discuss: Thread: Request for feedback: Windows-to-Linux HOWTO outline

Hi all,
I shall be updating the From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO. It's been
five years since it was updated, and a lot has changed since then, so
I've been developing an outline for the update.

The target audience for the document consists of home Windows users
who wish to switch to Linux. It will speak to moderately experienced
Windows users--those who have a few years experience with Windows and
who know a fair amount about how Windows works. This is for a few
reasons: 1) that's the situation I was in a few months ago, 2)
probably most people switching to Linux are at least moderately
experienced, and 3) teaching moderately experienced Windows users is
the hardest, because they know how to do most things in Windows and
may think Linux is inferior simply because they do not know how to
accomplish certain things in Linux.

Most of the updated HOWTO will discuss things that are already
documented at TLDP and elsewhere. In keeping with the modular nature
of free software, I will refer readers to those other resources as
much as possible. What's missing that I hope to add is a specific
Windows-to-Linux focus--for example, explicitly explaining to Windows
users that the process for installing new software in Linux is
extremely different from doing so in Windows. (I think this specific
point frustrates many new users and at first it was a big turnoff for
me.)

I've developed an outline that's as complete as I can think to make
it. I'd enjoy some feedback as to organization and any key topics I
may have missed.

Thanks.
Omari

Introduction
   Synopsis
   Who this document is for
Is Linux for you?
   More security, more control
   Freedom to (if you want):
      to learn how computers work
      to contribute
   Software benefits:
      much less expensive
         Initial outlay lower
         No need to spend $ on upkeep (e.g. AV, antispy, firewalls)
      superior quality
   But:
      Must take time to install new system, transfer files
      Must learn a different way of operating a computer
         Windows way is different (not necessarily harder)
      Switching may not be easy
         But then, neither is continuing to use Windows.
   Test drive a live CD.
Core differences
   Free software
   Modular applications
   File system
      Tree
      Mounting
      Case sensitive
      File extensions (and lack thereof)
      Multiuser system; file permissions
   Most applications are included
      Installing new applications
Getting help
   Distribution documentation
   /usr/share/doc
   Desktop environment help systems
   TLDP
   man and info pages
   Searching the Web
   Usenet
   Asking questions at websites
   Reporting bugs
Saving documents from your Windows system
   Finding all your documents
   Back them up as necessary
   Saving your emails
      Outlook and Outlook Express
      Other programs
   Dealing with copy restricted WMAs and AACs
Choosing and installing a distribution
   Desktops
   Laptops (tuxmobil; Linux on laptops)
Desktop Applications
   X, and Desktop Environments
      GNOME
      KDE
      Others
   Equivalent applications between Linux and Windows
      Dial-up networking
      Email, importing from Outlook
      Financial files, importing from Quicken and Microsoft Money
      Photos
      Office
      Tax (nothing yet, but Web apps available)
      Wine and CrossOver Office
      Multimedia playback (MP3 and DVD)
      Purchasing MP3s (allofmp3, tunster)
      File sharing
      Burning CDs, and Windows-style packet writing
      Archiving
      For more information
Security
   Best practices
   Antivirus
   System security updates
   Firewalls
Installing new applications
   Make sure one is not already installed
   The two main Linux package types: rpm and dpkg
      What a package is
      What a repository is
      The difference between:
         dpkg and apt
         rpm and {yast, urpmi, apt ...}
      Dependencies and libraries
   Searching for and installing packages
      No rebooting needed
   Other installation methods (avoid if possible)
      from downloaded packages
      from source
Hardware
   Digital cameras
   Printers
      TurboPrint
   Palms
   iPods
   Modems and Winmodems
System administration
   System administration tools like Control Panel
   Backup
   Disk checking and defragmenting
   Scheduling and automating tasks
      cron
      Shell scripting
   Getting system configuration information
      GUI tools
      proc filesystem
      lspci and lsusb
   System and application settings (Registry)
   Networking
      Sharing printers and files
   Startup and shutdown sequences
   Working at the command line
      Equivalent DOS and Linux commands
Coexistence of Linux and Windows
   File and printer sharing
   Linux use of Windows drive partitions
Programming

--
Omari -- Caution. The moving walkway is ending.

Omari Norman wrote:
> Hi all,
> I shall be updating the From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO. It's been
> five years since it was updated, and a lot has changed since then, so
> I've been developing an outline for the update.
<snip>
> 
> I've developed an outline that's as complete as I can think to make
> it. I'd enjoy some feedback as to organization and any key topics I
> may have missed.

> Introduction
>    Synopsis
>    Who this document is for

<snip>

What a nice surprise to see your name again. I remember well your HOW-TO
from 5-6 years ago. It actually got me going in Linux and I have never
looked back.

The beauty of your original document was that it was in simple short
sections.

'For the Impatient' was *very good* for me and there were other sections
that laid out the difference between DOS and Linux simply as well as
giving simple examples

So, I wonder if you are not trying to "write a book" with your new
proposed HOW-TO? Making it unreadable for the impatient.

But other than that, I would encourage you to continue your work, and
highlight the differences between the two systems to allow users to
migrate without too much pain


All the best


Owen

> What a nice surprise to see your name again. I remember well your HOW-TO
> from 5-6 years ago. It actually got me going in Linux and I have never
> looked back.

Heh, that wasn't me :) Five years ago I was in college, using Windows
98, and thinking my roomate was crazy when he was talking about
installing Mandrake Linux on his laptop.

Nah, I came to Linux just this year, after trying KNOPPIX on a whim
and being impressed with all that it offered--and only from a CD! I've
found TLDP very useful, noticed Guido's HOWTO hadn't been updated, and
offered to update it.

> The beauty of your original document was that it was in simple short
> sections.
>
> 'For the Impatient' was *very good* for me and there were other sections
> that laid out the difference between DOS and Linux simply as well as
> giving simple examples

Very good point--I shall ensure that the DOS comparison charts remain.

> So, I wonder if you are not trying to "write a book" with your new
> proposed HOW-TO? Making it unreadable for the impatient.

Well, I'm not trying to write a book :) but I had noticed there is a
scarcity of good, free Windows-Linux migration documents currently out
there. Migration requires a lot more than knowing equivalent commands,
especially in an age when most Windows users stick exclusively to the
GUI and seldom, if ever, use the command line. The Windows command
line has suffered from ten years of decay--MS is finally discussing
giving it a boost with this Monad shell.

Still, the command-line comparisons are important, especially for
old-timers like me who actually remember the DOS commands :)

As for the impatient--well, Linux is easily installed now (easier than
Windows!) so I'd expect they just install it and fool around--which is
a good thing; everyone should do that :) But as Guido wrote five years
ago, the impatient will often give up on moving to Linux. I gave up on
Linux several times before settling into it, and having some of this
documentation in one place could have helped a lot.

Omari

--
Omari -- Caution. The moving walkway is ending.

On Thu, Dec 01, 2005 at 02:17:49PM -0500, Omari Norman wrote:
> Hi all,
> I shall be updating the From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO. It's been
> five years since it was updated, and a lot has changed since then, so
> I've been developing an outline for the update.

I'm looking forward to it. I can use this in some of my classes. :-)

> 
> The target audience for the document consists of home Windows users
> who wish to switch to Linux. It will speak to moderately experienced
> Windows users--those who have a few years experience with Windows and
> who know a fair amount about how Windows works. This is for a few
> reasons: 1) that's the situation I was in a few months ago, 

Good to have someone who recently went through it.

One thought is that while you have a solution to a problem (or, the
Linux analog to how Windows does it), in Linux (as in Perl), There's
More Than One Way to Do It. I'm sure other folks will occasionally
pitch in, "try this too."

If you don't have a Linux analog, feel free to ask. One may not even
be necessary, e.g. defragmenting e3fs.

> 2) probably most people switching to Linux are at least moderately
> experienced, and 3) teaching moderately experienced Windows users is
> the hardest, because they know how to do most things in Windows and
> may think Linux is inferior simply because they do not know how to
> accomplish certain things in Linux.

Or because they think the Windows way to do it is the One True Way,
like all those vi and emacs bigots out there. <duck!> :-)

> 
> Most of the updated HOWTO will discuss things that are already
> documented at TLDP and elsewhere. In keeping with the modular nature
> of free software, I will refer readers to those other resources as
> much as possible. What's missing that I hope to add is a specific
> Windows-to-Linux focus--for example, explicitly explaining to Windows
> users that the process for installing new software in Linux is
> extremely different from doing so in Windows. (I think this specific
> point frustrates many new users and at first it was a big turnoff for
> me.)
> 
> I've developed an outline that's as complete as I can think to make
> it. I'd enjoy some feedback as to organization and any key topics I
> may have missed.
> 
> Thanks.
> Omari
> 
> Introduction
>    Synopsis
>    Who this document is for
> Is Linux for you?
>    More security, more control
>    Freedom to (if you want):

        to help your neighbors. This point goes over *very* well when
        I teach classes on OpenOffice.org and Linux. (Cover RMS' 5
        degrees of freedom in SW.)

>       to learn how computers work
>       to contribute
>    Software benefits:
>       much less expensive
>          Initial outlay lower
>          No need to spend $ on upkeep (e.g. AV, antispy, firewalls)
>       superior quality
>    But:
>       Must take time to install new system, transfer files
>       Must learn a different way of operating a computer
>          Windows way is different (not necessarily harder)
>       Switching may not be easy
>          But then, neither is continuing to use Windows.

           Nor is upgrading from one version of a product to another.

>    Test drive a live CD.
> Core differences
>    Free software
>    Modular applications
>    File system
>       Tree
>       Mounting
>       Case sensitive

        and case preserving. FAT but not FAT32 does not preserve case.

>       File extensions (and lack thereof)

        Does Linux have anything analogous to Windows' file extension
        association, e.g. all *.doc files will be opened by OOo Writer
        if you click on them? Would something like that be specific to
        Gnome or KDE?

>       Multiuser system; file permissions
>    Most applications are included
>       Installing new applications
> Getting help
>    Distribution documentation
>    /usr/share/doc
>    Desktop environment help systems
>    TLDP
>    man and info pages
>    Searching the Web
>    Usenet
>    Asking questions at websites
>    Reporting bugs
> Saving documents from your Windows system
>    Finding all your documents
>    Back them up as necessary
>    Saving your emails
>       Outlook and Outlook Express
>       Other programs
>    Dealing with copy restricted WMAs and AACs
> Choosing and installing a distribution
>    Desktops
>    Laptops (tuxmobil; Linux on laptops)
> Desktop Applications
>    X, and Desktop Environments
>       GNOME
>       KDE
>       Others
>    Equivalent applications between Linux and Windows
>       Dial-up networking
>       Email, importing from Outlook

               ^^ Duplicate of heading above.

>       Financial files, importing from Quicken and Microsoft Money
>       Photos
>       Office

        Mention OOo's bulk Word->Writer conversion wizard.

>       Tax (nothing yet, but Web apps available)
>       Wine and CrossOver Office
>       Multimedia playback (MP3 and DVD)
>       Purchasing MP3s (allofmp3, tunster)
>       File sharing
>       Burning CDs, and Windows-style packet writing
>       Archiving
>       For more information
> Security
>    Best practices
>    Antivirus
>    System security updates
>    Firewalls
> Installing new applications
>    Make sure one is not already installed
>    The two main Linux package types: rpm and dpkg
>       What a package is
>       What a repository is
>       The difference between:
>          dpkg and apt
>          rpm and {yast, urpmi, apt ...}

           and yum

>       Dependencies and libraries
>    Searching for and installing packages
>       No rebooting needed
>    Other installation methods (avoid if possible)
>       from downloaded packages
>       from source

        Describe the tarball five-step, which many tarballs support.

> Hardware
>    Digital cameras
>    Printers
>       TurboPrint
>    Palms
>    iPods
>    Modems and Winmodems

     Scanners?
     Telephones (Asterisk!)

> System administration
>    System administration tools like Control Panel
>    Backup
>    Disk checking and defragmenting
>    Scheduling and automating tasks
>       cron

        at

>       Shell scripting
>    Getting system configuration information
>       GUI tools
>       proc filesystem
>       lspci and lsusb
>    System and application settings (Registry)
>    Networking
>       Sharing printers and files
>    Startup and shutdown sequences
>    Working at the command line
>       Equivalent DOS and Linux commands
> Coexistence of Linux and Windows
>    File and printer sharing
>    Linux use of Windows drive partitions
> Programming

I think you have a small to medium book here. Any thoughts among the
TLDP Powers that Be to promoting this to a guide?


-- 

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