Honey, they shrunk the boxes: FCS now in convenient nano size

Besides being available in the "Help" menu of each application, the full documentation for Studio apps is also on the Web, at: http://documentation.apple.com/

You know, i do like the new packaging but honestly I'm going to miss the printed manuals. I mean I know they were probably costly (especially environmentally speaking) but it was really nice to be able to actually flip through them.

Granted its a lot easier to search a PDF but its nice to search the PDF, get the page number, flip to the page in the manual and then have the book in your lap while you work rather than constantly switching between FCP and Preview.

Perhaps they could offer them for sale aswell?

Seriously, please do an article on Logic.

What about the love for Logic Studio? I am noticing it is getting lumped into news from Final Cut... it is a drastically different product and I am way more excited about it than Final Cut... Musicians would appreciate the attention on Logic for sure...

I will bet you a whole pair of socks that Apple will never do that.

Good lord the previous versions were so heavy you could slap a 4lb bar between them and do some curls.

@Grant:
Did it ever occur to you that the bigger packaging takes up way more ressources than the smaller ones? I really liked the cube the iPod 3G came in but I don't really see a disadvantage in my new iPod classic even though it came in a smaller box.

I'm actually not liking Apple's approach to downsizing their packaging. The bigger packaging may of costed them more to ship, but it made buying Apple software a "grander" experience. They started doing this around the Tiger era. I was looking at some old AppleCare and .Mac boxes and they were quite large. Oh well... (sigh).

I can open up a fully searchable PDF manual from the help menu in a fraction of the time it takes me to move all of the old tapes that have accumulated on top of the Final Cut Studio box, slide off the lid, figure out which manual I need, and open up to the index. Since it's only an occasional reference for me, the book seems like overkill.

The box is on hand; it has never moved since we installed the current edit suite. The only time I've ever pulled a manual out is when I couldn't think of anything else to keep a co-op student busy. "here, read through this"

Other than that, though, I say good riddance to manuals.

My wife and I are packing for a move. We filled a whole recycle bin with manuals for Windows 98, ancient versions of MS Office (and the associated floppy disks),books like Photoshop 3 for Dummies, Macromedia Director and Lingo, the list goes on and on. The big fat paper manual is only useful when the software is current and you are still learning.

Once it becomes an occasional reference or you upgrade to a new version, then what you need is a PDF.

I kept the manual for my Amiga 1000, though, because every page is awesome.

Since it's impossible to throw an Apple box away, it's good they made them smaller, so they're not taking up as much space now.