a reminder-list for when we're going to migrate to Trisquel
Hi,
Whenever I am installing Trisquel on the computer of a friend I have to prepare my personal list of things that I have to do, to explain and to configure. There is no doubt that you need to teach her the basics: We want not she has a bad experience with free software by lack of knowledge. It's possible that after the installation you don't see anymore that person, so she cannot contact with you physically. I think these notes could be very interesting for the Trisquel Documentation (where I cannot create a new entry), with links to other manual pages where the matter is explained with more details. It could seem to:
Migrating from a GNU/Linux distribution to Trisquel
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Remember to remember:
* Ways of migrating (with links to tutorials): clean install, quidam's script what automatize the ubuntu's migration (I'd appreciate a good list of successful versions which works. Also maybe it could work with some derivatives such UltimateEdition, Mint, etc.)
* Preserving /home. I'd also like reuniting info about when config files are compatible (depending on distribution and versions and if it could cause conflicts of any type)
Remember to teach:
* Things related to non-free software. Description and alternatives. The difference is that all the issues are joined here, you don't have to look up in all the manual entries.
Migrating from Microsoft Windows to Trisquel
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Remember to teach:
* Equivalence between apps. (IE->Web Browser, WindowsMediaPlayer->Totem, etc.)
* The simil of the cathedral and the bazaar? for understanding that you need different programs for listening a CD, burning CDs or watching films.
* How to find the correct program that you could need in the "add and remove app". [1] can help.
Migrating from MacOS to Triquel
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* The equivalent one.
Commons:
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Remember to configure:
* Pidgin, Evoultion, plugins for the web browser if necessary.
Remember to teach:
* Present the forum for searching help.
* Give your email to the friend so she can ask you doubts.
Please, improve the list also answering this post.
Regards,
lluvia
I am a translator!
Here are some free as in freedom alternatives:
Google Chrome -> Midori, Epiphany, Arora, Dooble (WebKit and QtWebkKit browsers)
Firefox -> GNU Icecat, Abrowser/Web Browser
MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, GTalk, IRC -> Pidgin, Empathy
Firewall -> Firestarter
I am a translator!
I find it much harder to explain to people why free software matters to begin with and why they should make the switch. Remembering what to do when installing the system is rather easy imho.
It might be useful to explain why the migration is going toward Trisquel, not Ubuntu or something else.
There are basically two approaches to that, depending on what kind of argument will be better understood by the computer owner. First is the moral issue of course, but it is a rather theoretical thing for non-programmers.
Second is the fact that Trisquel gives the developers full control over every single piece of the system, as opposed to Ubuntu for example, where they couldn't really help you, if you have problems with some of the non-free pieces.
One can also mention, that non-free software basically involves a certain security risk, because no one knows how it exactly works and what it does.
> I find it much harder to explain to people why free
> software matters to begin
> with and why they should make the switch.
Yes, it is. It deserves all my respects and a lot of my free time. But I think that the memo is also important so it naturalizes the process at a lot of levels. Showing people we like this activity and giving them instructions and work done.
> Remembering what to do when
> installing the system is rather easy imho.
To do the list is really an easy work. I mean, everyone with no very advanced knowledge can make it in a few days of researching. But I think that remembering is not only a problem for me. Also, to have it written is a form of sharing knowledge and it also will encourage people to help more people to migrate, without the need of afford first the employ of ythe time researching it by yourself.
I am a translator!
I didn't mean to imply, that a list of how to migrate a computer to Trisquel is not needed. It's quite easy to do and will help to automate everything. Just wanted to share ideas about how to explain the importance of the move to people, that are oblivious to the problems of proprietary software. It's kind of the same topic, really.
When installing Trisquel somewhere, it is very important to boot from the livecd first, to check if there are some compatibility issues. Those are:
1. Videocard issues.
2. WLAN or other LAN (if WLAN doesn't work, maybe a usb dongle is an option?)
3. Webcam (be sure to enable the Webcam in Windows before booting into something else, sometimes the Webcam will work, but is disabled forever in other OSs than Windows).
4. What other hardware is used (printer, scanner, etc.)? Does it work with Trisquel?
If those conditions are met, one can proceed with the installation :)
The "moral issue" is not for programmers only. The freedom to use the software as you wish and the freedom to distribute exact copy of the software do not require any programming skill. And the other freedoms are for anyone too... but indirectly. It is thanks of the freedom to study the source that you can be confident in the absence of malware (what every user wants). It is thanks to the freedom to modify the source code that you can have a free market for support (you do not rely on one single company to have a bug fixed or a feature added). These freedoms also are an insurance for the future of the free applications. As far as some users find them useful, they will be developed. Imagine for instance if Sun's applications (OpenOffice.org, MySQL, OpenSolaris, etc.) would have been proprietary. They would be without any future today (e.g., not ported to newer versions of the operating systems).
I am a translator!
You are right, those freedoms are important for everyone. However it is sort of hard to explain to someone who has no understanding of programming, that is what I meant. People are used to being able to get their programs for free and to share them, be it because the program is freeware, free software, or cracked. No one reads the license agreement anyway, so how should they know the difference? That's why it is easier to explain people the practical advantages of GNU/Linux, than the certainly more important ethical part.