Dumb smartphone question

[target2019]

Imagine how much more useful our links would be if not surrounded by G vs A arguments.

 

[H2ODude]

On this subject (technology advances and changes) I have to admit that this is the ONE area besides some of my former co-workers that I miss...having a lot of tech smart people around to educate me on tech. Whereas when in the office I could ask any of many folks "how do you ____ or what's the best way to ____" now I struggle and have to figure it out myself, which can take a long time. And I'll admit that now I can figure out some relatively obscure need with time, and then a few months later completely forget how I did it when I need the process again!

I've found that the quickest way to find one of these answers is often to just google the question rather than search a manual/forum.

 

[Amethyst]

Thanks! No wonder I keep coming back to the ER Forum.

I was searching for "Moto G Manual" and didn't come up with this.

I must confess, I wonder when "fiddling with electronic devices to figure out what they can do" overtook "acquiring electronic devices to accomplish necessary tasks."

Here is the full manual. Yours may be different though. Search for Motorola Moto G full manual. Lots of answers there.

https://www.consumercellular.com/Content/PDFs/Manuals/Moto G EXT Manual.pdf

 

[Lsbcal]

...

I must confess, I wonder when "fiddling with electronic devices to figure out what they can do" overtook "acquiring electronic devices to accomplish necessary tasks."

This is an interesting issue to me. First, a really good interface would be intuitive so no manual would be needed. That is a tough objective.

Second, maybe the devices are becoming complex enough that one has to interact with them to see what kind of beast they are dealing with. Sort of like discovering what a new acquaintance is like. As machines evolve into more human like interfaces, we should maybe expect manuals to be a thing of the past. Just a hypothesis but that is what AI is about I suppose.

 

[target2019]

Thanks! No wonder I keep coming back to the ER Forum.

I was searching for "Moto G Manual" and didn't come up with this.

I must confess, I wonder when "fiddling with electronic devices to figure out what they can do" overtook "acquiring electronic devices to accomplish necessary tasks."

I search for a living. Interesting sentence structure there.
I also write about technical topics, and have a knack for tweaking search terms and finding decent results.

Your observation is spot on. With the first gui computers, the user remained in charge. The experience was linear and you could master the technology given enough repetition. The rate of technical improvements has increased to the point where you and I can no longer hope to be masters. The mobile systems advance as our senses are in decline. That's why we huddle here as kindred spirits.

 

[target2019]

This is an interesting issue to me. First, a really good interface would be intuitive so no manual would be needed. That is a tough objective.

Second, maybe the devices are becoming complex enough that one has to interact with them to see what kind of beast they are dealing with. Sort of like discovering what a new acquaintance is like. As machines evolve into more human like interfaces, we should maybe expect manuals to be a thing of the past. Just a hypothesis but that is what AI is about I suppose.

A major leap will be direct interface with machine for the masses. No typing required.

Manuals evolve along with the technology covered. Because of how much a mobile device can do, it can't be documented with a single manual. Who reads the manual, we used to say.

 

[littleb]

OK, please be kind, remember this is my first smartphone

I just bought a Moto G. There is an online manual: Motorola Moto G - Getting started - Safaricom

I have figured out how to make phone calls, access the Internet, and use the camera to take photos.

Now my problem is that nowhere in the online manual does it tell me how to send the photos to email, or save them to the cloud. All I can do is save them to the device.Then I can go to "gallery" and look at them. If this were a MS OS, I would find "my computer" but I don't know what Android calls the device storage.

I found an "export" function, but it doesn't give me a choice of destinations, nor a way to designate a destination.

This seems so very basic! Can anyone enlighten me please?

Amethyst

All phones are different and there is always a learning curve with these smart phones.

What I found useful was to google the phone model and Youtube and ask the question. You will be surprised at the tutorial videos on Youtube where they will walk you through the steps.

 

[braumeister]

Manuals evolve along with the technology covered. Because of how much a mobile device can do, it can't be documented with a single manual. Who reads the manual, we used to say.

My second career was writing the manuals for custom software (Mac, Windows, and Unix). I used to joke that it was the world's easiest job because I knew in advance that nobody would ever read it.

At one point I was pressed into service doing phone support for one of the products I documented. I actually enjoyed that because people seemed so grateful to get useful answers to their questions. But it confirmed my suspicion that they had never read the manual.