[Speakers] Transitional/Introductory Presentations

[Robert G. Brown]

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 10:45:47 -0400, Bruce Smith <bruce at armintl.com> wrote:

Overall, I think what you're charting here is a kind of introductory tour.
As such, it's a different vantage point than many earlier efforts, and if
it brings in the crowds and keeps 'em, great. 

>> > I'd say the system should be already booted at the login prompt...
Agree. This is another place to get a screenshot, if possible (VMWare?).

>> I'm talking about a presentation, not a demonstration - demonstrations
>> are bad - and not easily repeatable by other people.
Yes, I think we want something a LITTLE more "canned" than a demo.

>The one time I winged it, it was more of a demonstration, in the sense I
>had no slides and was showing it live.

>I think this needs to be a mix of the two.  Slides, plus dropouts to the
>real word-processor/browser/desktop/etc., so the newbies can see it
>works in real life, not just in theory.
That's fine. I beleive we're looking for a structure to hang dropout on,
rather than a curriculumor lecture notes.

>IMO these live demos will serve to captivate their attention more than
>the slides.
They will also be a comfort to those who are already Windows users, as
they will see how similar the behavior of things really is.

>They can see pictures of the stuff on the SuSE box in Bestbuy.
They CAN, but it is dangerous to assume they have.

>We don't really need to get into the details of the browser/WP/email/...
>just enough to show them it really exists, this is what it really looks
>like, and it really works.  Just showing some of the pull down menus is
>probably good enough.  (see, it has a spell checker here ...)
To this end, we should select some fairly standard stuff, and while pointing
out that other choices exist, it would be good to select applications and
a desktop that has a reasonably familiar appearence.

>I would even go as far to start the presentation at the login screen,
>login, start OO-impress, open the slides, and continue from there.
>(providing that logging in doesn't screw up the projector)
Well, we know it does....
  But the idea is right. Maybe start with a desktop, stat Impress, and show 
the login screen, and go on from there?
....
>> 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'
Segue :)
>> <log back in>
>> 6. Basic desktop stuff
>> 6.1 Removable media
>> 6.2 Formatting a floppy
>
>Show them what they want to use....
Again, familiarity is important here. Show that the user does the same
sort of things to accomplish the same tasks as users of competitive
systems. This is why this is a tour... we're going to skip along the 
highlights, assure people that the system will be easy to get into and
use, and perhaps hint at all the "hidden" flexibility, stability, and
power --- or VALUE.

>> 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. ?
I'm sure there are choices, but it is a question of economics, too. We
should ensure that what we do is effective on one platform before a lot
of effort is spent discussin (or moving) the presentation elsewhere.

>If we plan on using the LTSP box for these demos, and if the LTSP box is
>running SuSE, and we give some live demos, SuSE'ify'ing it is a must.
Frankly I wouldn't use LTSP for this tour. Keep it simple and oriented
to the user and the workstation. Introducing concepts like thin clinets
and remote logins will lead to all kinds of complexity. Let's do that in
one of the followup presentations.

>We can also talk a little about the differences and similarities between
>SuSE and other distros in general.
Yes, it is helpful to point out that Linux represent CHOICE, and there is
a diverse set of distributions out there to select. OUR choice, as a group
may be (for now) SuSE, but we recognize that Linux comes in many packages,
and that use of Linux does not imply lock-in with one company.

							Regards,
							---> RGB <---