[Speakers] Transitional/Introductory Presentations

[Adam Tauno Williams]

> > > In my experience, a new user presentation should consist of the GUI side
> > > of _using_ Linux.  Not the underlying system, how it works, nor the
> > > command line.
> > Agree, focus on the GUI tools is good.  In part because the GUI tools
> > are now "good" and they used to be utter crap.  I've been using LINUX
> > since 0.99a but these days I do most of my admin via Yast.
> A presentation focusing on YAST might be a good topic for one of the
> four.  Mostly covering the portions that a home user needs to know.  

True.

> > I think some brief segways into certain topics are worth while.  One
> > could explain runlevels in a single slide after mentioning boot-up and
> > how-to-shutdown.  This way they've seen the term.  I think getting over
> > the terminology hump is a big one for people coming from windows (in my
> > experience;  it is the windows terminology that seems weird to me).
> Explaining the equivalent of things in Windows terms is good.  i.e.  We
> should cover a little about the "root" user, along with mentioning it is
> like the Windows "Administrator" account.
> > So do you start the presentation series with booting up and logging in?
> > Which might be a reasonable approach.  Or somewhere else;  from more of
> > a view-from-4000-feet perspective?  Thoughts?
> I'd say the system should be already booted at the login prompt.  Most
> modern distros boot with just a splash screen, and our projector can't
> show the boot screen due to the changing monitor frequencies anyway.

I'm talking about a presentation, not a demonstration - demonstrations
are bad - and not easily repeatable by other people.   Of course the
presenter can always drop out of the presentation to demonstrate
something if they wish.

As far as showing a boot-process screen I can capture one easy enough in
VM-Ware.  Might be nice to at least say what all that noise is and not
to let it elevate one's blood pressure.  And that all this IS happening
when you boot M$-Windows you just don't see it at all.

So presentation #1 -
1. Booting
2. Logging in
2.1. Segway into a brief explanation of users, homes
4. Logging out
5. Shutting down
5.1. Segway into a brief explanation of 'runlevel'
<log back in>
6. Basic desktop stuff
6.1 Removable media
6.2 Formatting a floppy

??

I think we don't have much choice but to SuSify this since some of these
steps are specific.  Someone is always welcome to 'translate' the
presentation to another distribution. ?