Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

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Gordon Cooper
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#51 Post by Gordon Cooper »

Jerry3904 wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:10 pm This is all in the Manual
+1
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colin_b
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#52 Post by colin_b »

I personally don't have an SSD in my PC so trimming serves me no purpose, but I feel a brief mention in the quick start document would be helpful, even a simple line like "MX Linux runs a weekly TRIM operation on devices which have an internal SSD" would inform people of this functionality, and this would eliminate unnecessary forum questions.

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Richard
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#53 Post by Richard »

Zeh:
My feeling is that this is a bit contradictory with all the so easy to use tools the devs have came up with. I even think that from the point of view of ease of use MX already is a newbie distro. To become a proper newbie distro MX would just need a sort of "Quick Start" document, as suggested, and a short introduction to Linux in general and to Debian in particular, since MX gets its foundations on both.
To me, "newbie distro" implies "beginner distro" which is my point of departure.

Yes, the idea of this discussion is to improve our Quick Start page.
The biggest problem is not just to have one but to have it be read.
Many good suggestions have come up in this thread.

Jerry3904, Gordon, Old Giza and others have worked hard and for many hours preparing
and maintaining the MX User Manual. We even make an effort to provide
various translations to aid Newbies from other languages.

I do not believe that MX is a newcomer's distro.
I believe that MX Linux is already easy to use.
I believe that MX has a great manual that is continually being expanded and improved.
I agree that MX needs a *great* Quick Start page or pages.
Maybe we could give First Boot a timed, inescapable reading of the Quick Start page. :)

MX is a great place for new users after they have acquired some experience
and knowledge with one or several of the distros mentioned in the Beginners article.
There are many satisfied Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Zorin and Elementary users.


In my mind, a newbie distro is something like these distros for Beginners,
and I see no reason for MX Linux to jump into this puddle:

I could be wrong. I have been wrong before --more than once.

From the Beginner Linux article, https://itsfoss.com/best-linux-beginners/:
Linux is more than an OS. It’s an idea where everybody grows together
and there’s something for everybody. We have already covered:

Best Linux distributions for Windows users https://itsfoss.com/windows-like-linux-distributions/
Best lightweight Linux distros
Best Linux distributions for hacking
Best Linux distributions for gaming
Best Linux distributions for privacy and anonymity
Best Linux distributions that look like MacOS

In addition to that, there are distributions that cater to the needs of newcomers
especially. So here are a few such Linux distros for beginners. You can watch it
in a video and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more Linux related videos.
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Gordon Cooper
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#54 Post by Gordon Cooper »

Richard - I agree with some of your thoughts and comments. If you have been brought up on a diet of MS Windows, changing to Linux at Win 7, then I would not consider you to be a newbie and the introduction to MX should not be much of a shock. A person with experience only in the later MS products, or none at all, may need more help. I know I have been banging on about info' being available in the MX Manual but it certainly is not a quick start document - 150 pages of detailed information may well frighten some potential users from reading it. As is obvious from a trawl through the MX forum, there are some experienced users who do not read the manual either, finding it easier to pose their questions on the forum.

I guess that I was lucky in this respect. Several years ago and wanting to find out something about Linux I saw the local User group advertised, went along to a monthly meeting and met Mike Pav. He introduced me to Mepis then guided me through the installation and sguided me through the teething pains of a new system. When MX came along a few years later transition was easy.

Was thinking about that introduction today and about how someone without a nearby user group would get started. So I entered MX-17 into my browser. Up came a
lengthy list of possibilities, most of them about golf clubs. There was one titled MX 17 | MX Community that looked promising, but was not. The title of MX Linux MX Community was much better, with an introductory page and links to downloads, other MX sites etc.etc. A lot of valuable information for a newcomer. There are a couple of references to earlier versions of MX, that might be of concern. The Manual does get a mention, under the Help heading. Yes, the Manual is well Indexed but if newbies do not really know what they are looking for then more assistance may be required.

After reading much of this thread again, and thinking about it, perhaps all that is needed in a Quick Start document is a list of references to Sections of the Manual with a minimum of extra explanation if needed.
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tascoast
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#55 Post by tascoast »

Having watched the development of MX tools and tweaks it is clear that many focus upon desktop functionality and key system settings, making it easier to get up and running. This is on the back of an excellent installation experience that accommodates a vast array of hardware, making it stand out from other Linus distributions.

With the xfce environment that may be new to someone first trying MX, coming from MS or other Linux systems, some introduction to common settings and options for Grub, the Panel, Thunar and Whisker Menu seem obvious, so users can settle in' with some personalised functionality and ergonomics. This is where I focus most of my attention.

What I have observed in teaching a friend to use MX I installed on their laptop, and in hearing of others via the forum, similarly assisting family and friends,
is that MX suits a wide range of users and technical skills. Casual users can easily update, configure and get on with routine browsing, multimedia and office tasks.
Others with more ambitious needs can extend MX's underlying capacity by delving into more advanced applications.

The other strength of MX is the documentation, augmented by video guides, a great forum and social media presence.

People absorb things differently so having a range of material aimed at beginners through to advanced users in different formats and languages seems a good thing. Other language support and blogs are valuable features of MX and should not be overlooked.
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asqwerth
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#56 Post by asqwerth »

Gordon Cooper wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:02 pm...

After reading much of this thread again, and thinking about it, perhaps all that is needed in a Quick Start document is a list of references to Sections of the Manual with a minimum of extra explanation if needed.
That is helpful but perhaps will be better within the context of an introductory slideshow that pops up the first time one logs in, and ends with the current Welcome Window.

Slideshow should be more of a "where do I go to find this?" tour, like pointing out:

1. the start button to find apps, pointing out the search field
2. MX tweak in start menu (called "whisker menu") to change panel orientation (vert, horiz, top, bottom) and themes/icons
3. XFCE settings manager (point to icon at the top of the whisker menu) for various settings - explain these are general settings that come with the desktop interface that MX uses
4. MX Tools in whisker menu, which is MX's own custom tools to do many useful tasks and customisations, and that MX tweak is one of these tools, as is the....
5. MX Packageinstaller for installing software. Suggest they search first under Popular Apps tab for a list of curated apps in different categories, as installation from there is quick and for some apps will include certain necessary pre-configuration steps as well.
6. the MX Manual, for detailed information of the OS, but perhaps point to a guide [chapter zero of manual?] with a list of sections to read first, per Gordon Cooper's suggestion.
7. the browser (FF) icon on the left panel - they can use it to access the MX forum and Wiki for even more help, as well as online version of Manual
8. End with MX Welcome screen.
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turtlebay777
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#57 Post by turtlebay777 »

One thing I can't understand is, why is the standard firewall switched off by default?

Zeh
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#58 Post by Zeh »

Jerry3904 wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:10 pm This is all in the Manual
Maybe with the exception of a little further background info on GNU/Linux and Debian (since these are the foundations of MX), you’re absolutely right, it’s all in the manual, which is one of MX pluses. Nevertheless, the issue of initial support info arises from time to time.

So, it seems that there is the need of figuring out why people don’t seem to make use of the manual, even when it’s the first button to be seen in the MX Welcome screen. Could it be that people just run away from anything called “manual”, for it giving the idea of a big boring document?

Maybe the MX Welcome screen is the type of quick start “document” one poster was looking for (everything is there: manual, wiki, tools – including the MXPI, the type of tool he was looking for), but for some reason he didn’t come across it. If so, what could be the reason(s) that make people overlook the MX Welcome screen? And, if people overlook the MX Welcome screen, linking yet another document to it won't solve the issue.

Regarding the 10-12 most common procedures people carry out after installation, they may already be in the manual, Section 3, Configuration. Maybe it would suffice to have the manual's table of contents expanded to include the sub-sections, so that people can easily see what's in the manual and from there access what they're looking for with just one click.

Zeh
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#59 Post by Zeh »

Adding to my previous post.
Zeh wrote: Wed Sep 19, 2018 4:47 am Maybe with the exception of a little further background info on GNU/Linux and Debian and antix [not only because it's fair, but also to provide some more advertising for antix, because it undoubtedly deserves it] (since these are the foundations of MX) (...)
(...)
(...) if people overlook the MX Welcome screen, linking yet another document to it won't solve the issue. Maybe adding a 'MX Help' entry to the Start menu linked to the MX Welcome screen?
(...) Maybe it would suffice to have the manual's table of contents expanded to include the sub-sections (...) Having a section table of contents in each section as well, listing the section's sub-sections for the same purpose of getting to desired subject with just one click

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asqwerth
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#60 Post by asqwerth »

Zeh wrote: Wed Sep 19, 2018 4:47 am (...)Maybe adding a 'MX Help' entry to the Start menu linked to the MX Welcome screen?
I think if you want it visible and easily discoverable, the title has to be more explicit, e.g. "Introduction for Newcomers".
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