When not to let techies near gadgets
By Primal Sneeze ~ September 26th, 2008. Filed under: Kids, Mothers, Tech stuff.
Would you mind setting this up for me, asked ordered the neighbour. You know me and gadgets - I’d just make a dog’s dinner of it.
No hassle, I lied. It’ll probably need charging. I’ll drop it over to you in the morning all ready to go.
Now ladies and gentlemen of the bloggery, this wasn’t like any gadget I’d tinkered with before. No. This was class kit. Audio and video transmitted over a secure and shielded wireless connection up to 190m. This was going to be fun.
Unintuitive buttons on both units meant I very quickly realised this was going to be one of those rare occasions of having to RTFM. So I did.
“Using a ridiculously small Phillips screwdriver, remove the cover of the parent unit and insert 3 AAA rechargeable batteries (supplied). Replace the cover and secure using a ridiculously small Phillips screwdriver. Charge for 8 hours.
“Using a ridiculously small Phillips screwdriver, remove the cover of the child unit and insert 3 AA regular batteries (not supplied). Replace the cover and secure using a ridiculously small Phillips screwdriver.”
Good: I got to use my ridiculously small Phillips screwdriver. It came in a set of 3 tiny replica tools taped to a joke birthday card. The card giver’s intention was that I’d giggle a bit and bin them a day later. I let them down by expressing excitement and storing my new precision instruments carefully in the pocket of a tool case.
Bad: I would have to wait until it was fully charged to play with it. There is nothing more disheartening than a new toy sitting there with a “do not touch” sign hoovering over it in mid-air.
Ugly: The AAA batteries didn’t fit snugly in the parent unit. I reRTFM. “Using a ridiculously … blah … AAA rechargeable …”. I’d been doing like it said. So why wouldn’t they fit? I could tell the AA ones would. This was all wrong.
Frustrated, I decided to leave it and try again in the morning.
I reRTFM again. No joy. I RTFBox for clues. And it dawned on me.
To a techie, parent unit means base unit. In this case, the transmitter. Child units are devices that connect to the parent. In this case, the receiver.
In this instance the terminology was reversed. The child unit was the video camera/audio mic. The parent was the screen/speaker.
I now know all about Baby Monitors.
Class!
Are you not embarrassed about admitting to reading a manual though?
@Caro - Mortified! You won’t tell anyone, will you?
“Tiny tools are fun!” said the pixie actress to the pixie bishop.
Aha, a new skill - get it on the CV ASAP!
Too funny. Some of that baby stuff requires a degree in structural engineering. Swings and bouncers and the like. FFS!
@problemchildbride - I reckon all bishops are pixies. That’s why they have to wear those big hats.
@Keiron - The list is growing.
@Deborah - Bouncers are the devil’s work. Those buggies that fold up ’cause you’ve forgotten to fix the clip are worse. A baby-sandwich is a giggle though.
RTFM - in RFM ? (right frame of mind)
Well debugged. Kids are mind enlarging even by proxy.
‘I now know all about Baby Monitors.’But, do you know about babies? :ROLL:
My best set of tools came in a Christmas cracker
@aonghus - Funny thing is, the topic of my masters thesis was that requirements elicitation and analysis are best achieved by the developer putting themselves in the client’s shoes and in order to see things as they do.
Perhaps I should go read it again.
@Grannymar - Why of course I do! I used to be one. I have pictures to prove it.
Anyway, all you need to know about babies is you put stuff in one end and expect it out the other.
@Rob - I believe it. I got a toy tweezers in one and still have it in my tool kit. It’s soft plastic and just perfect for fiddling with delicate electronic components.
Brilliant Primal . Here’s a thing though, having rushed up stairs too many times because of hearing/not hearing breathing and spluttering, why oh why, would you also want to see the breathing, spluttering and shuffling.
@Sniffle&Cry - Good question.
The “child” in question is capable of vocalising only a low pitched monotone groan. To distinguish a call for assistance or of distress from throat-clearing, giggling etc. a visual inspection is necessary.
This gadget cuts out all the needless “rushing up stairs” and false alarms.
Manuals confuse me. I prefer to invent my own ingenious way of getting it done. Although that manual does sound a little like I wrote it - what with its ‘ridiculously small screwdriver …’
@Conortje - Well, you know, the manual actually said “very”, but I thought “that’s not the word Conorín would use” so I wrote “ridiculously”. As I always do.
Respect Primal.
I actually like to read the manuals - especially the ones in Japinglish. e.g. open screwdriver using parts A and B
@Quickroute - Then you will LOVE this, my friend.
All that for a baby monitor? Wouldn’t you just have been better off sitting in the baby’s room?
@TheChrisD - Where did I mention there was a baby?