Re: More task division concerns

["Orn E. Hansen" <oe.hansen@oehansen.pp.se>]

Þann 28-Jan-98 skrifar Aldo Solari [APS]:
> 
> - Now, I'm trying to figure out how I will get 30-40 100%-newbies to
> get a box/another HD, install debian 1.3 and write down all problems
> they have in the process.  Perhaps, a good way out with this will be
> to fix an experiment  at  some  faculty  here.   I  will  query  the
> sysadmins around.
> 
  On a related issue, why take in newbies at all?  Many newbies don't even know
what they want... they may tell you, that "I like it like that", because
MS-Word does it like that.  But if you show the newbie something else, he/she
is likely to say "Yes! that's good too...".  Which, at that point, may just
confuse the development.

  How about defining an 'install process', with minimum of requirements (such
as a n-byte free partition).  And then refine an install process, that makes as
clean a path from A to the destination B... with the goal of asking the user an
absolute minimum of question, and giving the user a selection to choose from,
where it applies.  Or, in technical terms... defining a idiot-proof basic
install process.  A process that gives a basic setup, which is enough for the
newbie to get a working system, but where the guru can make his/her own
adjustment after bootup.

  And then, keep open a backdoor.  Like, if there is no free partition
available, then warn the user and perhaps give him/her an option of
repartitioning a hd?  Or, if the card the user has, isn't on the list, then the
user can select the driver to use... etc.

  Just my 2 cents.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orn Einar Hansen                         oe.hansen@oehansen.pp.se
                                          oehansen@daimi.aau.dk
                                        voice+fax; +46 035 217194
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