User:Kayschenk

From openSUSE

Hello, this is Kay!

Last Updated: 12/07/2008

My SuSE History

I have been using SuSE, my one and only Linux distro since April, 2001. I started with 7.1 on the same machine I'm using right now and have never switched. It was enough for me given my other time and interests to just deal with this and get to know it well, well pretty well anyway. I have been using Linux almost exclusively, except for some Windows requirements at work since that time. I figured if Linux didn't provide it, I didn't need it. SO far, so good!

My OpenSuSE History

I installed a packaged version of 10.0 on my home computer this past summer. This was straight update, not a clean install from 9.2. Much to my amazement, there were just about NO issues...just some KDE reconfiguring which didn't take long. I was SO encouraged by this, that just in the last 2 days, I downloaded the CDs to 10.2 and did a straight upgrade, also from an older 9.2 to 10.2. My reaction---WOW! Great job to all. You even made my Radeon graphics SO much better!!! I love it.

My Other OpenSource Involvements

I've been invovled with OpenOffice as a web hacker for about 4 years, and with a now defunct online Linux tutorial site for about 2 years. Funs stuff...and I'm looking forward to contributions to opensuse in one form or another.

ta ta!

Improvements for "Newbies"

Downloading the Product

• Put section 5a BEFORE the Download DVD info...also what possible apps could be used for burning the ISO image directly IN the instructions. Try in all cases to minimize navigational steps for new users.
• Explain IN DETAIL what the difference is between what's on the full DVD vs the CD versions. What will be missing etc. You don't want newbies left with a incomplete experience! This is especially critical since you point out that apparently with (some) versions of Windows you need a 3rd party product to burn DVDs!? Much more detail is needed here in terms of Win Os's and what's needed. Newbies simply will not bother at all if this is NOT an easy task.
• Given many of the problems listed in downloading a DVD image, I'm wondering why the multi-CD approach was abandoned???! Yes, one DVD makes for a quicker install, but what good is this when you can't download the product at all?
• I would add an additional "Please see Download Help (with link of course)if you're not sure what to do". Or maybe just a samll (orange) Help link rihgt to the side of the page title. For some reason, the Download Help menu off to the left side isn't exactly where I would expect to find it.

An OpenSuSE Guide for Newbies

Newbies converting from Windows especially with NO experience with ANYTHING ELSE are used to a seamless bios->hardware->windowing environment. They have NO knowledge at all of alternative anythings. So...this guide would need to cover at least the following topics:

• A Simple Look at the linux architecture: kernel, modules, hardware detection, sound system, etc.
• The "base" environment: what happens when linux boots, the command line environment. How your hardware is controlled: modules, hal, udev, devices, mounting devices, device permissions. What to do when things don't work.
• The window environment: X, popular Windows managers
• The SuSE environment: System configuration, admin vs user accounts.
• Administering your system: Yast, other admin utilities, KDE approaches/utilities vs Gnome.
• SuSE Forums

In summary, much of what I'm suggesting here seems to be covered in the "official Novell" documentation, so perhaps using some of them with some augmentation and putting links to it in a more prominent place on the site would help.

I would be happy to help with something like this...but not for a few weeks at least. Once upon a time, I participated in an online "newbie" Linux group, BasicLinux.net, now defunct, for which I wrote several "lessons". Two of which are: "KDE Lesson" "Perl Lesson"

What Newbies Want

• Newbies don't want to get bogged down with a lot of information that won't make any sense. I'm probably NOT the best person to speak from experience here since I actually had quite a bit of experience with command line unix before I got into Linux. Would newbies really care about all this "metalink" business on the download help page, for example? Many newbies wouldn't even know anything about ftp vs http downloads as another example.
• Newbies need to feel secure. They need specific details on what to do. Despite the continuing ease over the years of installing (open)SuSE, there was at leas one question in my recent install of 11.0 that threw me--something about system access, ACLs vs default or something like that. Did I know what this meant? Sort of...would a newbie??? NO! Would it worry them? Yes!
• Newbies need to know where to go for help. The Online Help is a SUPER step in this regard!