Interactive "How to" Guides

[Shilakadaddy 0]

Hi guys,

 

I’m doing a project for Uni, and was wondering if you could help me out by voting on my poll?

 

I'm conducting a survey to see how many people would benefit from interactive "How to" guides covering the most common maintenance and modification jobs on your vehicle. The guides themselves would be web based and include animation, high detail photographs and where appropriate, videos. The animations would be based on a 3D model of your car (the guide would cover many different cars) and could clearly illustrate the location of parts, screws etc. by zooming in/out, rotating the camera and so forth. What I’m attempting to find out is if there is any demand for such a product to be created.

 

I’ve kept the poll simple, with only 2 options:

 

Option 1: You find the current media available (such as Haynes manuals) sufficiently easy to follow and would have no need for more detailed web based guides.

 

Option 2: You would find interactive guides useful, and would use such a system (or website) if one were in place.

 

The guides would be free to use, so please don’t consider cost in your decision. Also if you have any other comments on the idea, please post them

 

Many Thanks,

 

Chris

[Shilakadaddy 0]

Could a mod make this into a poll for me please?

 

I've been a member here aaaaaages and I still don't know for sure if there's a way for me to do it by myself :oops: lol

[skinnyman9000 0]

I'd use one

[Guest]

yeah, I'd use one :)

[VR6 South 0]

anything with the potential to save me money is a good idea IMHO

[Taggart 0]

Depends on cost, but yeah, I'd use one.

[Shilakadaddy 0]

Thanks for the poll addition :)

 

xbones, the only way I could see this being popular would be for it to be totally free to use. Advertising on the website would be the source of income.

[Critical_Mass 10]

Great idea, I'd definately use one. :D

[khurrado 0]

I would definitely use it, but i would not want to pay for this sort of info, as it will be available somewhere on the net. But, if its a good site, and user friendly its def the sort of thing that could catch on.

 

For income, on top of advertising, which will purely depend on the number of hits you are getting, you could also get paid for linking to other websites e.g. in the section for how to change your suspension, you could link to the major suspension supplier websites, or even act as a seller youself.

[Slimg60 0]

I'd use one for sure.

[dinkus 10]

I'd use one if it existed, but from experience with the comparatively limited info on the wiki - it would take you a huge amount of time to actually add new information to.

 

From my scared of oil perspective - the best help is a well written explanation of what to do along with labelled photos/diagrams.

 

I'd say that going further than that and animating every single bolt is gonna be hugely time-consuming for very little extra benefit to the user.

 

If you can charge a tidy sum for it, then that'll be ok, but I think that you'll struggle to cover your costs of making the system with advertising alone.

 

Having said that, being able to make the ETKA/ETOS type exploded diagrams into accurate 3D models that you can spin around would be a great help when ordering parts.

 

Just my 2p :)

[ben16v 0]

no brainer deffo use one

[Shilakadaddy 0]

excellent excellent :) Keep voting guys even if the answer seems obvious, as I intend to use the information in the project report.

 

dinkus, adding to it I think is the major downfall of the application. I'm creating a prototype version with only one car (the corrado) and one guide (g60 fmic install) as its a great deal of work for each entry. I am however attempting to make it as easy as possible to build upon at a later date.

[skinnyman9000 0]

Give us a tinkle if ya want some 3D models of some parts doin!!

[2_Door_fun 0]

Hi.

 

As the multimedia and inferface designer I am it would be a great idea. Alot of work though. Well written how to are just as good. May be nice to do some video and vector animation and flash work.

 

here is a link to a gearbox removal job on a 1994/95 Saab 900 turbo that I wrote after documenting the whole job.

 

Saab transmission removal

 

I realise its a big job but it may give you some idea of the detail required.

[dinkus 10]

Yeah, by far the most in-depth article in the wiki is 2cc's Clutch and Timing Chains Replacement Guide - it was so big that I had to put it in 2 parts.

 

The formatting's still a mess becuause it's a huge amount of effort getting something of that size done properly in wikitext.

 

I might have a crack at tidying it up tomorrow, if I get time.

[2_Door_fun 0]

Yeah, by far the most in-depth article in the wiki is 2cc's Clutch and Timing Chains Replacement Guide - it was so big that I had to put it in 2 parts.

 

The formatting's still a mess becuause it's a huge amount of effort getting something of that size done properly in wikitext.

 

I might have a crack at tidying it up tomorrow, if I get time.

 

Yep that looks a big job doing the Wiki never mind the chains n clutch :lol: I was always pleased that my Saabs never needed their chains doing. Never fancied that job, worn tensioners and oh now the chain has dropped to the bottom of the case... :mad: :lol:

 

I think an electric 'How to' would be good. Very simple to make interactive a sought of How you can cut relays into circuits etc. mechanicals I'm wicked at but things that spark or need a switch err no.

[Goldie 2]

I think the more information sources that are available when tackling any task the better.....

 

They just need to be good...

[StuartFZR400 0]

No use for one on the VW's as the 'basic' jobs I know.

 

Would definately use the FREE website if I got a new car and wanted to double check somthing; however would gladly buy a book if the web was to cost more - it would need to be a one off payment IMO. Videos sound a great idea. Would need to be a HUGE database to cover all cars.

 

NB: you're asking a biased group of people