Request For Comments

[Tristan Wibberley]

DC Parris wrote:
> On Thu, March 16, 2006 12:48, Duncan Lithgow wrote:
>> On Thu, 2006-03-16 at 10:03 -0500, DC Parris wrote:
>>> Somehow, I did not see this post on the list.
>> I only wrote it a few hours ago.
>>>  The documentation will be
>>> pasted into a wiki, once I have had comments.
>> Well, let us know when it's there and I'll take a look.
>>
> 
> It's now available in PDF format:
> http://matheteuo.org/docs/howto-ubuntu510_desktop_install.pdf
> 
> 

I don't think this paragraph is suitable for a computer newbie:

"With the CD in the drive, boot (turn on) the computer and wait for the 
boot prompt. You will see a screen with the word "Boot:" at the bottom. 
When you see that boot prompt, you should just hit the [Enter] key. It 
is possible that, after hitting [Enter], that you will have problems. If 
so, you can reboot, using [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del], and hit F1 to see a list 
of options to try."

The user can't get the CD in the drive and can't work out how to open it 
(or even knew that it has to be opened).

I'd like to suggest:

"Step #1:

The process begins by ensuring that the [official Ubuntu CD title] CD is 
in your computer's CD/DVD Rom Drive. Some CD drives have a tray which 
pops out at the press of a button, others just have a slot into which 
you can slide the CD; please see your computer's manual for instructions 
specific to your model. If this step does not work, you should note down 
any information on screen and exactly what you did (ie how you 
interpreted these instructions), remove the CD, reset your computer, and 
try again after seeking help as described in section [help section].

Note for owners of computers with a tray-based CD/DVD Rom Drive: You 
might need to switch your computer on before you can open the CD tray to 
insert the CD. If so, you might need to (in quick succession) open the 
CD tray, insert the CD, then close the CD tray immediately after 
switching the computer on. Opening the tray might need multiply presses 
of the eject button because of how soon after switching the computer on 
it is being pressed. Since the computer has a timed startup, it might 
take you too long to complete this process for the computer to notice 
the CD in time to begin the Ubuntu installation process. If this 
happens, your computer might issue an error message about "Non-system 
disk", or "No operating system" or something similar - you can just 
press reset in that case; or it might start up a previously installed 
system - in which case, allow it to start up fully, then restart your 
computer. The [official Ubuntu CD title] CD should be noticed when it 
restarts.

Step #2: [I think this next bit is out of date for Dapper]

Once the computer has recognised the [official Ubuntu CD title] CD, it 
will present you with what is termed a "Boot Prompt". This is a screen 
with "Boot:" at the bottom. It gives you an opportunity to type advanced 
options, but you should normally just press the [Return] key.

Step #3: [your step number two would be renumbered to 3]
"

I don't know what you mean by "It is possible that, after hitting 
[Enter], that you will have problems.". I think think needs explaining 
(ie, how does the user recognise that something has gone awry, how 
should the user recognise that this phase has succeeded and should not 
issue the three fingered salute).

I've avoided mentioning F1. The computer illiterate user shouldn't be 
made to concern himself with that, and anybody else can see the 
instruction to press F1 on screen.

If anybody from the documentation team is reading, I've used "might" a 
lot, but I wonder if I should have used "may" for some of them. I'm 
thinking it should remain "might" in all cases, but I had a strong urge 
to write "may" all the time.

-- 
Tristan Wibberley