[aklug] Re: Basic Linux information

larry collier said:
> Wanting a new user to read the manual,=20
> which isn't comprehensible until=20
> you've read about a thousand of them
> will surely stop just about all new
> users."

Amen to that.=A0 My first message (January 2008, yikes) was a complaint/whi=
ne about how I couldn't even *find* the manual, let alone read and comprehe=
nd it.=A0 I've probably said this before, but I've tried using various Linu=
ces since about 1999, and usually reinstalled Windows within a few days bec=
ause:
(a) the documentation is in the file system somewhere, but not where I'd th=
ink to look ( /etc/lib/xyzzy/youre_totally_lost_arent_you/click_here_to_cra=
sh_system/ ), or
(b) the documentation is in the file system somewhere, but I'm still stuck =
in the installation process because most Win/Mac users know zilch about par=
titioning hard drives or choosing a FOSS video driver that'll work for thei=
r monitor, or
(c) I found the documentation, but it assumes that I understand basic-but-c=
ompletely-foreign-to-Windows-users subjects like using the Terminal, editin=
g config files, or what "root" is and how to do it.

The most frustrating thing wasn't that I didn't know what to do, but that n=
othing I tried led me to anything resembling an answer. Manual?=A0 Cryptic=
.=A0 Forums?=A0 Somehow both cryptic and condescending.=A0 Google?=A0 Occas=
ionally helpful.=A0 Books? Well, there's about a hundred at the store, and=
 the library's most current book is based on Fedora Core 3. While I don't =
advocate complete hand-holding, I think some degree of "onboarding" is help=
ful so the new user has a few basic tools to start with, and knows how to f=
ind help when they need it.

For example, 'man' is probably something users should learn on day one, but=
 what if (like me) you could count the number of commands you know on your =
fingers, without letting go of your sandwich? Perhaps you know what you wa=
nt to do, but don't know the command to make it happen? A quick point towa=
rd http://linuxcommand.org/ would not only answer the question, but provide=
 a resource for further self-education.

Jon said:
"If you can give [newbies] a good base with the apps that they use everyday=
 they will be more willing to stay and learn."

Agreed. One of the most helpful things that I found in my early days was t=
his series of tutorials showing, step-by-step, how to install the OS and co=
mmonly-used applications:
http://www.howtoforge.org/the-perfect-desktop-ubuntu-9.04
(also available for Fedora, SuSE, Mandriva, Mint, and others; since it's al=
l by one guy, they're not all updated for the latest releases.)

By following the steps, I learned what applications were commonly used, I l=
eared about packages, repositories, and dependencies, and I learned a few b=
asic Terminal commands. It wasn't much, but it was a start, and once I cou=
ld use Ubuntu as my day-to-day OS, I grew more comfortable with the system'=
s look and feel, which made further tinkering easier. I think a basic inst=
all disk and a tutorial like this one would be more helpful than a prefab d=
isk containing pre-installed and pre-configured applications.

--
Aaron A.
akbeancounter@yahoo.com=0A=0A=0A      
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