Michael Stutz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> This was my goal in coming up with _Living Linux_ -- a non-programmers,
> user's guide to getting things done with Linux. "Artist"-centric. It would
> be in cookbook form, and possibly include accompanying macros, shell scripts
> and templates as well as include copious notes on theory and Linux
> philosophy.
>
> Rather than "how to use Monoapp," I'm thinking of it as task-based to
> reflect the thoroughly generalist, comprehensive and synergetic nature of
> Linux.
>
> Possible topics I had in mind:
>
> write and print a typeset letter
> write and print a typeset article or report
[...snip, snip... lots of good topics delete for brevity...]
> create a web page
> etc. etc.--basically, what do you want to do today?
I completely agree with you. This is the sort of thing that would
help the most people. I might suggest minor organizational changes
(say dividing up related topics by areas, such as Audio, Music,
Editing and Typesetting, Image Processing, etc., and getting someone
to organize contributions for each area), but it would be good to have
this in bite-sized chunks both for the reader and so that the writing
could be farmed out cleanly to those who had the desire and ability to
contribute.
I think it's also important to cover specific applications for each
task when appropriate, even if the overall organization is task-driven
or even holistic. A veteran user of image processing software knows
what can be done and will have no trouble picking up a new piece of
software and immediately grasping its basic features, leveraging that
knowledge to learn it in depth. A novice user, on the other hand,
might be easily lost and can use a tutorial. Further, specific new
concepts (such as GIMP extensions, especially Script-FU) could use
some explaining even for the hardened user.
And certainly, there should be sample code, scripts, and macros where
they would be useful.
I said before that the how-to's might be a good model, and I think
with regards to how we handle contributions that's probably true, but
we can go a lot further than that.
> There are some things Linux cannot yet do that I'd _like_ it to do, and so I
> had also thought of also having a list of "dream" programs, "a call to
> programmers," I would like to see (none are really that big, just small
> tools that would make things easier).
>
> For instance something that would organize Web bookmarks much better than
> the Netscape bookmarks, something that would arrange them as a circular
> self-organizing map (SOM) rather than a heirarchical list.
Heck, I'd be happy with a good web browser to replace Netscape with.
I like the fact that Netscape is up to date (whatever the heck that
means) and supports everything under the sun, but it takes a friggin'
solar year to load and I don't need it to have a seperate mailer and
newsreader. Is there anything else out there?
doubt
--
Douglas Triggs -- Sysadmin, Toolsmith, and... Other Things
[EMAIL PROTECTED], [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] http://www.lensflare.com/~doubt
