Dear Users, Sorry that I've been incommunicado for the past few months. I've been extraordinarily busy getting married, trying to wrap up a never-ending book project, and digging myself out of enormous holes at work. However, I wanted to raise something I saw on the list last week (I think that it was last week.)
Are there any good beginner video tutorials that cover LyX? I followed most of the discussion, but wasn't sure if a consensus emerged. Nor was it really clear if this was a resource that we should invest time in creating. I know that there are several very good guides. Liviu created one which I skimmed, and we have the official documentation (which is excellent); and these are fantastic for users who have already decided to use the program. However, I'm wondering if it might be worthwhile to also create a series of short videos that might also be used for promotion, training, etc. This series could certainly be aimed at helping current users, but I'm also thinking that beginner videos which show how LyX works might be good for brand new users who need a reason to try it out. Something perhaps along the lines of what Apple has done with their iWork Suite [1] For the realm of software, while text is great, video is much better. It may even be best for demonstrating software how-to. Because I've needed extra money to pay for the trappings that accompany weddings, I've started teaching a few technology courses. (Playing with tech is something I enjoy and I found people who will indulge me.) Over the past six months or so, I've found that video tutorials are a great way to demonstrate tech and discuss tech ideas. (Mostly because they require you to script each step of a demonstration and if something refuses to work, you can expand the video to show why in a structured manner. This is much less aggravating than having things break real time.) Might it be worthwhile to produce video tutorials for the current versions of LyX? If so, what topics might we want to cover? I've got several tutorials that I'm working on for the never-ending book project. They will cover: 1.) Installation and Setup 2.) The UI and Productively (LyX-Codes, Shortcuts, Styles) 3.) Bibliographies and Automatically Generated Lists 4.) Using Sweave and Other Advanced Features 5.) Going from Outline to Draft (Outline Tools) Are there any other topic that might be good to include? Are there any special features which would merit their own videos? Is there any budding videographer who might be willing to help produce such videos (see legal note below)? I'm thinking about producing something similar to these [2]. Having help would be marvelous. Any interest? Cheers, Rob _________________________ Legal Note (Since I know someone will ask): I plan on releasing nearly all of the templates, videos and other materials from the book under a Creative Commons Attribution license. Hopefully some of it might even be able to be included in LyX. Perhaps that might include the scripts of the videos, animations, illustrations, etc. so they could then be easily updated for future versions? Notes [1] iWork, Apple.com. https://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/ [2] Networking Video Tutorials. http://blog.oak-tree.us/index.php/science-and-technology/networking
