Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

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HessenZone
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#31 Post by HessenZone »

Alright, let's see how I got involved with MX Linux? I was searching Online for the fastest, easy to use Linux OS out of the box. I wasn't looking for myself because I was actually pretty pleased with Mint 17 XFCE and Mint Cinnamon, but I was looking for something that I could use on older computers as I like to rebuild those, without looking for a Linux that can be used specifically on old machines. It's not good enough to work, it also needs to be fast, for anyone to be impressed by "old" hardware. So I run across various top 10 lists with Linux distros, most of which I'd tried in the past and knew I had no intrerest in. Until finally, out of all of those lists I noticed that three of them mentioned MX Linux 15 or MX Linux 16, which I'd never heard of before. It was #3 in one of those lists. Then I ran across a review by Dedoimedo. That, combined with the fact that MX Linux uses strictly the XFCE desktop, prompted me to get started with MX.

Mind you that at that time I already had dozens of people converted to Mint and that I had already personally written oodles of help files, etc. But I was looking for something different without exactly knowing what that was. Certainly something that felt like it was running with the wind, right out of the box. Not just fast, but fast and free. I dunno, can't really explain it.

I've been a professional computer user for close to 30 years, a Linux user close to 10 years now. I used MX Linux for the first couple of weeks and simply couldn't believe how impressively everything seemed to just flow, and how Windows7 like, this MX was. That was my first impression of MX and I felt so strongly about it that, for the first time in years, I felt that something had been accomplished here which deserved a donation since that was all that I could think of to do, while grinning from ear to ear about the fluidness of this OS. We're not money people, rich by any means, but that's how utterly impressed I was. And when I found out how easy it was to create a re-usable snapshot, to transfer entire setups from one machine to another, that's when I decided that no Linux in the World was better suited for noobs and Windows switchers, than MX Linux. I could simply update help files and such from snapshot to snapshot, burn the isos on a stick, or even a 32bit version on a DVD. Hah, I could finally build something that *ANYONE* could use !!! (Sorry for the long windedness).

So anyway, based on my experiences, based on the increases of monthly sign-ups here, and based on the rankings from distrowatch, it honestly seems to me as though there's not much choice in the matter. You guys have created something incredible and people are beginning to notice it more and more. Part of that obviously results in more people from the general masses, starting to use this wonderful OS. And in order not to go nuts with potential support issues, it only works to the developers benefit to create an OS that's as simple as possible to use, with some simple help steps here and there, to provide people with an even more awesome experience.
If an OS is as good as MX, then why not make it even easier to use? Is there a logical reason why not?
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MX Linux Rocks, in America, in Europa, in Australien, einfach ÜBERALL. :linuxlove:

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richb
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#32 Post by richb »

If an OS is as good as MX, then why not make it even easier to use? Is there a logical reason why not?
Easier to use, yes, dumbed down to just point and click? no. Installed with jut basic applications that do not appeal to the advanced duser?, no.
MX is simple enough to use for the novice, yet still appeals to more advanced users which is the sweet spot in my opinion.
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Jerry3904
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#33 Post by Jerry3904 »

OK guys, back to the topic please.
Production: 5.10, MX-23 Xfce, AMD FX-4130 Quad-Core, GeForce GT 630/PCIe/SSE2, 16 GB, SSD 120 GB, Data 1TB
Personal: Lenovo X1 Carbon with MX-23 Fluxbox and Windows 10
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richb
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#34 Post by richb »

How to create a panel launcher.

May be too advanced for a Quick Start Guide.
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uncle mark
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#35 Post by uncle mark »

As I've said here (and elsewhere) many many times, the best prospect to convert to desktop Linux is the least sophisticated user imaginable. So-called self-proclaimed Windows "power users" are a waste of time.

I've done a dozen or more conversions. I vet those candidates carefully, the least savvy the better. I also do the installs and setups myself (in nearly every case Mint KDE) and set up the desktop and menu and Panel and such to mimic XP/W7 as closely as possible. I give them a brief walkthrough, clicking on the various icons and menu buttons, and turn them loose. I never hear from them again. I have not had a single one come back to me with problems or complaints. The option to reinstall Windows is always part of the deal; no one has taken me up on that.

The MX Community should be applauded for its efforts to provide a full featured, point 'n' click experience out of the box, with support and documentation second to none. That said, there is a point of diminishing returns. I sometimes wonder if the energy would be better spent refining the product instead of catering to the lowest common denominator.
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HessenZone
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#36 Post by HessenZone »

I don't think so at all. Everyone whom I know expects a little eye-candy and more importantly, how to change existing eye candy if they don't like the initially presented setup. My simple, quick 'n' dirty help files include:

Automatic updates, how they work, plus 6 small graphics from beginning to ending updates.
The start menu (MX button) with, from myself customized, favorites, and how to use the menu.
Setting up or Altering your panel - which includes pulling existing objects into the panel.
Changing your desktop background, from within the settings as well as from the desktop.
The file manager (Thunar), opening all of your personal files, regardless of type, from there.
Changing your mouse cursor to match theme colors, disabling the touch-pad on laptops.
Playing around with the pre-installed themes, hints & tips.
Alternative Software such as LibreOffice, GIMP, VLC, and hints for usage.
One of my newest files ... Why MX, and not Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or others.
Careful, there are apps which will help you destroy your MX setup (Synaptic).

There are other files too, of course. My setups are different from straight MX though. For one, I keep the update box hidden until updates are actually available by default, and when you click the start button, my version of favorites includes at least 12 to 15 items for anyone, including professional users. Some of my descriptions have been changed to make more sense. Xfburn, an app to burn CDs and DVDs. That's great for all of us, but not for someone who doesn't even know what burning a CD or a DVD means. Even worse, SMplayer = A great mplayer front-end. Seriously? Nobody knows what that means, except someone who already knows what mplayer is. Plenty of other scratch your head descriptions like that. When my users hover over a fairly common, widely used app symbol, they know exactly what they're getting into before clicking on it. I stop them in their tracks, from opening "stuff" without really knowing what that stuff does.
That's IMO step one in the prevention of borking your own setup!
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MX Linux Rocks, in America, in Europa, in Australien, einfach ÜBERALL. :linuxlove:

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Jerry3904
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#37 Post by Jerry3904 »

Again: we're looking for ideas for a document for the current MX Linux.

These ideas are well worth considering, but not in this thread.
Production: 5.10, MX-23 Xfce, AMD FX-4130 Quad-Core, GeForce GT 630/PCIe/SSE2, 16 GB, SSD 120 GB, Data 1TB
Personal: Lenovo X1 Carbon with MX-23 Fluxbox and Windows 10
Other: Raspberry Pi 5 with MX-23 Xfce Raspberry Pi Respin

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HessenZone
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#38 Post by HessenZone »

richb wrote: Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:49 am
If an OS is as good as MX, then why not make it even easier to use? Is there a logical reason why not?
Easier to use, yes, dumbed down to just point and click? no. Installed with jut basic applications that do not appeal to the advanced duser?, no.
MX is simple enough to use for the novice, yet still appeals to more advanced users which is the sweet spot in my opinion.
Dumbing down and making things that will always exist via the console anyway, easier to use, are not the same thing. Linux is Linux and anyone who wants to code, to develop, to dive into the guts of the system, will always be able to do so. That will never change. But I'm talking about making MX easier to use for all of those people who have no interest in learning what's behind the curtain. For those people, there's still a lot more that can be done. And BTW, if all of us didn't enjoy being dummied down a bit ... then there wouldn't be any desktop environments for Linux in the first place, right?
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MX Linux Rocks, in America, in Europa, in Australien, einfach ÜBERALL. :linuxlove:

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HessenZone
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#39 Post by HessenZone »

Jerry3904 wrote: Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:50 am Again: we're looking for ideas for a document for the current MX Linux.

These ideas are well worth considering, but not in this thread.
I thought that's what the post above that one was. Sorry if that wasn't the case. I had listed numerous help documents which can be created, in order to be accessed directly from the welcome screen. I provided those examples as ideas what kind of documents could be included behind the welcome menu, with a click of a button, directly from the welcome menu. I thought that was the start document that you were referring to?
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Jerry3904
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Re: Ideas for a "Quick Start" document

#40 Post by Jerry3904 »

I just lose track sometimes.

For now, we only have the resources to produce a single document. Once that is done, it will likely generate multiple documents that may look like what you are talking about.
Production: 5.10, MX-23 Xfce, AMD FX-4130 Quad-Core, GeForce GT 630/PCIe/SSE2, 16 GB, SSD 120 GB, Data 1TB
Personal: Lenovo X1 Carbon with MX-23 Fluxbox and Windows 10
Other: Raspberry Pi 5 with MX-23 Xfce Raspberry Pi Respin

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