[ILUG] grokdoc The Newbie Viewpoint

[Frank Murphy]

At 20:45 18/04/2004, kevin lyda wrote:


>obviously geeks will have a role in such a project.  it won't happen on
>some secret website only newbies can access.  and i suspect there will
>be requests for certain applications or features.  for instance the
>person this weekend who asked about adding a disk to their system.  it
>would be nice to have a gui tool to do this on a desktop.
>
>kevin
>

I'll start with,

I'm not a Programmer, no IT papers etc.
not a college grad, good old Leaving Cert.
I'm an end user.
Got into Linux through
reading & my firm belief in consumer choices,
not "I hate Bill, & his toys"
(blurb over)

As I am non-technical, this will be plain English.

Heres the scenario, I have learned a bit  through just using (mainly abusing)
various Windows from 3.1 , NT4, etc. Config & ini file tweaking etc.

Now have a box running FC1, where due to my "MSWin" experiences,
it can be daunting.

As in Where the icon to:
Add hardware & associated drivers, applications\programs

being the two main items most home users will need.

All this can be done true, by using commands,
as indeed my how hd was added (thks ILUG).

I found the docs that come with FC1, not to be
"plain" but take it for granted you have some knowledge
of the command infrastructure.

Type man this or that, and get more commands.
Whereas to get it in wider use Desktop wise, for
the technically challenged.

You will need to think more "icons" & then sub-icons"
An example coming to mind scheduling an AV run.
Linux=Crontab editing
Windows=click, click & click


Adapting Kevins analogy

"book on cars by a person who isn't an automotive engineer
would probably be more useful to a car buyer then one that is written
by an automotive engineer."

Automotive Engineer = Programmer
Techie                     = Mechanic
Home User               =Driver

Being a "Driver" I just want to turn the key & go.


Frank