PC Mechanic, New Article |
- 5 Tips To Write Better Instructional Documentation
- Which Allocation Size Should You Use When Formatting A Hard Drive?
- An Extensive List Of Free Android Apps
| 5 Tips To Write Better Instructional Documentation Posted: 16 Feb 2011 03:30 AM PST If you’ve been charged with writing a document that is supposed to instruct someone else how to do something, today’s way of doing it more or less throws the old methods out the window. 1. Big Bombastic HeadersYou’ll notice the headers on PCMech, such as the one right above this sentence, are huge. This is because they’re easier to see, read and know where you are in the document. 2. Less WordsWrong way:
Right way:
Always remember this phrase when writing documentation: GET TO THE POINT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. 3. Skip useless referencesIf the reference has nothing to do with the core instruction of what you’re attempting to describe, such as:
…don’t do that. 4. Date it. Always.The date of when the documentation was written should be in the footer area of every page. If it’s an electronic document, the date is shown twice. Once at beginning, once at end. You can write this as "Last Revised (insert date here)". 5. Warnings should always be posted before the point of no returnIf there is something in your documentation which could potentially damage/destroy/obliterate something if performed incorrectly, this information should be placed directly after said instruction, be in plain sight (meaning on the same page) and accented. Example:
On a final note, good documentation is not from being super-descriptive about every single possible thing imaginable. Read your documentation and ask yourself, does it instruct properly? If the answer is yes, the next question is, does it instruct quickly? If yes, the documentation is good. Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.       |
| Which Allocation Size Should You Use When Formatting A Hard Drive? Posted: 16 Feb 2011 03:00 AM PST When going to format a hard drive in Windows, the default file allocation unit size is 4096 bytes, however there are a whole bunch of other choices to pick from: Is there a speed difference?Yes. Selecting a larger cluster size results in faster access times. The tradeoff however is that you’re left with less overall space. If I choose 512 bytes, does that mean I get the most free space?Yes. What are the larger cluster sizes best suited for?Big files, such as ripped DVDs, raw AVI files and things of that sort. Conversely, if most of what you store is smaller files, the smaller cluster size is more suitable. What if I don’t know which to choose?This is why the default cluster size is 4096 bytes. If unsure, use 4096. How can I find out what the current cluster size of a hard drive is?This is done using CHKDSK. 1. Launch a Command Prompt. (If using Windows Vista or 7, you must ‘Run As Administrator’). 2. Type CHKDSK (DRIVE LETTER HERE): and press Enter, such as CHKDSK D: 3. The final report at the end of CHKDSK will state the bytes in each allocation unit. Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.     |
| An Extensive List Of Free Android Apps Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:00 AM PST For those of you with Android phones looking for some free apps to load it up with, take a look at Gizmo’s Freeware list of "Best Free Android Apps". Like all of the lists on Gizmo’s site, the applications are organized into categories with a brief write-up on each. There is something on this list for just about any category you can think of:
So take a look and if you see something you like, grab it. Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.     |
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