Technabob » manual

Valve New Employee Handbook: If a Job Sounds Too Good to Be True, It’s a Job at Valve

Lambert Varias — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:00:01 +0000

Valve is famous among gamers not just for their stellar games but for their exemplary customer service as well. If you’re one of the gamers who’ve enjoyed Valve’s service or support, what you’re getting as a Valve customer is nothing compared to what you’ll get as a Valve employee, if this alleged leaked copy of the company’s handbook is the real thing.

The handbook paints a picture of an unbelievably fun and free work environment, including how all employees are equal, how employees are free to choose what projects to work on and that “for the most part working overtime for extended periods indicates a fundamental failure in plan- ning or communication. If this happens at Valve, it’s a sign that something needs to be reevaluated and corrected.” But my favorite passage has to be this:

Rather than spoil the entire thing for you, you can read the whole thing below, thanks to Scribd user matthew5034 or download a PDF copy from the Flamehaus forum.

Oh and do take a closer look at the second panel of the top picture. Is this whole thing a tease for a new game Valve?

[via Flamehaus via MetaFilter]

Phone Manual Concepts Answer Non-Techies’ Calls for Help

Lambert Varias — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:03:10 +0000

The telephone has come a long way ever since Thomas Edison invented Alexander Graham Bell, who in turn got the idea after a pack of chocolates in his back pocket was melted by microwaves. Wait, wrong story. But the point is, phones are no longer used just to talk to people – we use them to take pictures, to send emails, to browse the Web, to play games and more. But with great power must come an equally great instruction manual. Clara Gaggero and Adrian Westaway teamed-up with Samsung and the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Out of the Box, manual designs that are better alternatives to today’s “flimsy manuals with complicated language and jargon.”

Their first idea for a manual is self-explanatory. As you can see in the picture above, it’s a lot like traditional manuals, except that instead of a diagram or image, the phone itself is cradled in the manual. Genius. This will encourage users to actually read the manual and at the same time let them see the actual results of their actions.

The second concept is a lot more high-tech, and it involves cards that actually add the function that it teaches to the phone, kind of like a learn as you use set-up. The idea is for phones to ship with barely any functions; when you want to use a function, you bring out one of the cards, tap it on the phone’s screen and it’s unlocked. Then you read the instructions and use the function. It’s a well-intentioned plan, but I think it’s too cumbersome and also potentially risky. I mean if you lose the cards and you’ve yet to unlock the features, you’ll be left with a useless device.

The last idea is for a map-like manual. I guess the idea is that users would rather have all the functions laid out in this intuitive manner rather than leaf through a book-format manual. The map’s good, but it can still be daunting, but at least you can easily trace which icon does what. Personally I think the first idea is the best one. I’d also like to add my own idea – what about a step-by-step optional walkthrough that’s accessible on the phone itself? That way you don’t have to carry any additional material at all. What do you guys think?

[Clara Gaggero via Engadget]

Dj Hero Controller Pics and Manual Show Up on Fcc Site

Technabob — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:18:36 +0000

If you’re looking forward to this Fall’s release of Red Octane’s DJ Hero, your wait is almost over. Lookee what I found today. The hardware for the game’s much-anticipated turntable controller just hit the FCC website.

In addition to the exterior pics, here are some additional photos of the innards of the controller splayed out for all to see…

It looks like the main turntable part will be the same for each console, while the wireless and controller pod will be different per each system. The ones pictured here appear to be from the PS2/PS3 version. And the detachable controller pod is also designed so lefties can flip it around and play too. There’s also a preliminary user manual which spells out all the details of how to use the controller. I can tell already what part of the controller will fail with some frequency:

You can check out all of the gory details over at the FCC website. And if you’re ready to pre-order DJ Hero, head on over to Amazon now and plunk down your credit card. I can’t wait to scratch that itch this October.

Wii Guitar Hero Controller Needs Wii Remote and Your Respect

Lambert Varias — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:30:58 +0000

I’m sure some of you have seen the numerous and occasionally cryptic do’s and don’ts for the DSi. Well Blockhead’s Guitar Hero controller for the Wii also has its own demands. I was just minding my own business, laughing at Engrish pics, when I came upon Blockhead’s manual for their Max V wireless guitar. While Blockhead is definitely more conventional and straightforward in stating their rules compared to Nintendo, they are nonetheless equally worthy of internet fame:

At this point I’m thinking, “I can’t think yet, I’ve just fallen off my chair LOLing my ass off”. Then I got up and thought, “Wait a sec. This could easily be Photoshopped.” The logical step was to head on to Blockhead’s site and see if I could secure a copy of the manual, so head on I did. Looking at Blockhead’s website hope filled my heart; the manual was a possibility. How so? Let’s just say that when your kid’s Max V’s whammy bar isn’t whammying like it’s supposed to, don’t let them search for help on the net, lest you find yourself trying to not define certain acronyms for them:

I clicked on the fourth question and it led me to a link where I could get a copy of the manual. I downloaded it and promptly fell off my chair again. There it was, asking me not to insult the guitar. You can go see it for yourself if you still don’t believe me, it’s just a 2 page pdf file anyway.

And to those of you who do own a Max – V: Try insulting it. Please. Just once. Then tell us what happens.

[via engrishfunny]