>
>
>In what ways will your book be different than the fat manual SuSE
>distributes with its boxed sets? May I recommend that you reserve a
>chapter, or maybe an appendix, to sort out some of the various
>distributions' idiosyncracies?
>
I'll focus primarily on one distro -- probably SuSE, as I said -- but
will include basic instructions for at least two others, one of which
will be Debian-based.
> The mplayer docs, as
>an example, are filled with video- and encoding-related terms that most
>likely wouldn't be comprehended by some guy who just wants to play the
>.asf clip that his third cousin emailed him. On the other hand, the user
>guide at gnucash.org is beautifully written, with simple explanations of
>concepts and oodles of screenshots.
>
The difference between what I'll produce and SuSE's manuals is that I'll
get into package-specific info, all in the easiest possible terms,
broken down by function, which is something the SuSE manuals don't do.
I'll start with functions, since my target audience probably won't know
what an mplayer or a gnucash is supposed to do, or what Windows packages
they "replace."
I'll spend more time/pages on mplayer instructions than on gnucash,
since you're right: gnucash instructions are good, while mplayer docs
are obscure by end user standards.
My objective will be to help a new user get up and running with Linux,
performing all basic computing/Internet functions, as quickly and easily
as possible -- plus instructions on how to use Windows software they
already own if there are no valid Linux alternatives.
We are also talking about videos, essentially Linux version of those
"video professor" Windows training videos that are getting pushed hard
during cheap TV time. This is where SuSE got into the picture. They're
willing to finance and help market SuSE-specific videos, whether or not
the videos tie directly to the books.
Come to think of it, if any of you have professional video production
experience or know someone else local who does (and will work cheap) we
ought to talk. I'll script the videos so they're very easy to shoot and
edit. A one-camera job, plus screenshots.
- Robin
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