I have always found technology on the boat pretty easy to understand. Take this HDS 10 display from Lowrance for instance, you basically connect up all the bits and turn it on. Providing that all of the components such as transducers etc are properly connected all will be well and if you do not connect up something quite as you should you will most likely get an error message on the screen telling you so. In fact apart from making the actual connections and installing the unit in the boat for the most part the average savvy boater will most likely figure out how to use the display and only revert to the manual if he encounters a problem, in other words they are very intuitive and they have a handy button that says clear or quit which in many cases reverts the unit back to the previous screen.
So fast forward to the weekend when my wife and I have to go and change our cell phones. There was nothing wrong with the old ones which we had had for maybe three years but AT&T had been bombarding us with mailers and text messages saying that we had to upgrade our phone as changes to the system would render our existing phones obsolete. So it was that we ended up at the shop where we changed the phones for the latest model. Admittedly this was at no cost to us just a straight swap. I was sad to see my old phone go we had been through a lot together, I was comfortable using it and had figured out how to make phone calls and set the alarm clock the only two functions I ever used, and in truth about the only two functions it actually had. Now my new phone does all sorts of stuff, it has a GPS built in, a mini key board for sending text messages and surfing the web at exorbitant rates, even a camera and video recorder. The man in the shop gave us a cursory explanation of the features but I missed the bit about how to actually make a phone call. Not to worry thought I how difficult can that be I'll just read the manual when I get home. The trouble is that the guide explains everything, how to make and export videos, how to find where you are with the GPS etc etc but the one thing that is not in the book is actually how to make a phone call. I kid you not there is no information about how to store numbers in the phone memory or which button you have to press to connect your call.
All this is very worrying to me I may actually have to start reading the manual that comes with my next chart plotter or radar!
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