Abstract :
Summary form only given, as follows. The tension and latent conflict between product and documentation, between developers and communicators, is by no means a modern phenomenon. In a slide show packed with paintings and photos (and tongue fiiinly planted in cheek), the speaker reviews the history of this troubled relationship, spanning in time from Genesis through the Renaissance to Office´00. Based on well-known historical, cultural and technical milestones, the presentation offers surprisingly obvious (or obviously surprising) revelations and enlightening angles to a familiar scenario. Among the revelations: (1) The first developer worked for 6 days, and rested on the 7th (2) Adam and Eve: early victims of Microsoft, Apple and consulting. (3) Pyramids for dummies and other manuals that were lost in the Alexandria library fire. (4) Rock carvings and the Bayeux tapestry: docuinentation or specification? (5) Darwin´s the Origin of the Species: retro-documentation of the DOS version of Creation? (6) What´s most dangerous - a fool with a nuclear bomb or a genius with the documentation? (7) Saddasn Hussein: Where´s the Getting Started manual?
