Spreading Linux - a new website I wrote

[scientica]

nice site, just a little personal preference comment ( ): you could also mention kubuntu (I don't really,er... really don't , like GNOME (I'll leave it at: "I agree with Linus Torvalds about GNOME", but you're free to have you own oppinion (that's what F/OSS is all about, ね?))). I'm downloading the kubuntu DVD now (I've recently screwed up my laptop so I fugured I'd give (k)ubuntu a try - so I know if it's as good as they say, so I can recoment it for beginners to linux )

[ariadacapo]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'd like to answer as many points as I can in this message. Sorry if I'm late ! When I finally got an internet access, the forum was down

• First, about the website overall:
  I am alone as for now, despite the "us" language throughout. But all contributions are welcome = )
  I try to inform people correctly about Linux, and to get them to try it.
  I think it better to not be a complete guide / reference to Linux: this is not the point and plenty of such websites already exist [plus I don't even understand what package or a library is]. All I want, really, is that an average user who tries to get information about Linux might find things like Free software philosophy, Ubuntu, etc; instead of "clunky, complicated stuff".
  I am concerned by Freedom in software more than Practicability (the immediate practical benefits for the new Ubuntu user are negligible in my opinion).
  I try to stay very readable, whether the visitor has only got three minutes or one hour.
  
• Useful tools:
  I added a site map and a change log so everyone can keep track of things.
  
• Italic in FAQs: (fingal and TomX)
  It's gone. I think it mostly depends on the rendering of the same fonts on different systems.
  By the way, if you can suggest different fonts to use (I noticed the "courrier new" in the licensing page looks awful on windows), please do so !
  
• Licensed vs. sold point (bidi)
  Point taken: it wasn't very clear. I changed the licensing page and added a small screenshot.
  In the future, I'd like to have a small "how to look at your MS license" section.
  
• Possibility of dual boot more obvious (cousinlucky)
  I understand this, however I wish the homepage to stay extremely clear and simple.
  It's very hard explaining what dual boot and live cd are (see the get it! page). I tried to write this as if I spoke to my mum (uses firefox on XP but doesn't want to know what a kernel is). If anyone can explain it better (this page is dreafully long I think), please help!
  
• Accessibility (url, code, structure, etc)
  Thanks for the compliments . I worked quite a lot towards this. I'd like to validate the website code (there are still a number of errors) but this is not a top priority for now.
  Fingal, is the Internet Explorer problem you mention on just one page ? Maybe I can repair this. Can't get the site to look nice, though, and I seldom have an IE computer at hand.
  
• Linux is not Windows (bigtomrodney)
  Perfectly agree. I tried to suggest this in the middle of the Linux page and with the Linux from Windows page. Should I insist more, and if so where ?
  
• Spelling, grammar
  I'm French, and I wrote most of this while speaking German all day... I corrected a billion spelling mistakes, but there must be a lot of grammar left. Any remarks, please don't hesitate, it's always worth it. Thanks those who already did.
  
• MS Office in FAQ (smp-freak)
  Point taken. It's on the list of things to add and should be there within 48hrs.
  
• Win/Linux Application table (smp-freak)
  Agree with DThor. Too hard to make and maintain, and a bit off-topic. That could be a good thing for a StepIntoGnuLinux.org website = ) . More detailed description of programs ? Yes, but the problem is keeping concise and clear all the time. A good idea in my opinion.
  
• Choice of distribution (scientica)
  Sorry, I'd like to stick to Ubuntu and Suse (which is KDE by default). See the FAQ post on the subject.
  
• Community
  I am very open to having a community of some sort work on this website together (especially that I have difficulty following the pace right now). But I am frightened that the thing might go all over the place. I would really hate getgnulinux.org to diverge into a all-about-everything-linux monster that turns people off. It's not an egoistical reaction, but how can we make sure that there is still a central authority?
  Maybe we could start with a dedicated forum and a wiki ? Any suggestions welcome.
  

In any case thanks, keep comments going.
I apologise if I am a bit slow answering, but I also moved home last week (changed a toilet yesterday, in addition to updating the site lol ) and you can't imagine how much time this website costs me.
It's really cool to see all the feedback . I try to keep up.

Olivier.

[easuter]

great site, and i like the improvements.
you made an analogy about windows on your site: "Windows is very much like a car that only the original manufacturer is allowed to service."

very true. i normaly use: "Windows is like a car with the hood welded shut!"

also when a program/OS is open source, anyone can analyze the content, so if someone has malicious intent (eg: incorporating spyware like what happened with kazaa), it will be detected and the programmer will be exposed. that by itself already acts as a deterent

[fingal]

Hi - Just a suggestion, but why not include a link to these forums on your site? I have no commercial or business interests at heart: I just thought it might be good to direct people here (and perhaps to some other forums).

I think it's great to see us all offering suggestions like this to improve the profile of the GNU/Linux community in some way.

- fingal