Why "unfortunately"? I appreciate their efforts...
Why unfortunately? Because, in my opinion, writing comprehensive, clear documentation as you go along in the development process is not that difficult, it's just tedious and time consuming, and most developers would rather code than write documentation. Indeed, many project managers in small shops who need to get things done would rather their people code, and worry about the docs later. It's more important to get product out the door, NOW! We can do documentation later. Doing it the video way can be seen as being a better use of time, but it isn't nice for the user who has to slog through it.
For coders, this way of doing documentation can be seen as a life saver! It's easier to just shoot and upload quick videos that pertain to specific actions, than it is to write documentation that ties everything together. You can spend the day coding some particular aspect of the software, and then just shoot and upload a quick video at the end of the day that discusses it, and maybe be home in time for dinner! Rinse and repeat from one day to the next. Fragmented documentation, on videos no less, are such an absolute joy to work with! But, don't worry, they'll eventually get it all down on paper.
Doing it the video route means the user has to have a video in front of them if they're doing a complicated task. It's much easier to have a sheet of paper with steps written on it, it makes doing complex tasks easy, especially for those who are doing such things for the first time. Especially for those who may need to refer back to that information because they forgot a step or two, or are unclear on a certain concept. It's much easier to just refer to written instructions, than it is to have to search for the right video, and then have to search through that video in order to find the portion where that particular step, or action is explained. Never mind if the information you need spans more than one video!
But, you may say that the user can just take notes, and then afterwards, use those notes to do whatever it is they need to do! True enough, however there are just some things that require prerequisite knowledge in order to just write the proper notes! That would be like taking Calculus without ever having taken Algebra 1 and 2. Just taking notes at that point ain't gonna help you if you don't understand what the notes are telling you. Some things require you to comprehend the concepts, you cannot just follow steps to get the job done! Each step in learning certain concepts depends upon the learner having learned, and become conversant in a previously taught concept. And, while quick videos may actually encapsulate the needed prerequisite knowledge, if that knowledge is split between many small videos without at least having bridges between them that lead you from one video to the next, it just makes it that much harder for the user to comprehend the whole. Especially if there are knowledge gaps in the videos that are covered in other forms of media! Inconsistencies in knowledge presentation are dangerous because if the user believes everything they need to know is in the videos, and it turns out that there's also a lot of knowledge contained in other sources, like FAQs, that the user is unaware of, or worse yet, can't be bothered to look into to due to sheer frustration, then the user ends up getting lost, and losing interest, which means the company ends up losing customers. It's a lose lose proposition!
SDRplay designed, and developed a nice piece of hardware. Many people love being a part of their SDR universe, their SDR vision. However, in the end, it's really only just another software project, with budgets, and deadlines, and hundreds of soul crushing compromises that must be made lest the money suddenly dries up! The vision quickly becomes a day to day fight for survival! Getting to the end of the day without losing your mind, or your business, becomes the overriding priority!
And it's the user, the dreamer, the one who caught the vision of what could have been, that ultimately ends up holding the bag if it all comes crashing down! Oh, they'll say that they always meant to write that documentation, but because the company folded, and they were suddenly out of a job, they weren't able to do that. It was out of their hands. But don't worry, they'll tell you, it's all out there on YouTube.
Sorry if that's a bit too much, but you did ask...
