present a challenge.
Oral history: This drastic departure from previous techniques may be the
last available route for technical documentation. Through the use of
Homerian stanzas and recitation techniques, tech writers could be able to
relate information around the campfire for generations into the future.
Version control could be a problem, but audience feedback would be quick and
clear.
- A
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
