Re: GNOME tour?

[Claus Schwarm <c schwarm gmx net>]

On Tue, 17 May 2005 14:37:29 +0100
Simos Xenitellis <simos74 gmx net> wrote:

> Indeed, do a guideline for an initial tour and I'll try to make a demo
> in vnc2swf as well, just to compare how they
> look and feel, and quantify the amount of extra work.

It will take a few days, because I'm busy with organizing other things
right now.

> Some points to mention
> a. In general getting people to redo the tutorial for their own
> language  is a difficult task, as they will have
> to get the skills in doing it. See for example the screenshots for the
> release notes of GNOME 2.10. There was different degrees
> of quality and many did not manage to make them on time (ok, they had
> to  get garnome/jhbuild for these..)

In fact, I once tried to understand the screenshots of the 2.8 release
from a newbie's point of view. If you never worked with GNOME before,
the meaning of many screenshots is not obvious. This is why I'd like to
add proper descriptions (and a little bit of promotion).

A nice example:

http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/teams/marketing/en/2004/two-eight-screenshots/html/scalable-gnibbles.png

 ( This isn't a game, isn't it? What about 3D ? )

Another one:

http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/teams/marketing/en/2004/two-eight-screenshots/html/nautilus-new-authentication-dialog.png

 ( Without knowledge of internet adresses, you may wonder why you have
to log in to view your files? )

and the last:

http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/teams/marketing/en/2004/two-eight-screenshots/html/emel-kepada-jdub.jpg

 ( Is this a browser showing at a web mail account, a mail client with
tabs, or something completely different? And you say, GNOME is easy? )


> b. The ideal situation is when one person can do the tutorials for 
> several languages, simply by switching between locales,
> and not requiring much on understanding the local language. There has 
> been a request to the gtk+ people to allow for fast-switching
> between locales without having to restart the program. If you find any
> of the gtk+ people, chat with them if this is achievable,
> as it will help in many ways the localisation teams. Ok, this point is
> just for some hints, let's not divert attention away from the tutorial
> issue... :)

> c. Along with the SWF/AVI tutorial it's possible to add sound, as with
> a  person describing what's being done. The effect is marvelous,
> though it's much more work.

The main problem will be to find somebody with a good voice, and the
proper equipment to record speech, I guess.

But I agree: That would be amazing! :)

> d. Another option is to create animated GIFs, perhaps as a way to
> enhace  screenshot-only presentations. Again, rougly speaking,
> animated  GIF<->Flash<->AVI.

Cheers, 
Claus