What do you want to do next ? Here is a list of things people want to do with their computers. *Please* tell me about other things that people commonly want to do with their machines but need just a bit of help.
I'm sorry that, at the moment, there is no help here on how you can actually do any of these things. I plan to hotlink this list to actual help files Real Soon Now. (If you know of a better explaination on how to do something, please tell me so I can either add that explaination here or redirect my links to that better explaination). (woefully incomplete ... add link to rufus ?)
2002-11-14:DAV: I just discovered _The Linux Cookbook_ by Michael Stutz (free and online at http://dsl.org/ ) ``It shows you how to perform a lot of everyday tasks using only Linux and free software.'' [FIXME: consider mirroring that Cookbook, then trashing all the redundant stuff here ... ...] [FIXME: email Michael Stutz with any little bits of information that I have here that he left out ]
I maintain some related files:
[FIXME: merge with next section]
originally written by Caolán McNamara currently maintained by Dom Lachowicz.
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1999 19:20:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Donovan Rebbechi <elflord at pegasus.rutgers.edu> To: David Cary <d.cary at ieee.org> cc: "DAVID B. TEAGUE" <teague at WCUVAX1.WCU.EDU>, seul-dev-help at seul.org Subject: Re: office software On Tue, 6 Apr 1999, David Cary wrote: > Is there any free software that can import MS Word native format documents Maxwell and word 6. And there's a "Word viewer" which is actually a word 96 -> html converter. See http://www.linuxapps.com cheers -- Donovan Rebbechi
Date: 6 Apr 1999 23:33:13 -0000 From: jfm2 at club-internet.fr To: seul-dev-help at seul.org CC: teague at WCUVAX1.WCU.EDU, seul-dev-help at seul.org Subject: Re: office software > > > I've started to add some links to this "task_help" file > http://www.ionet.net/~caryd_osu/david/html/task_help.html > to "productivity software". (Does http://www.seul.org/ have a link to this ?) > > I've been told that Corel WordPerfect for Linux can import MS Word documents. > > Is there any free software that can import MS Word native format documents > ? I haven't searched, but I know one person that keep documents in rich > text format ".rtf", which seems to be a relatively neutral format that many I have heard MS has a very peculiar idea of rtf (doesn't work with other people). Not testeed myself > word processors (including MS Word) can import and export. > mswordview. If free means 0$ for you then add the personal editions of StarOffice and WordPerfect > Any better ideas ? Maybe I need to add sections "How to read various > document formats" and "How can I create documents that people who use X can > read". > word2x -- Jean Francois Martinez Project Independence: Linux for the Masses http://www.independence.seul.org
spreadsheets: http://sal.kachinatech.com/G/4/
Scheme In A Grid (SIAG) http://www.edu.stockholm.se/~ulric/siag/ A spreadsheet, but it also contains a Scheme and a C interpreter.
StarOffice http://www.stardivision.com/ suite of office tools (spreadsheet, word processor, etc.) for Linux and other OSes.
"The un-Microsoft Office" http://www.currents.net/magazine/national/1706/covr1706.html article by Robert Lauriston.
Sender: forge!forgeltd Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 05:36:39 +0000 From: Kevin Forge <forgeltd at usa.net> To: David Cary <d.cary at ieee.org> Subject: Re: Help topics / task help David Cary wrote: > > Writing some documentation on how to do simple tasks sounds like a good > idea for SEUL. Although I don't see what the difference is between a "TASK > file" and a "HOWTO" and a "miniHOWTO". > HOWTOs try to be somewhat general and to shy away from being specific to any particular environment or software. What would make these taskfiles useful is if the doc would assume a particular Filesystem layout, and a specific set of programs installed. Kindof a "to perform this task our way you need these 15 apps. If they aren't already installed go to this URL HTTP://*** ". Then they could assume a minimal setup. i.e. An x86 PC connected to the internet via modem and not running a terminal or Network. We would have separate taskfiles for each type of setup. And before anyone Get's on his high horse about why this can't work be reminded the people with the most complex needs need the least help. I.e. The goy with aforementioned standalone PC in his house trying to get online with a little 33.6 Elchepo modem needs far more help than the Sysadmin with a 5 PC Server cluster 200 Client PCs and 78 Terminals ( 27 of them XTerms ) > > Print a document on someone else's fax machine > This is a perfect example of What Linux needs to simplify. Sure there are decent fax programs out there ... but I haven't found any that install easily AND run automatically. By Automatic I mean you simply choose whatever LP device the fax program is pretending to be and once you send the print it pops up a little window for you to type in the Name and number of the recipient. Receiving should be just as simple. I.e. The phone wrings for a while ( user determined value ) and then the modem answers and notifies the user that she has a new Fax. 1 click and it's on screen. ( slightly different procedure if you are out of X at the time ). Yes this is all probably available now ... It just doesn't work immediately. The receive aspect forinstance needs only 1 variable ( how many rings ). Even the device may not need to be configured ( /dev/modem is default )...
Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 22:36:42 -0500 To: seul-dev-help at seul.org From: David Cary <d.cary at ieee.org> Subject: Re: Help topics / task help Cc: twoducks at globalserve.net Writing some documentation on how to do simple tasks sounds like a good idea for SEUL. Although I don't see what the difference is between a "TASK file" and a "HOWTO" and a "miniHOWTO". When you say "'help' could invoke tools", are do you literally mean that while the user is using the help browser to find out how to do something, the help browser itself would start other applications (rather than telling the user what to type/click to start this other application) ? That could be cool. Maybe even intelligent enough to look at your system and say things like "I see you already have the mouse set up, so let's skip to step 7". Keeping a list of "Tasks People Want to Do with a Computer" sounds cool. I'll cut 'n paste the list onto my web page if no one else volunteers. Many of these tasks are interrelated / interdependent; "Checking email" assumes that you already have the email program set up, so it should probably have a link to "setting up pine" which in turn depends on / has a link to "Connecting with the Internet". more tasks: Checking email Simple text file editing Writing your first "Hello, World" comsci assignment (is gcc installed ?) Printing out a text file Printing a picture / web page Editing a web page Balancing my checkbook Downloading, installing, and playing Doom inserting a formula with a fraction into my TeX document Send a graph via email Print a document Print a document on someone else's fax machine >To: seul-dev-help at seul.org >From: Two Ducks <twoducks at globalserve.net> ... >Instead a separate set of documents, TASK files, could >be written to embody some of the SEUL ideas. Task help >files would be short, step by step procedures for >simple (and semi-complex) processes. As much as possible >the help could invoke tools (used in SEUL) which the >user could then use to perform these tasks. Some of these >tasks could be: > > Opening an xterm. > Executing a program. > Running the file manager. > Copying a file (and other file operations). > USING THE HELP BROWSER!! > Connecting with the internet. > Setting up the mouse (or other hardware. Tools needed to make this >easy.) > Logging out. > Shutting down. > Rebooting. > >And on and on. > >Some of these tasks can be recorded now. > >What is though of making a list of possible tasks (keeping it online >somewhere) and tagging the ones that are being written and have >been complete. > >Any takers? -- + David Cary "mailto:d.cary@ieee.org" "http://www.rdrop.com/~cary/" | Future Tech, Unknowns, PCMCIA, digital hologram, <*> O-
The people on the <seul-dev-help at seul.org> and "seul-project at seul.org" motivated me to write this list. These people in particular wrote significant parts:
THE RULES
by "Star's End" <starsend at interlog.com>
Final Comments:
If you are adding a particular app, please try to use the
existing categories if at all possible.
If you know of an app that fits the bill, please add it to the
list.
Okay The List:
Office suites:
Web Browser News http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/Tech/Web_Browsers/ has the latest web browswer news.
mrdojo on Tuesday November 16, @11:42AM EST (#18): "I've been following browser technology ever since I stumbled upon the Internet and Lynx years ago. I remeber the day, horror upon horros, that The Discovery Channel unleashed it's site, all chock full of graphics, and it was damn near useless for me. I've never forgotten how a couple of innovations can make a product near useless. Mozaic and Netscape killed Lynx for me."
"The availability of a tool shapes the sort of tasks that can be accomplished.
Sometimes people will use a $2000 computer to replace a $1.59 deck of cards and never get any farther than that.
We can never predict what applications will be desired, because the number of applications needed is probably infinite. We can predict the sorts of things, that people need to keep track of: images, words, documents, numbers, facts, relations between facts, time, people, projects, possessions; and try to think of ways of making it very easy for them to keep track of such things." -- Evelyn Mitchell <efm at tummy.com>
"If you ever want these programs written, DON'T talk about writing them - WRITE THEM ALREADY! Learn whatever languages it takes, Linux isn't like windows. No one is going to hold your hand and comfort you when something isn't the way you want, you get told to FIX IT. TTYL!" -- Paul Anderson <paul at geeky1.ebtech.net> Maintainer of the Tips-HOWTO. http://www.netcom.com/~tonyh3/speck.html
"The mentality of most linux users I know ... ... lets do something interesting today." -- "Stars End"
?: "We need to not break things. ..."
"Stars End": "What you [want] is a static environment. That doesn't exist in linux. In
fact most would say the chaos in the linux world is its biggest strength."
"I think the real question being asked is what can be changed to make people who normally use windows more comfortable on linux.
The answer has been given many times before. Make a distribution that is easy to install, complete, and preconfigured. That's all that windows is. Anyone who has had to fix anything that goes wrong on windows know exactly how hard and how cryptic everything is.
Keep the user who doesn't want to how the computer works away from the part that are critical." -- "Stars End"
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 09:26:32 +0100 From: Kai Wetzel <k.wetzel at welfen-netz.com> Organization: Free Software Union (http://www.fslu.org) To: seul-project at seul.org CC: starsend at interlog.com Subject: Re: SEUL: Feature List take Two Star's End wrote: [...] > THE RULES > > 1) The list is to stay intact. You may add to it but don't edit it. > I don't care that were wasting bandwidth. Its better to have a dozen > real lists floating around, then a dozen snippets of lists. Well, I see your point. However, I prefer reading mails with only relevant section quoted, but this only works if people tend to read all messages of a thread. I try to switch to extended quoting for this particular thread since it seems to be useful, though ;¡) > 2) The only comments to be accepted is a url pointing to where an > application can be found or additions of applications to the wishlist. Hmm, I think the list can also gain from comments about its structure, etc. The better the skelleton is when we're through in a couple of days, the less work it will mean for you to maintain and for other people to add items to the list :O) > 3) No religious wars. I don't care if you think KDE is better than GNOME > or vice versa. What we are doing here is listing all the potential assets > available to the project. Well, I think it's a good idea to mention short-coming of particular applications. This doesn't mean we shouldn't include these apps - don't get me wrong - but it could mean that we're more likely to be happy if an alternative arrives. > Okey The List: Generally very good already, but I'd suggest some changes to the category, especially to avoid we end up with one or two dreaded miscellaneous categories which get filled up with all kinds of apps. I would also suggest to add sub-categories in some cases. It's up to you in the end, these are just my (hopefully somewhat useful) suggestions. (I use + for sub-categories, - for entries, $ for shareware / gratisware, $$ for payware )[DAV: lots of stuff cut out and merged with main list above]
I hope it's ok if I add some items without a URL. If nobody has one at hand, I can search for it later on and give it to you.[DAV:vsnippage]
The most nicely done list of Linux apps I know of: http://www.xnet.com/~blatura/linapps.shtml Should we only add those we tried or also those which someone should try/review to this list ? > B.T. Best regards, kai
[FIXME: move this entire section to http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?VersionControl ]
a version control system
This is a pretty essential tool for projects where more than one programmer wants to work on the code simultaneously.
But which one ?
The Kernel Hacker's Guide to Source Code Controlby Greg Kroah-Hartman 2002-09-01 http://linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6183&mode=thread&order=0 (which mentions
The use of BitKeeper as a kernel development tool is one that a lot of people find contentious, given BitKeeper's licensing strategy. Read over the license and decide for yourself if you should use it.) and http://www.bitkeeper.com/Hosted.html .
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 15:11:25 +0200 (MET DST) From: Stefan Petersen <spe at stacken.kth.se> To: geda-dev at geda.seul.org Subject: Re: gEDA: CVS question (off-topic) On Thu, 22 Jun 2000, Paul Robertson wrote: > Hi. > > Sorry this is rather off-topic. > > I am using CVS to manage a project, with a couple of branches and stuff. [problem described] > Any ideas how to do this? This is a kind of RTFM answer but anyhow. Karl Fogel has written a book on CVS that is (mainly) GPL:ed and available "on the net". The URL is: http://cvsbook.red-bean.com/ I have the dead-tree version myself and have found it quite interesting. /spe /----------------------------------\ ! Stefan Petersen, MSc EE ! \ ! http://www.stacken.kth.se/~spe/ ! \___________ \----------------------------------/
The BLINUX Documentation and Development Project (BDDP) http://www.leb.net/blinux/ Enable blind, visually impaired, deaf-blind, and low-vision users to install LINUX on their computers themselves.
other random possibly-related stuff.
Crucial tools to load onto my Mac
downloaded Netscape Navigator from http://www.netscape.com which included StuffIt Expanderª 4.0.2 and Internet Config 1.3 Open Transport from http://www.apple.com/ somewhere. Adobe Acrobat came with Open Transport. Eudora from http://www.eudora.com/ a text editor
MIRA - A unique text-only web browser MIRA is a simple web browser created to satisfy the following objectives (listed by priority): Keep a permanent record of where you have been and the text you have read while searching the Internet Allow viewing of old web pages (and old versions of current web pages) even after the original server no longer has them Allow the user to easily search through all this old saved text for one or more words or a phrase, etc. ...
Started 1998-04-05
Send comments, suggestions, bug reports to
end http://www.ionet.net/~caryd_osu/david/html/task_help.html