[clug] MtM - content update

Chris Smart chris at kororaa.org
Thu Mar 15 03:31:17 GMT 2007


On Thursday 15 March 2007 10:47, you wrote:
> This is just my opinion, but I think you could add some huge examples,
> huge in the eye of a Windows user. Like saying some distro doesn't
> even have a Desktop Environment by default; also, some distro have
> completely different Desktop Environment, some may have GNOME(A
> popular DE) and others may have KDE(another popular DE).
True, I didn't want to scare them however ;) Currently I do say:
"It is important to note that due to the nature of open source software (the 
ability to customise it however you like) there are many different versions 
of Linux. This is great because you can find a version that suits you best! 
These different versions of Linux are called 'distributions'. This is because 
the creators of the various versions take Linux and make their own changes to 
it, add their own packages and then distribute it for free. It might sound 
complicated, but it's not. So don't worry, we'll help you get started on the 
right track!"
and
"As mentioned in the 'What is Linux?' section, there are many versions of 
Linux, called 'distributions'. ..There are two main user interfaces 
(desktops) for Linux. One is called 'KDE' and the other is 'GNOME'. Most 
distributions come with both, so you test and see which one you prefer to 
use. Rising in popularity is the lightweight desktop called XFCE which is 
less memory intensive yet fully featured."

>
> I would imagine there are pretty big change from Windows world, as
> they have slightly different things on different version of Windows...
> you kind of want to let them know that the difference between Linux
> distro isn't as small as Windows, and of course, that one shall not
> try one distro of Linux and make a decision on that.
Yeah, I guess it's all about striking a balance and not scaring potential 
users away thinking that it's all too complicated and messy.
>
> Yea, that's my $0.02.
Thanks! :)

-c
>
[snip]


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