I think that a cloud based solution is a great idea. But for mobile users this would a problem. One possible solution would be to include <b>all</b> of the content that is available online in a repository that <b>gets updated when the contents on the web changes</b>. Then is is not just static and can be redesigned. If the downloaded format was HTML, then this would not require another application. I think that a cloud based solution would be great, but there needs to be a easy way to download all of that content locally.<br> <br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Jul 7, 2010 at 8:30 PM, Jim Campbell <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jwcampbell@gmail.com">jwcampbell@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"> Hi All,<br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div></div><div class="h5">On Wed, Jul 7, 2010 at 6:34 PM, Shaun McCance <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:shaunm@gnome.org" target="_blank">shaunm@gnome.org</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);padding-left:1ex"> <div>On Wed, 2010-07-07 at 17:13 -0400, Kyle Nitzsche wrote:<br> > <a href="http://mdzlog.alcor.net/2010/07/06/weve-packaged-all-of-the-free-software-what-now/" target="_blank">http://mdzlog.alcor.net/2010/07/06/weve-packaged-all-of-the-free-software-what-now/</a><br> <br> </div>[snip]<br> <div><br> > With which I agree in general.<br> > * on-disk docs might effectively be limited to only what is necessary to<br> > get started and get connected to the web (localized, of course).<br> > * run-time help links might instead display appropriate content in the<br> > browser.<br> <br> </div>[snip]<br> <div><br> > Naturally, there are disadvantages, such as:<br> > * no internet connection = no help (beyond the minimal on-disk help)<br> > * umm.. any other disadvantages?<br> <br> </div>A greater disconnect between applications and their help. Our<br> traditional help consists of islands of documents that are<br> largely separate from the applications they document.<br> <br> One of my current projects is a library for deeply integrating<br> help into applications. (It was Phil's idea, although he might<br> not realize it.) Imagine help buttons and menus automatically<br> populated with the most relevant content, searching for help<br> directly in the help menu, and on-board help blurbs that come<br> directly from the help and link into it for more information.<br> <br> These are the sorts of things that user assistance professionals<br> are dreaming about, but most help tool vendors are still stuck<br> in the 90s. We have the opportunity to blaze new trails with<br> free software. Stop playing catchup and make UA professionals'<br> mouths water.<br> <br> It's possible to have this sort of deep integration with cloud<br> content, but it's harder. I have no doubt that help will move<br> more and more to the web, but then, applications will move more<br> and more to the web as well. If we jump there too early without<br> thinking about how to really improve things, we'll lock ourselves<br> into an outdated and inadequate help model.<br> <br> --<br> <font color="#888888">Shaun<br> </font><div><div></div><br></div></blockquote></div></div><div><br>To be fair, I don' t think that the two approaches to help have to be mutually exclusive. What Shaun is talking about is awesome application-level help. There will still be a need for people who want that help content in different formats, whether they be manuals or help that is searchable on the web. <br> <br>As for on-disk vs. cloud/web-based content, I think having more web-based content is necessary now. We would still have the option of keeping on-disk help relatively light. For example, we could not include (as many?) screenshots in on-disk help as would be available in other formats. <br> <br>Also, as far as I know, Ubuntu is one of the few distros that ships a good amount of on-disk help at all. Fedora just ships their release notes in the main install, and OpenSUSE (I think) just features some sort of getting-started guide. Both have their other help available for download on their websites. Does anybody know how RHEL and SUSE have theirs set up? Do they have much "distro-specific" help in the base install? <br> <br>As for Apple and Microsoft, they may have a good amount of on-disk help, but they don't concern themselves with fitting all of their OS and applications onto a 700mb CDROM. For base installs they have DVD's and having some of their content accessible via the web.<br> <br>I bring up those comparisons not necessarily to say, "Oh, they do it that way, so that way is the best way," or to say, "Just do it however X group / company is doing it," but to set realistic expectations for us. I want us to be mindful of bandwidth / offline-access issues like the ones that Phil W. brought up, and want to give room for Shaun's application-level help ideas, but a better web-presence for Ubuntu help would also be a big step forward.<br> <br>Jim<br></div></div> <br>_______________________________________________<br> Mailing list: <a href="https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual" target="_blank">https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual</a><br> Post to : <a href="mailto:ubuntu-manual@lists.launchpad.net">ubuntu-manual@lists.launchpad.net</a><br> Unsubscribe : <a href="https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual" target="_blank">https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-manual</a><br> More help : <a href="https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp" target="_blank">https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp</a><br> <br></blockquote></div><br>