o0splitpaw0o
March 10th, 2007, 12:17 AM
I just out looking around, seeing if maybe people have some stories of some experiences when first using Ubuntu. What I looking for what were your challenges when you first used it. Or maybe, what were you remember from calls with friends in which you installed Ubuntu for them and find out what they needed help with?
My hopes are to get a list of challenges people faced and get an understanding what are common one's
Example: My story..
I wanted to use Beryl. I saw some Utube videos bragging how cool it was. Then also saw people running wine & World of Warcraft. I wanted to also get into the game of that because to me, having bragging rights to say "Yea, I play WOW, on my NIX BOX!" or "Yep, Vista's great but I can do all that with my current rig at a fraction of memory."
Took me over 3 weeks of reading, testing and failing to get it working. Now I have drive to do it, but knowing my customers, they would in 10 minutes shut the computer down and if they had a chance to attempt a pirated copy of Windows to jump back into their comfort zone. We don't want to put someone in that situation.
I can now give someone a paragraph of some detailed notes by email.
I keep the following in mind when writing details to someone who is "new" to Ubuntu and Linux:
(Lessons learned working 4 years in Technical support at America Online, but can be implemented here too!)
Always keep in mind, not everyone knows the user interface. Make the notes to the T detailed with clear explanations.
Try at all possible to avoid using terminal!! Like DOS, it's like strapping on a bungee chord on someone who's never done it before and pushing them off the bridge! It scares grandma, and people go into what teacher's would call "mental blanks". They might be there doing what your saying, but they are so unconformable, they won't remember a single thing you told them over the phone/ over an email.
Use the GUI options as much as possible. The more they understand where everything is, the more second nature it becomes. People will then likely venture more in their desktop. IE: Customizing their Desktop,screen saver, & startup preferences.
Not everyone wants to know the tech side. "They don't care about the toaster, just the toast" People don't want to learn it. They just want results. Very bad, I know to hear that: but it is true! They just expect it to work. Sometimes just going into too much detail, (unless asked to) can be like explaining how a planet was formed to a 6 year old. They lose interest fast. Make them users now, and some will become fanboys later. :)
OK, not post away! I like to hear your story.
My hopes are to get a list of challenges people faced and get an understanding what are common one's
Example: My story..
I wanted to use Beryl. I saw some Utube videos bragging how cool it was. Then also saw people running wine & World of Warcraft. I wanted to also get into the game of that because to me, having bragging rights to say "Yea, I play WOW, on my NIX BOX!" or "Yep, Vista's great but I can do all that with my current rig at a fraction of memory."
Took me over 3 weeks of reading, testing and failing to get it working. Now I have drive to do it, but knowing my customers, they would in 10 minutes shut the computer down and if they had a chance to attempt a pirated copy of Windows to jump back into their comfort zone. We don't want to put someone in that situation.
I can now give someone a paragraph of some detailed notes by email.
I keep the following in mind when writing details to someone who is "new" to Ubuntu and Linux:
(Lessons learned working 4 years in Technical support at America Online, but can be implemented here too!)
Always keep in mind, not everyone knows the user interface. Make the notes to the T detailed with clear explanations.
Try at all possible to avoid using terminal!! Like DOS, it's like strapping on a bungee chord on someone who's never done it before and pushing them off the bridge! It scares grandma, and people go into what teacher's would call "mental blanks". They might be there doing what your saying, but they are so unconformable, they won't remember a single thing you told them over the phone/ over an email.
Use the GUI options as much as possible. The more they understand where everything is, the more second nature it becomes. People will then likely venture more in their desktop. IE: Customizing their Desktop,screen saver, & startup preferences.
Not everyone wants to know the tech side. "They don't care about the toaster, just the toast" People don't want to learn it. They just want results. Very bad, I know to hear that: but it is true! They just expect it to work. Sometimes just going into too much detail, (unless asked to) can be like explaining how a planet was formed to a 6 year old. They lose interest fast. Make them users now, and some will become fanboys later. :)
OK, not post away! I like to hear your story.