Better late than never, I came upon a user review of the Samsung
SyncMaster 203B monitor, which included this comment:
"Despite indicating that a DVI-D cable is not included
(according to Samsung's web site), to my shock I found
one in the box. I'm not sure if this is a Samsung
Canada-exclusive to include the $40 cable but it sure
is nice to have."
So yeah, if it's impossible to know whether there'll be a cable or
not... Let's say there won't.
> On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 at 13:03:08 Beth Agnew wrote:
>
> I don't think the TW is necessarily to blame. It's a case of a little
> information being dangerous. The little information is that some
> printers ship with a USB cable included. The reality is that many do
> not; depends on the OEM deal, region, and so on. It also could have
been
> one of those decisions that had not yet been made when the document
had
> to go to print. One could assume (a techwriter no-no) that the printer
> never ships with a cable, and so write "USB cable not included." just
as
> if batteries were not included. But then if the user finds a cable in
> the box -- bonus!?!?
>
> There's no good way out of this situation. The TW doesn't know at the
> point of writing the document what the situation will be. We try to
> avoid that at all costs. Even if you explain it to the user, telling
> them that in some instances you get a cable, and in some you don't,
the
> users who don't get the cable will feel they've been deprived. You
> could say "Depending on where you purchase your printer, a USB cable
may
> or may not be included." Some users will still feel excluded.
>
> I liked Jeff Hanvey's solution -- a checkbox on a parts list that
shows
> whether the USB cable is supposed to be included or not. Otherwise,
you
> have to build in the idea of uncertainty from the beginning -- "Not
all
> models include all peripheral cables. You may need to purchase a USB
cable."
>
>
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