How many uses do you think it'll get before someone swishes the keyboard around in the bowl? It certainly won't last a day. Probably not even an hour (assuming each person isn't taking an hour in the first place...)
Will there be unblockable advertisements included? I imagine they'll make good use of the sound system by playing loud shockwave advertisements for x-lax and pepto bismol every few minutes.
Also, I notice that it seems they mostly want people to log in to their Hotmail accounts with it. I, for one, would not trust logging in to a Microsoft-controlled server from a toilet. The thought of Microsoft knowing when and how long I expunge waste is... disconcerting.
"I'm going to remove a lot of choice from the user, because, to many, it's more a gamble than a choice."
I agree whole-heartedly with that. When your basic desktop user is switching from Microsoft to Windows, all of those choices are guaranteed to blow his mind. Postfix? Sendmail? Qmail? Procmail, mailx, mailutils, maildrop, mailbase, getmail, fetchmail, mutt, elm, squirrelmail, kmail, sylpheed, evolution!? I don't know, I just want to check my mail! Why are there so many choices in the "mail" section!?
What ALL distros lack is sufficient documentation on what all of these packages are and why you would need them. Gentoo's description of fluxbox: "Window manager based on Blackbox -- has tabs." Yeah, that about sums it up. Now I know exactly what it is... uh huh. To anybody who needs a description of fluxbox, that's not enough. Imagine the user coming from Windows and reading that description. What's a window manager? What's blackbox? What are tabs? Do I need this?
The way to fix this isn't to just force the user to take a certain window manager. It's to give real documentation. A page, or two, or three. Better yet: screenshots. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Each window manager could have 5 or 6 screenshots viewable from the installer, or maybe a little automated tour.. a slideshow or video that demonstrates its features. Every program should be well documented. Those that can't be described completely yet simply should include some sort of a graphical demonstration. Documentation should include who it's targeted at, what it does, and why you would need it. This could include a list of common tasks it is used for.
Similarly, a well-documented installer should have an index where users can search for specific actions like "reading mail" or "web browsing". Under each topic should be a list of available programs to do that task. Current installers allow you to choose pre-defined setups like "workstation" or "server". There should be more than just a few pre-defined choices, and they should explain in great detail what they install and why. Obviously, there are some people who just want to click "install" and have everything setup for them. But those who are really trying to get into Linux won't just want to have a box pre-configured for them. It's MUCH more valuable to have each choice explained. "This is fluxbox. Fluxbox is a window manager. A window manager is... Fluxbox was chosen because you selected the 'fast and lightweight' setup. Fluxbox's competition is:... Fluxbox was chosen instead of its competition because..." Sure, it would take forever. I know I would have preferred to have taken a long time but known exactly what was going on rather than installing in 10 minutes and taking two years to learn what all of my software is for.
Maybe a distro intended solely for introducing linux is in order. Not like Lindows and Lycoris which "introduce" you to linux by isolating you from it, but something that is more of an interactive tutorial.
I'm disturbed by the number of people recommending flash and java games/videos. Is that really what kids are using the internet for? A high-tech television replacement?
If the kids want to do something fun, there's got to be something more exciting than browsing the internet. But if computing is a necessity, why not teach them how to make something on their own? Creating your own flash video is a thousand times more exciting than watching someone else's. Teach them how to make their own fonts or icons or webpage. Something they can impress their friends with. It's more fun, more useful, and more educational than idly watching someone else's creativity.
When I was 8 years old, I remember running home from school every day to play on the computer. I doubt a day has gone by since then that I haven't used a PC. But the things that stick out the most are my own creations. Things like drawing a picture with an ANSI graphics editor in DOS. It wasn't much (hell, it was FAR from much), but that sense of accomplishment of creating my very own digital art is unforgetable.
It doesn't take much. Let them experiment with "Swish" to make some simple flash animations. Get them started with BASIC or Logo. Do anything you can to discourage New Television Generation 2.0, now better than ever.
I think a lot of us stick with Windows because it's necessary for our jobs/school. In the case of needing Windows for your job, many people can afford multiple computers, and keep Windows on only one. But for students, computers aren't exactly a cheap commodity.
I've attended many schools, and ever since junior high i've been expected to submit projects to my teachers as Microsoft Word documents. I stuck myself in a nasty position when I switched to linux; I need to either do my work on someone else's computer, or shut down everything i'm doing and reboot to Windows (that's a much bigger hassle than it sounds like). Of course, submitting RTF files is always an option, but some teachers can be amazingly ignorant and will refuse anything they don't immediately recognize. Plus, that doesn't help when I have to make Excel or Powerpoint projects.
As well, many schools now require students to run particular programs that only run in Windows. You won't get much sympathy when you try to explain to your teacher that WINE ate your homework. One of my friends has to do homework online at a website that supports no browser other than Internet Explorer.
Many people simply aren't willing to deal with being punished for switching to linux.
I want $1 or $2, 30 page, tiny reference manuals for a bunch of languages. I want a little C and PHP function list that can fit in my shirt pocket. Unemployment = no $70 books, and those online tutorials don't help at all. I know a lot of unemployed high schoolers who need books, but can't afford to shell out $100 per language.
For the monster books, they should come in "dead tree" format with a digital version on a CD in the back. Regular books are much better for reading, but the ability to search sure comes in handy sometimes.
Slashdot Mirror
Another good one is All Game Guide. It mostly covers technical facts and history, but a good portion of their games are accompanied by reviews.
Gamers.com has an old article about the EyeToy. They make it sound pretty fun.
That's not the same thing. The one you're looking at was built by a hobbyist. He also built some portable atari 2600s.
How many uses do you think it'll get before someone swishes the keyboard around in the bowl? It certainly won't last a day. Probably not even an hour (assuming each person isn't taking an hour in the first place...)
Will there be unblockable advertisements included? I imagine they'll make good use of the sound system by playing loud shockwave advertisements for x-lax and pepto bismol every few minutes.
Also, I notice that it seems they mostly want people to log in to their Hotmail accounts with it. I, for one, would not trust logging in to a Microsoft-controlled server from a toilet. The thought of Microsoft knowing when and how long I expunge waste is... disconcerting.
"I'm going to remove a lot of choice from the user, because, to many, it's more a gamble than a choice."
I agree whole-heartedly with that. When your basic desktop user is switching from Microsoft to Windows, all of those choices are guaranteed to blow his mind. Postfix? Sendmail? Qmail? Procmail, mailx, mailutils, maildrop, mailbase, getmail, fetchmail, mutt, elm, squirrelmail, kmail, sylpheed, evolution!? I don't know, I just want to check my mail! Why are there so many choices in the "mail" section!?
What ALL distros lack is sufficient documentation on what all of these packages are and why you would need them. Gentoo's description of fluxbox: "Window manager based on Blackbox -- has tabs." Yeah, that about sums it up. Now I know exactly what it is... uh huh. To anybody who needs a description of fluxbox, that's not enough. Imagine the user coming from Windows and reading that description. What's a window manager? What's blackbox? What are tabs? Do I need this?
The way to fix this isn't to just force the user to take a certain window manager. It's to give real documentation. A page, or two, or three. Better yet: screenshots. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Each window manager could have 5 or 6 screenshots viewable from the installer, or maybe a little automated tour.. a slideshow or video that demonstrates its features. Every program should be well documented. Those that can't be described completely yet simply should include some sort of a graphical demonstration. Documentation should include who it's targeted at, what it does, and why you would need it. This could include a list of common tasks it is used for.
Similarly, a well-documented installer should have an index where users can search for specific actions like "reading mail" or "web browsing". Under each topic should be a list of available programs to do that task. Current installers allow you to choose pre-defined setups like "workstation" or "server". There should be more than just a few pre-defined choices, and they should explain in great detail what they install and why. Obviously, there are some people who just want to click "install" and have everything setup for them. But those who are really trying to get into Linux won't just want to have a box pre-configured for them. It's MUCH more valuable to have each choice explained. "This is fluxbox. Fluxbox is a window manager. A window manager is... Fluxbox was chosen because you selected the 'fast and lightweight' setup. Fluxbox's competition is:... Fluxbox was chosen instead of its competition because..." Sure, it would take forever. I know I would have preferred to have taken a long time but known exactly what was going on rather than installing in 10 minutes and taking two years to learn what all of my software is for.
Maybe a distro intended solely for introducing linux is in order. Not like Lindows and Lycoris which "introduce" you to linux by isolating you from it, but something that is more of an interactive tutorial.
I'm disturbed by the number of people recommending flash and java games/videos. Is that really what kids are using the internet for? A high-tech television replacement?
If the kids want to do something fun, there's got to be something more exciting than browsing the internet. But if computing is a necessity, why not teach them how to make something on their own? Creating your own flash video is a thousand times more exciting than watching someone else's. Teach them how to make their own fonts or icons or webpage. Something they can impress their friends with. It's more fun, more useful, and more educational than idly watching someone else's creativity.
When I was 8 years old, I remember running home from school every day to play on the computer. I doubt a day has gone by since then that I haven't used a PC. But the things that stick out the most are my own creations. Things like drawing a picture with an ANSI graphics editor in DOS. It wasn't much (hell, it was FAR from much), but that sense of accomplishment of creating my very own digital art is unforgetable.
It doesn't take much. Let them experiment with "Swish" to make some simple flash animations. Get them started with BASIC or Logo. Do anything you can to discourage New Television Generation 2.0, now better than ever.
I think a lot of us stick with Windows because it's necessary for our jobs/school. In the case of needing Windows for your job, many people can afford multiple computers, and keep Windows on only one. But for students, computers aren't exactly a cheap commodity.
I've attended many schools, and ever since junior high i've been expected to submit projects to my teachers as Microsoft Word documents. I stuck myself in a nasty position when I switched to linux; I need to either do my work on someone else's computer, or shut down everything i'm doing and reboot to Windows (that's a much bigger hassle than it sounds like). Of course, submitting RTF files is always an option, but some teachers can be amazingly ignorant and will refuse anything they don't immediately recognize. Plus, that doesn't help when I have to make Excel or Powerpoint projects.
As well, many schools now require students to run particular programs that only run in Windows. You won't get much sympathy when you try to explain to your teacher that WINE ate your homework. One of my friends has to do homework online at a website that supports no browser other than Internet Explorer.
Many people simply aren't willing to deal with being punished for switching to linux.
I want $1 or $2, 30 page, tiny reference manuals for a bunch of languages. I want a little C and PHP function list that can fit in my shirt pocket. Unemployment = no $70 books, and those online tutorials don't help at all. I know a lot of unemployed high schoolers who need books, but can't afford to shell out $100 per language.
For the monster books, they should come in "dead tree" format with a digital version on a CD in the back. Regular books are much better for reading, but the ability to search sure comes in handy sometimes.