Journals by RSS
Journals by EmailA couple of days ago, I set up a wireless-G router in my house. The router came with a single-sheet “Quick Installation Guide” that worked really well.
Most of the two-sided guide explained and illustrated how to rearrange the cables between the computer, the modem, and the router. It was very easy to follow. For example:
Step 1 – Hardware Connections
(A)
Unplug your modem’s power cord.
Put the Router [yes, it was capitalized—a very self-important router, I'm sure] next to the modem.
Raise the Router’s antennas. [Mine had only one antenna, but I'm smart enough to not let that hang me up.]
(B)
Locate the networking cable that connects your modem and computer.
Unplug that cable from your modem, and plug it into any blue port on the back of the Router.
Etc.
I found the meat of what I needed this guide for to be extremely friendly. The box itself explained the difference between wireless-G and the other types of routers. The language was simple, but I didn’t feel like the writer thought I’m a simpleton. Overall a great example of how something that could be technical and overblown was handled in a user-friendly way.
My only gripes are that the instructions didn’t give me an idea of how long it would take for the installer window to appear after I inserted the installer CD. I’m accustomed to my computer bringing up CD-ROM splash pages more promptly. I tried to manually run the CD-ROM by double-clicking on the CD drive icon on my desktop, and an alert told me that the setup process was already running. The installer window didn’t appear for another ten or fifteen seconds.
Second, the word “over” with an arrow in the lower right hand corner of the sheet’s front side is small. When the installer checked the hardware connections, if it found a problem, it pointed out that there were two sides to the quick-start guide. I had already noticed the “over” text while rearranging my connections and proceeded to the second side, so that wasn’t a problem. But it would be nicer for the quick-start guide itself to draw better attention to the fact that there are instructions on both sides.
To one side on the front, there is a “Setup Overview” briefly explaining the three main steps, but the background color is medium gray, and the text is barely lighter. I didn’t even notice the overview until I put the guide next to me to write this. White text even on medium gray would have done a much better job of drawing attention to itself.
Anyway, I’m sitting here in my living room using the wireless connection to write this post, so life is good. Thanks, tech writers at Belkin! (Imagine me with two thumbs up.)
Related posts (auto-generated):
