DUG

[John Babich]

On Dec 8, 2007 9:19 AM, Paul W. Frields <stickster at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 2007-12-08 at 14:54 +0900, Marc Wiriadisastra wrote:

<snip>

> > I've got a lot of questions like this which is the essence of the
> > original email.  Can we put together a list of what topics should be
> > covered and to what limits each category should move to. Then we have a
> > target to move towards?
>
> Unfortunately I don't have the cycles to do it, but you are welcome and
> encouraged to start such a list, and float it to the mailing list for
> discussion.  I think that's a very thoughtful process, and I'm sure
> others will pitch in their ideas.
>

This is a rather lengthy reply to the ongoing discussion for the
benefit of the newer contributors to the DUG.

First of all, let me say it's great that the DUG is getting some
needed attention from volunteers like you, Marc. Having said that,
let's make sure we avoid "re-inventing the wheel".

THE PAST

Hence, here is some brief background information on the DUG:

There is a published Fedora Core 6 (FC6) version of the DUG, announced
on Sunday, 18 February of this year (see
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-February/msg00008.html).
You can view the FC6 DUG at
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/desktop-user-guide/en/. This is the
immutable verson rendered from DocBook XML source.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first edition of the DUG.
Back in FC6, the task was simplified by the fact that GNOME was the
default desktop manager for Fedora, even though there's been an active
KDE community in Fedora for some time.

Although generally well-received, the FC6 DUG was severely criticized
by a few individuals as too "GNOME-centric".

For various reasons, a Fedora 7 (F7) version was never published.
Fedora 7 introduced the Live CDs, including a KDE Live CD. Obviously,
the DUG has to be expanded to include KDE apps as well as GNOME apps.
I personally use Xfce on one of my laptops, so I am sensitive to the
fact that there are other Xfce users like me out there in Fedora
userland.

THE PRESENT

The goal now is to get a Fedora 8 version of the DUG out before Fedora
9 ships. KDE apps will definitely be included, Xfce apps time
permitting.

As far as the boundary between the DUG and the Administration Guide
(AG), I agree with Paul that the GUI/non-GUI distinction has very
little relevance. We should always point to the GUI apps first, except
in those rare cases where GUI apps don't exist or don't provide the
required functionality.

I think the main distinction is the target audience. The DUG's
audience is the first-time or less-experienced user who wants to
perform common tasks like web-browsing, creating simple spreadsheets
and text documents. The AG's audience is the more-experienced person
who wants to manage a group of users with various access levels, or
set up and administer servers such as HTTP/FTP, IMAP/POP3,
authentication, proxy, DHCP, etc.

The current table of contents for the FC6 DUG is the general outline
and is still valid today.

THE FUTURE

However, some changes definitely need to be made (some have already
been completed):

1. GAIM has been replaced by Pidgin (already done).
2. Codec Buddy is now shipping with F8 (requires a rewrite of the
multimedia section).
3. Improvements have been made to NetworkManager (may be more
appropriate for AG).
4. Include default KDE apps (some work had been done).
5. Include default Xfce apps (placeholders for the desktop created, no
apps added yet AFAIK).
6. Other non-default apps can be added sparingly (alternate CD/DVD
burner K3B a good example).

If a task-assignment table similar to the one for the AG (see
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Drafts/AdministrationGuide/Contributors)
is useful, let me know and I will make one up for the DUG.

Best Regards,

John Babich
Lead writer, Fedora Desktop User Guide