On Tue, 1 Jun 1999, Alain EMPAIN (home) wrote:
> Its important to define some typical audience, and to make to hard work to
> take a look at the demo through their eyes and preconcepts).
> We are so deeply involved into Unix, shells, pipes, X configuration...
> that we can miss the job !
This is a good point, Alain!
I think someone (I'm late for work, so it won't be me, at least not now)
should create a small grid -- not unnecessarily complex -- which links
both type of audience (as has been discussed here a bit) and, importantly,
length of presentation. You might want to go about things far differently
in 5 minutes than in 20, and in 20 than an hour-long session with a
5-minute coffee break.
I'll be crazy and say that every linux demo ought to have two really basic
elements (you could divide them differently, of course, but still):
1) The thing itself - what Linux is, what a distribution is, kernel vs.
OS, how amazing the GPL and it's development process are, and a bit about
the current state of Linux in general.
2) Apps, apps, apps.
For each square on the audience / length chart, these should be
represented by different levels of detail and tone; relatively undemanding
desktops users might say "Ooh, neat, this GIMP is awesome!," more
demanding users might have specific and pointed file-compatibility
questions for the applications they use all day.
I think the killer presentation is short but focused and intriguing -- it
just needs to have good take-away value / references so that that intrigue
can be translated into further knowledge.
So I suppose what I'm suggesting is a chart like this on the linuxdemo
website for easy reference.
Alternatively, as demo plans come together over the next few months, it
would be good if participating groups prepared at least a tentative
outline of what they planned to show off:
- What distribution / s?
- What kernel?
- What applications?
- What benefits will you push and how?
- What sort of hardware will you be showing Linux on?
- Will you be comparing it with another OS side-by-side?
- How will you / have you advertise(d) the demo?
- Are there any questions you anticipate and have answers for?
- Do you have some free CDs to give away?
- Do you have any literature / pamphlets / brochures to give away?
This too would be not a merit-badge exam but rather a place for others to
borrow ideas from, and contribute suggestions like "Make sure an
announcement goes out over company email" (if appropriate!)
Just a thought -
Timothy
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