Machelp No Help at all

[stevesien]

Here is an example of the exhaustive "help" APPLE has included with Jag.

<Connecting to a Virtual Private Network


You can use Internet Connect to connect to a virtual private network (VPN) using Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) over an existing Internet connection.


Connect to the Internet, then open Internet Connect and choose New VPN Connection Window from the File menu.>

that's it! Are they serious? What if there is a problem??? What could possibly be their thinking? How about this. "the Mac is so easy to use no one even uses the online Help".

this really pisses me off. and if any says to my face "ask your network administrator" I'll probably have a stroke or be in jail for murder. I am the GD Network Administrator. Doesn't mean i know everything.
Why do the people that have written this software and Do know everything not wish to share with the rest of us??????????

I would like to encourage everyone with a similar beef to write APPLE and let them know this PITIFUL help is NO HELP AT ALL:(
thank you
Steve
okinawa
Ê

[Durandal7]

The built-in MacOS help has never had anything useful. It is designed for people with no experience with computers who want to know what the dock is for so they click the help menu.

[Sun Baked]

Sometimes Apple's kbase and/or discussion pages provide usefull answers.

http://kbase.info.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/kbase.woa

http://discussions.info.apple.com/

Then there are always Mac forums for help. :)

[stevesien]

Yeah I know the KNowledge base is occasionally helpful. But that usually too is just the obvious, which again is only useful for those that can't figure out a 2 button mouse either!

The point is. Why not make all the info possible available as easy as possible. A link to the Kbase article at least. Many times I have been very frustrated cause I had to go diggiing around the internet for answers to not so obscure problems. Especially with new Apps and new protocals like Rendezvous.
Steve

[scem0]

I think that they dont put all the knoledge from the knowlledge base into machelp because it would be time consuming and it isnt necesarry anyways. The knowledge base is easily accesable, so putting it in machelp just isnt necessary.

[TiMacLover]

They where mean to me when I posted help on a topic.

[MidnightRambler]

Since Jobs return, the printed Mac manuals have disappeared.

It confounds me that an item costing in the neighborhood of $3K is shipped without printed documentation.

[topicolo]

heheh. I guess they realized that nobody ever read the manuals anyway.
About the "ask your network administrator" thing--windoze error messages do that FAR more often than mac error messages. It's really frustrating when you're trying to configure a home LAN and this comes up. I mean, jeez! there are some really retarded programmers working at these companies.

[King Cobra]

The first thing I think of when I read through all this dealt with someone trying to learn Cocoa through Apple's online directions, but Apple seemed to lag off.

Apple only seems to provide the basics and beginner material. Either that, or they are too focused on perfecting the OS/hardware.

[bousozoku]

Originally posted by topicolo
heheh. I guess they realized that nobody ever read the manuals anyway.
About the "ask your network administrator" thing--windoze error messages do that FAR more often than mac error messages. It's really frustrating when you're trying to configure a home LAN and this comes up. I mean, jeez! there are some really retarded programmers working at these companies.

Documentation is almost always last on any company's list. :(

I miss AppleGuide so much. When I had a question, I opened AppleGuide and it stepped me through the whole process and everything worked. :)

[mac15]

it takes 13 bounces on a imac g4 700mhz with 512mbs of ram , and its not helpful and thats in jaguar

[mnkeybsness]

why would anyone even need to use the help section in os x? everything is so simple...compared to winblowz though...people check the help for tons of things...and find that even less helpful than before they looked at it