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Re: Installation Party Summary
Omer Zak wrote:
> Maybe not absolutely necessary. People can do it on the spot
> simultaneously, using MS-DOS tools or whatever. Then hear a lecture
> about installing Linux while their hard disks are busy whirring and
> purring and defragmenting themselves.
That might be an option, but I think it would save a lot of time if
people just *knew* that it will be required. Just tell them how much
disk space each configuration would require (full-fledged,
internet-station, with/without X11, development station), make it
clear that the numbers are rough and that the more disk-space the
better. Also tell them that Linux can access FAT-based filesystems,
so they can share some disk space (probably mostly their home
directories) with Lose, so the partitioning decisions can be easier.
As for lectures - I though at first that it would be a nice drill too -
sit people in a "class" setup and give them some basic unix
administration tutorial. But now I think the typical Israeli mess that
goes on there prevents such a thing.
>
> > 2. I'd suggest settling on *one* distribution, and bringing as many
> > copies as possible on as many media formats as possible. You should
> > have one copy per person, so that everyone can be installing
> > simultaneously. If you can manage this, then you can also give
> > instructions from the front of the room, and have afew people going
> > around helping out with particular problems.
>
> I assume that even newbies may have special needs which require them to
> have a distribution different from the Holy Standard Distribution to be
> chosen whatever it is.
Shay and Marc met many more people than me, so they can tell us if they
know of anybody who required a particular dist. I myself haven't seen
such a newbie at the party (*maybe* the kid knew he wants Debian, but
I haven't asked him).
> > 5. I often find that the biggest hassle with installing linux is
> > finding out the details of peoples' hardware. So, lets have a form
> > for people to fill out before coming. It should ask for *all* the
> > details of their system (what cards, what brands, what configurations,
> > what monitor (max hsync, max vsync, max dot clock), IRQs, dma usage,
> > hard disk (chs, partition table, brand, ...) ...). If they come with
> > enough info, it'll make the installations more foolproof, less risky,
> > and make installing X easier (and safer).
>
> VERY GOOD IDEA!
> Have the users bring the display and video card user's manuals (I
> remember having had pored for a while over my display's user's manual
> while fine tuning my X configuration). In other words, add to the form
> also a checklist of what hardware manuals to bring with the PC.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Make it simpler - tell them to bring everything about any part they have
in or near their computer.
>
> Also list what MS-DOS tools can be used to figure out the information
> (taking into account also PnP devices' reconfigurability).
Very good idea too - maybe also give some tips about using
Lose95/Lose311
to dig info about their computer.
Another suggestion - collect as much statistics about the party as
possible -
* when people arrived
* the status of their computers, its configuration
* the partitioning scheme before and after the party
* the distribution installed, software included
* questions that people asked during the party
* ask people to comment about the party - ask them to fill a
questionaire - maybe even give it to them when they arrive so
they remember their own comments.
* how long did people have to wait before the installation of their
computer began, how long did the install take. Problems encountered
during the installation, *and how those problems were resolved*.
* any other info you can suggest.
Give the gurus a form to fill these stats during the party.
Collecting such info should be very usefull for the next "post mortum".
Cheers,
--Amos
--Amos Shapira | "Of course Australia was marked for
| glory, for its people had been chosen
amos@dsi.co.il | by the finest judges in England."
| -- Anonymous
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