Newbie Help Files
Hello Everyone,
We are going to need some basic help files for users fairly soon. If anyone has the time to write some very basic HOWTO information pertaining to BeOS / Haiku, it would be much appreciated. If you're interested or have questions, please email me at kurtis at zekimedia dot com. Some suggestions are:
Installing a Printer
Setting up my Email Account
Replacing Net+ with Another Web Browser [Mozilla, etc]
Connecting to a Network [BONE / NetServer]
Using SAMBA to Transfer Files on a Network
Using FTP to Transfer Files
Where to find BeOS tools [bebits, beshare, etc]
Office Applications [replacements for MS Word, Excel, etc]
Converting a Document to PDF
etc.
The list of ideas goes on and on. If you can spare the time to write something like these or something similar, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help.
Comments
Newbie Help Files
has haiku an official documentation format ? maybe we could use docbook, some kind of xml ... or just html ?
Haiku Documentation...
Not sure where I can help. Haven't been in the BeOS scene for a long time. Kept tabs on all the different "versions" as time passed, but that's the extent of it.
If anyone is interested in my help, someone needs to help me get back up to speed on what's going on. With no Haiku to use, it's going to be difficult for me to document on how to use various aspects of it, won't it?
I don't even have BeOS R5 PE installed! Nor a PC to install it on. :-(
What is a good basic system to go with, when installing BeOS R5 PE and/or Haiku? I need hardware specs and details. Not sure what is what in the BeOS realm anymore.
But, I definately think the documentation should be standard HTML. It simple and effective, while also being capable enough to allow you to do things normal text can't.
Latre!
Luposian
MMSTP
At the risk of being flamed, I would suggest following the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications for all word usage, bolding, etc., issues. The manual is available for free from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=...
There is a new one available, but it's so new that Google hasn't crawled it yet (and, of course, the MS search sucks and so I couldn't find it there, either.)
I would also suggest that this thread should discuss exactly what topics would need to be documented for "newbies." I'm guessing the first documentation that needs to be written is why a person should be interested in Haiku in the first place? And separate documentation would need to be written for separate audiences: casual non-developer, power user, and developer are just some examples.
Newbie Help Files
The documentation team is in the process of working out an official documentation format for the code, and it will probably be XML (docbook). But newbie help files and developer tutorials are not official documentation. They are resources for people who do not have experience with BeOS / Haiku that can help them get situated and do what they want to do. And the NHFs and Tutorials should be written pertaining to BeOS R5, since we are maintaining binary compatability and the first release of Haiku will basically be a photocopy. If you want to make my life easier, you can write them in html to save me some formatting time =).
I can help
I can help. Just give me a topic and a way to learn how to use it and I will spew out documentation as you request it.
Re: I can help
Same here. I wanna help the project but I'm crap at coding. Technical writing I can do :)
Re: MMSTP
Thanks a lot for that link. After reading through I think I'll use this guide as a guidline for stuff that I write.
Newbie Help Files
All documentation should be written with BeTeX and include lots of Calculus and Fourier Transforms!
Couldn't help myself :twisted:
Newbie Help Files
I think LaTeX is more convenient for maths not for technical docs
Newbie Help Files
Since we are supposedly part of the wider BeOS community wouldn't it make sense to use and promote the draft RFC at beunited.org, the "Open Documentation Standard"? It can be found at:
http://www.beunited.org/standards/files/voting/osbos-draft-duffy-documentation-01.pdf
Haiku is supposed to be in partnership with beunited.org...
Newbie Help Files
At least let me finish that RFC first :D :D (I wrote that draft)
Newbie Help Files
A web developer by profession, I would like to help in any way I can. Since I don't think I have deep enough programming skills to help with development, this will give me an opportunity to return the favor -- the BeOS has given *me* countless hours of "when computing was fun again."
Re: Newbie Help Files
Hi community!
I'm interested on writing documentation about Haiku/BeOS so I earn the BeS.O.S. site. I have some interesting tutorials written in spanish, so I can convert them into english easily (but will need correction) and adapt them into the documenation standar.
As kurtis proposes
Installing a Printer: printing in BeOS is delicated, so we better wait to write a tutorial until printing in BeOS improves.
Setting up my Email Account: a MDR tutorial can be done.
Replacing Net+ with Another Web Browser [Mozilla, etc]: there's a tip on betips, but can be done.
Connecting to a Network [BONE / NetServer]: I have both tutorials on my web, but a net_server one would be more correct.
Using SAMBA to Transfer Files on a Network: i have no idea
Using FTP to Transfer Files: frontend FTP clients on BeOS are a little buggy, i don't think a cli ftp tutor would be great...
Where to find BeOS tools [bebits, beshare, etc]: there are new initiatives about repositories, so we better wait until they become true
Office Applications [replacements for MS Word, Excel, etc]: i don't use this kind of sw on BeOS...
Converting a Document to PDF: I also have a tutorial on my website.
We can discuss this documentacion in a irc channel or beshare in order to create a better documenaction. I prefer to start creating tutorials when the documentation standard will be finished, but i can star some tutorial, what do you think?
If you want to contact me, send me a mail at: nitroREMOVETHIS@beosaires.com.ar
Vision Server configuration written up.
I sent Kurtis a StyledEdit document on how to configure Vision .....
"This document will walk you through setting up Vision, an IRC client to connect to irc.freenode.net and automatically log-in to Haiku / BeOS related channels."
I also included a symlink to ~/config/settings with a copy of the final Vision folder, allowing one to simply drag it over.
Nothing else is covered in that document ( Preferences, general useage, ... )
edit:
typed and emailed kurtis "Where to find BeOS tools and software: BeBits / BeZip.de" . Part 2 of this document explains what to do when BeBits/BeZip.de returs a 404 broken download link --- searching Internet Archive, BeShare|JavaShare|Unizone , Asking the Author, Google.
If anyone wants to look at them, drop me a priv. message or email me.
Newbie Help Files
perhaps some of you ahve already heard about it on beshare but i am using a Developer Edition 2.1 maintain by Fabien Lusseau, and to help him, i have make a PDF document that explain to new user what is Tracker and Deskbar how to:
- configure emails account
- change menus prefs, scrollbars style and others color things
- configure net_server (and what is the different between n_t and Bone)
- configure and install a screensaver
- change the screen resolution
- change the wallpaper and put background into folders
- use others things like Mouse, Data Translators and the main goal to configure attributs organisation in each folder
- how works and what things do in the Tracker settings window
- use workspaces
- some usefull keyboard shortcuts like [alt]+shift+k or [alt]+y
unfortunalty, cause DevEd 2.1 is mainly a french distro, this PDF document is in french ... perhaps i can translate all this in english and export it in HTML :)
german translation
I am willing to do a German translation for any documentation which is considered "ready for release".
I would also like to create guides in english and I don't even think they would need much correction work, but i'm currently BeOS-free because my hard disk crashed and i'm currently booting knoppix whenever i need my computer.
But if you've got any translation work for me to do, just PM me.
Newbie Help Files
hhuumm .... in fact, everybody now have a broadband connection so why just stay with plain text or PDF files for newbie help ?
As a new user of 3d Studio Max (university), i was looking for some tutorials to help me ... and what really helps me is video tutorial.
In BeOS, we have the closely perfect BeScreenCapture so it's very simple to explain how things works and what do what in real time.
What do you think about that ?
Newbie Help Files
Beosfrance:
nope. not everyone and maybe not even the majority of all internet users.
Newbie Help Files
I certainly don't have a broadband connection - and I don't really have any options to get one (nor will I probably for the next 5-10 years) - my CO (telco office) has DSL - but I'm more than twice the maximum distance in order to get ADSL (in fact, I'm so far, I get a blistering 31.2kbps connection maximum)
Cable broadband will never come anywhere NEAR my house... I live in a mountainous region, so Line-of-site wireless is not a very viable option... the closest to broadband I'll ever likely see is a frame relay/fractional T1 - which will likely cost me a minimum of $300 USD per month if I go that route.
Satellite internet access is a nightmare and has extremely high latency while maintaining approx. $900 USD installation fees and > $60 USD/mo for service which gets the absolute worst reviews on broadbandreports.com
If the area I live in doesn't have widespread broadband (I live within "commuting" distance to southern california) then it is certainly not as widespread as it might sound...
I hate PDF files - they take forever to download and read, I turn off pictures on some web pages just so I can read their content in a timely manner - I download files from work and take them home just so I can get them...
It's definitelly painful, and the internet is much less bandwidth friendly than it ever was before.
Newbie Help Files
I live in a town with 20,000 people, with probably 75% of the population working between the local university, Intel, HP, eBay, Google and Microsoft. We only got consumer available DSL in May.
I'd already gone to business DSL, which I still have. Not paying for it, which means I'm running through the proxy-filter-from-hell (no CVS, no BeShare, no IRC, etc). 1Mbit Rate Adaptive is what I've got now (1Mbit that adaptively shares between upstream and downstream). Normal cost with no cap is E110 a month.
Yes, thats E110. Around $140 a month.
Yet if I get on my bike I can cycle half a mile one direction or ten the other direction and literally stand on top of access units for the fibre that carries most of Ireland and the UK's traffic cross the atlantic.
Those lines have been there for years, yet in the 1990's I had to use satelite broadband to get downstream over 14.4. That was PAINFULLY expensive, around ã100 a month ($180 dollars, and this was 1997). When I went to dialup it was E200-250 a month for the phonebill, although that included calls, rental, equipment, etc.
EDIT: The reason for all this is that Eircom spent nearly a billion on ISDN, rolling it out so widely that no house can't get it. They purposely cripple DSL to make sure people stay on ISDN, so they can get their costs back.
END EDIT
Broadband is easily available on the continent, Japan and Korea. In many countries, its very, very expensive, and in the US the country is too damn big for many to get it
The 'net is still very much a 56K world
Newbie Help Files
hm hmm ... ok so i think it's pretty much clear: bad idea man ! :?
Newbie Help Files
HTML is good because it a) streams well b) compresses well and c) references binary objects rather than embedding them - this allows persons to disable pictures/objects as necessary...
Multiple versions then
Since everybody is favouring some format why don't make multiple options available? The user can then download whatever she/he likes.
There are some video tutorials for zeta on the net but I think we can do better than that.
Why not record (ala Bescreencapture) the screen to a shell-script and make it an executable helpfile. It should be divided in steps so the user can easily navigate.
Newbie Help Files
I want to +1 this, but with a slight change. please use XHTML.
All the same reasons as above, with the added bonus that because its well formed (ie, XML), can be d) adapted easily with tools to be text, StyledEdit (neato), PDF etc if we so wish. e) gives us room to adopt new standards later f) Net+ (if people still use it) and Mozilla can be sent different pages. Less cruft for newer browsers.
I wonder if having soo many formats would be a bad thing though, nutela. We cant cater for everybody; and at some point we're going to have to encourage fewer formats on "our" system. Like ODF documents, or Gobe files, etc.. just to reduce the amount of formats avail.
Newbie Help Files
I have to disagree. I think having several formats compete for users is the best route. Some users prefer HTML, some XHTML, some OpenDocument, some PDF, etc. It's not *our* business to decide which format is best (though I know I have my favorites); it's the end-user's.