We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) https://tinkerbetter.tube/videos/watch/72532c8f-689c-4e0b-a7c7-548c52f92474 In this unscripted episode of Veronica Explains, I hang out with my good friends Taylor and Amy from @TaylorAmyShow and we rant/rave about documentation, and compare the (often sorry) state of today's Linux/FOSS docs against the (often fantastic) documentation we had when vintage computers were just called computers. Videos and channels mentioned in the episode: πŸ–₯️ The Computer Chronicles "Computers in Education" from 1983: https://archive.org/details/Computer_Chronicles/Season+01/Computer+Chronicles+-+01x26+-+Computers+in+Education.mpeg 🫑 The late, great Jim Butterfield's classic C64 training tape: https://archive.org/details/commodore-64-training-tape-with-jim-butterfield 🀩 The sequel to this episode, over on Taylor and Amy's channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoaWxa7Ajkc πŸ‘ˆ Robin from @8_Bit , a favorite YouTube channel of mine πŸ—ƒοΈ Eric from @EricsEdgeVideos who provided Taylor and Amy with Multiplan! Lastly, if you want to help me make more videos, please consider joining my Ko-Fi or Patreon. Members over there get weekly update posts from me and help me decide what topics to cover. This channel's not sponsored by anyone but you, so thank you for your consideration! https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains, https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains, Chapters 0:00 Reading manuals with Taylor and Amy 2:13 The Commodore 64 User's Guide 8:00 By The Editors of Consumer Guide, The User's Guide to Texas Instruments TI-994A Computer, Software, & Peripherals 12:37 About my good friends Taylor and Amy! 13:05 Odyssey2 Computer Intro 16:52 Waxing poetic about generations and their needs 19:03 Look at this Multiplan manual! Sun, 13 Sep 2026 06:03:07 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tilvids.com We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) https://tilvids.com/lazy-static/avatars/a8b2efbf-2a14-445c-a432-b4ebcf28cb7d.png https://tinkerbetter.tube/videos/watch/72532c8f-689c-4e0b-a7c7-548c52f92474 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tilvids.com/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder. <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - postroutine]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=71798 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=71798 Mon, 14 Jul 2025 15:41:16 GMT I would love a computer where, when I type info cpu on the terminal, IΒ get all the technical manual about the CPU, with instructions list, internal architecture, etc.

]]> postroutine <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Antoine D. :facil:]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56885 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56885 Wed, 18 Sep 2024 22:38:13 GMT @vkc Can we watch the Taylor and Amy Show somewhere on PeerTube?

]]> Antoine D. :facil: <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Antoine D. :facil:]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56867 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56867 Wed, 18 Sep 2024 06:53:57 GMT @vkc Note that I'm not a member of this association. The facil in my username refer to another association, a French Canadian one dedicated to the promotion of FOSS.

]]> Antoine D. :facil: <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Antoine D. :facil:]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56867 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56867 Wed, 18 Sep 2024 06:10:05 GMT @vkc There's a French Debian users association called Debian-Facile (easy Debian) that has produced a very good manual for beginners in Debian and even in computing. You can have a look at the English translation here: https://debian-beginners-handbook.tuxfamily.org/bookworm-en/the_beginners_handbook.html

]]> Antoine D. :facil: <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - jfml]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56478 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56478 Mon, 16 Sep 2024 20:13:40 GMT As always archive.org does not dissappoint and someone has indeed done the good work of digitizing (an apparently similarly well-loved) edition of Odyssey2 – Computer Intro:

https://archive.org/details/computer-intro-us-odyssey-2-1979

]]> jfml <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓯 𝓓𝓸𝓷π“ͺ𝓽]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56169 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56169 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 18:57:14 GMT @vkc

The C=64 manual was my first computer book. It taught me programming, and therefore laid the foundation for my career. It was great.

]]> 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓯 𝓓𝓸𝓷π“ͺ𝓽 <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Devon Day]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56126 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56126 Tue, 03 Sep 2024 19:47:54 GMT Next time my family and I are at a thrift store, I'll have to check and see if they have any old computer manuals. These would be interesting to read just for the historical aspect of them, as I'm a little too young to have experienced much before Windows 98.

]]> Devon Day <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Judeau (EatTheRich)]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56123 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56123 Tue, 03 Sep 2024 13:26:57 GMT @vkc That was an absolute riot. Hands down one of the most fun videos I have watched by anyone. I was laughing so hard at times.

You all have such great charisma and really work well together. I felt like I was just hanging out with some of my goofy friends.

It was great to see the different approaches taken to writing manuals back in the day. It really does seem to be a lost art. I was always fond of the C64 one myself.

Keep up the excellent videos and interesting topics! πŸ‘

]]> Judeau (EatTheRich) <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - R. L. Dane :debian: :openbsd:]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56116 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56116 Tue, 03 Sep 2024 11:37:17 GMT @royal @vkc

So true!

]]> R. L. Dane :debian: :openbsd: <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Jim Rogantini]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56119 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56119 Tue, 03 Sep 2024 04:28:21 GMT @vkc Thank you for yet another great video, making yet another excellent point! I totally agree. I feel manuals (or knowledge found online) nowadays basically come down to this: Either theyβ€˜re too basic or require you to already know everything…

]]> Jim Rogantini <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - royal]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56116 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56116 Mon, 02 Sep 2024 23:53:20 GMT @vkc In the southern US it's always been: "Mash" the Return key.

]]> royal <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - 48kRAM]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56114 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56114 Mon, 02 Sep 2024 23:29:29 GMT @vkc I can't figure out how to log in and comment on the video (does peertube have a .... manual? πŸ˜‰ ) but this is a great video and I'm so pleased that more people think modern computer docs are terrible.

]]> 48kRAM <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Hamish The PolarBear]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56111 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56111 Mon, 02 Sep 2024 22:59:24 GMT Super jealous of the collection in the background. Thumbs up to the Arch wiki people. Have you ever seen the ZX Spectrum manual and the "Horizons" intro cassette that comes with it, absolutely amazing and interactive learning.

]]> Hamish The PolarBear <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Nathan A. Stine]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56110 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56110 Mon, 02 Sep 2024 22:50:12 GMT @vkc I'm glad you're still here at least!

]]> Nathan A. Stine <![CDATA[We used to write good documentation... (w/The Taylor and Amy Show) - Hamish The PolarBear]]> https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56109 https://tilvids.com/w/f7NFFTdHMUHTLdgC7JU2Mw;threadId=56109 Mon, 02 Sep 2024 22:24:52 GMT Most Pro intro ever πŸ˜„

]]> Hamish The PolarBear