Talk:General Installation

From Grokdoc

If the target audience is newbies, is it really appropriate to go into what a bios is and such?

--Mikey 11:24, 14 Jun 2004 (EDT)

I certainly think so to explain why they have to navigate those weird menu's to boot their Linux installation CD/DVD/Floppy.

--MathFox 10:14, 14 Jun 2004 (EDT)

My grandma does not care, nor does she need to know, what a bios is. Perhaps it would be better to start all installation related documentation with something along the lines of:

Please select from the following list your comfort level with computers.

1) I use computers to get my job done and that is just about it. I have never installed an operating system and other people help manage any computers I use.

2) I use computers only to communicate with other people via email, surf the internet, and shop online. I have never installed an operating system and other people help manage any computers I use.

3) I use computers at home and work and I am able to install applications when I need to. I have never installed an operating system.

4) I am familiar enough with operating systems to be comfortable installing them.

5) I am very familiar with computers and operating systems, but have never installed Linux.

6) I am very familiar with installing and configuring operating systems, including Linux.

And then let the end user decide what level of documentation they need and the amount of detail they desire. Each level of comfort should be written for the target audience.

-- Mikey 11:24, 14 Jun 2004 (EDT)

This site is not about documentation, but about usability. Go to tldp or Linuxquestions for your documentation.

--MathFox 11:28, 14 Jun 2004 (EDT)

Well, you coulda fooled me! It looks an awful lot like explaining to a user how to install linux is documentation on how to install linux. If the site focus is strictly on usability issues, I suggest you rename it to something less confusing like grokUsability. Not only that, but my comments were about usability of the page, so I am now even more confused.

-- Mikey 11:53, 14 Jun 2004 (EDT)

The way the article is now, it's not about usability either, because it does not tell us the traps newbies fall into. Instead it is a documentation on how to install Linux. Unfortunately even for that purpose its not very good, because you have very different Installation-Scenarios (Having bought a clean system or assembled one from parts. Having a (pre-)installed Windows which you wish/wish not to keep. Having a Mac-Intosh (now there's a newbie gotcha!) and so on). Each of these scenarios has different caveats and things you can leave out. So if you want to pass some knowledge about general Installation-Issues, you may succeed, but I fear as a installation-HowTo its not good enough yet.

-- TToni 14 Jun 2004, 15:40 UTC

Editing suggestions from a newbie.

I've used Linux personally for about five years and still consider myself a newbie. As I've grown to love the operating systems and control, I've encouraged many to try it out and passed out dozens of CDs.

Well done ;) -- 4lex

I think this site and these documents are a great step and will provide an excellent resource I will recommend again and again to prospective Linux users.

Mind that grokdoc is not meant to be a documentation site for newbies. Please check this and here. Tell your linux users (newbies and gurus alike) that they should come to grokdoc to write about usability issues (as in "when installing, I always get stalled in..." or "every newbie I met had problems with..."). They should refer to LQwiki for a manual. Grokdoc will document (hopefully) every usability problem, so that sites like LQWiki are able to provide nice help and manuals, and also in the hope that the involved projects (KDE, Gnome, OpenOffice, Mozilla, Debian, Mandrake...) take a look and make their programs/environments more and more usable. There is a common confussion here, and a lot of people are writing material more suitable for LQWiki. For examples of what we are looking for see here, here or here. -- 4lex 06:27, 20 Jun 2004 (EDT)

Regarding this page:

I suggest a change in the sentence "Most BIOSs allow you to specify an order - the first bootable thing it find it will boot."

That sentence is found in the category of "The Bios" under the topic of "Configuring the BIOS for a Linux Installation" in the third paragraph.

Rewording it to, "Most BIOSs allow you to specify an order - the first bootable thing it finds, it will boot." would be acceptable but it might be better to reword as, "Most BIOSs allow an order to be specified, but the first option that can be booted, will be."

Another suggested change would be in the next category of "Filesystems." In the second sentence of the second paragraph, the word "windows" probably refers to the Windows operating system and should be capitalized.

There are many places where the document might potentially be reworded to improve flow but overall I think this is a great start. To me, it reads a little like a second draft but one that shows great promise.

All significant documentation requires editing. I'm reluctant to do the editing myself since this forum is new to me, but I would appreciate feedback if I should feel free to edit myself. I'll check back here to see the feedback.

As already stated, a manual is not the aim of this site, but providing usability data in order for a proper manual to be written. Apart from that, you are very free to edit and improve pages, like in the wikipedia. It's a lot quicker this way :) 4lex