Re: [Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
On 4/27/2012 6:59 PM, cogoman wrote: > for section 2 Getting Started. > > I have not yet gotten too far with CAD/CAM to generate gcode, but I > have a suggestion to run up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes. I > suggest we select 2 CAD/CAM solutions to include on the CD, with special > support in the wiki. One would allow complex things to be done (with > it's steep learning curve), and one would be simple and easy, so as to > have a short learning curve. > > I (selfishly) suggest we use blender for the complicated one (since I > have a project that will require multiple parts to be attached having > only axes in common). > > I have used GSimple to make some parts, but I recently found that > LibreOffice Draw allows me to draw to scale. I have printed out a drill > guide for center punching the location of holes in an orderly manner on > a wooden project and the printout was practically to scale. Though I > haven't tried it, Draw claims to be able to export to Scaled Vector > Graphics (.SVG), and in the wiki the CAM plugin for blender is supposed > to work off of the .SVG file. PyCAM is supposed to work with .SVG, so > we might only need to cover instructions on using one CAM solution for > both the easy and the hard. These two CAD/CAM solutions would get > special emphasis on the wiki to get people up and running quicker, and > these wiki pages would also be included on the CD. > > I know the CD is already nearly full, but I suspect we could make > room for these, and if not, we could remaster it as a DVD with these > tools and their necessary tutorials. Perhaps if a DVD is required, we > could include video tutorials to further help out. > > On 04/27/2012 01:26 PM, Kent A. Reed wrote: >> Section 2. >> >> "Hardware Requirements" needs work to bring it up to current technology, >> both in terms of LinuxCNC and in terms of platforms. Since the following >> subsection "LinuxCNC Supported Hardware" also uses the word "Hardware" >> but in the sense of interfaces, I think it would be useful to choose the >> title "Computer Requirements" instead. >> >> "LinuxCNC Supported Hardware" is probably as good as it gets given the >> flux in the marketplace. >> >> "Latency Test" is a conundrum for me. I can't figure whether it would be >> better to sort it on brandname or on date of the system. Right now the >> table seems a mixture of top posting, bottom posting, and alphabetical >> posting. Still, I wouldn't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. > Why not have a few pages with the data sorted different ways, and > links at the top of the pages so each points to each of the others, and > the back link of all 3 of 4 pointing back to the wiki main page? > > Sorry I overlooked your reply 'til now, cogoman. This is an interesting idea and one that could easily dovetail with my musings of a few minutes ago. I don't know about space availability on the current CD and going this route would impose additional work on those who have to create and test the CD master, but packaged it separately seems dead easy. It seems to me the first thing is to put up example approaches on the wiki and if they gain traction then make them available via an automated distribution mechanism, whether the package repository approach or a CD/DVC image. Just my 2cents worth. Regards, Kent -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
for section 2 Getting Started. I have not yet gotten too far with CAD/CAM to generate gcode, but I have a suggestion to run up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes. I suggest we select 2 CAD/CAM solutions to include on the CD, with special support in the wiki. One would allow complex things to be done (with it's steep learning curve), and one would be simple and easy, so as to have a short learning curve. I (selfishly) suggest we use blender for the complicated one (since I have a project that will require multiple parts to be attached having only axes in common). I have used GSimple to make some parts, but I recently found that LibreOffice Draw allows me to draw to scale. I have printed out a drill guide for center punching the location of holes in an orderly manner on a wooden project and the printout was practically to scale. Though I haven't tried it, Draw claims to be able to export to Scaled Vector Graphics (.SVG), and in the wiki the CAM plugin for blender is supposed to work off of the .SVG file. PyCAM is supposed to work with .SVG, so we might only need to cover instructions on using one CAM solution for both the easy and the hard. These two CAD/CAM solutions would get special emphasis on the wiki to get people up and running quicker, and these wiki pages would also be included on the CD. I know the CD is already nearly full, but I suspect we could make room for these, and if not, we could remaster it as a DVD with these tools and their necessary tutorials. Perhaps if a DVD is required, we could include video tutorials to further help out. On 04/27/2012 01:26 PM, Kent A. Reed wrote: > Section 2. > > "Hardware Requirements" needs work to bring it up to current technology, > both in terms of LinuxCNC and in terms of platforms. Since the following > subsection "LinuxCNC Supported Hardware" also uses the word "Hardware" > but in the sense of interfaces, I think it would be useful to choose the > title "Computer Requirements" instead. > > "LinuxCNC Supported Hardware" is probably as good as it gets given the > flux in the marketplace. > > "Latency Test" is a conundrum for me. I can't figure whether it would be > better to sort it on brandname or on date of the system. Right now the > table seems a mixture of top posting, bottom posting, and alphabetical > posting. Still, I wouldn't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Why not have a few pages with the data sorted different ways, and links at the top of the pages so each points to each of the others, and the back link of all 3 of 4 pointing back to the wiki main page? -- Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
On 4/18/2012 1:45 PM, Przemek Klosowski wrote: > On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 11:18 AM, Kent A. Reed > wrote: >> > >> > Speaking of the Wiki, it could use a lot more >> > editorial work. Looking at the Recent Changes listing, I see the usual >> > few suspects making progress but there is a lot of work left. >> > >> > Back in January, after the decision was announced to rebrand our work >> > LinuxCNC, I spent time under my SourceForge pseudonym CNCDreamer trying >> > to fix up the most egregious instances of "EMC2" but had to leave a >> > number of pages marked as "in progress" because they required technical >> > changes I felt unprepared or even unqualified to make. Looking now, I >> > see many of the same pages haven't been touched since. There are a >> > number of pages that are terribly stale and the organization of the home >> > page is trending toward chaos. Try to read it like you were new to >> > LinuxCNC and see what you make of it. >> > >> > I wish I were in a position to do more of what needs to be done, but >> > recent challenges at home make a concerted effort impossible. I'm lucky > You're very persuasive--the > can you make a list of pages that require most urgent update, in your opinion? Gentle persons: I don't have the time to do a quality job of this but just to throw out some items that strike me... [disclaimer: I realize that a wiki is by definition the antithesis of order, since anything can be inserted anywhere any time, and that the only criterion for anyone making a contribution is that they feel motivated to do so. Nevertheless, I think it is incumbent on us to keep our wiki relevant to newbies because it is like to be the first place they look. Sure, we have written a boatload of manuals but, honestly, don't most people go to a wiki first in hopes of not having to read hundreds of pages of manuals?] I'll assert without proof that the first places on the wiki a newcomer would look are "News" and the first two major divisions of the ToC, namely "About LinuxCNC" and "Getting Started." To my way of thinking "News" suffers from two problems: 1) a lack of posting dates or even an indication that it reads from newest to oldest, and 2) a lack of parallelism---the announcements regarding the release of 2.5 and 2.4.7 are interlineated (thanks, Michael!) with a much more obscure announcement regarding versions of Ubuntu. Section 1. "About LinuxCNC" is more a discussion of the evolution of LinuxCNC from EMC1 than a discussion of the features of LinuxCNC, which is what I believe a newcomer would be likely to expect. Some of this stuff is as old as my grandkids and it's less interesting. Here's a good place to outline why people would want to use LinuxCNC. "Screenshots" is pretty good but probably needs a comment about many of the screens showing their EMC2 heritage. "Videos" is what it is. I haven't checked it lately for broken links but I believe there is at least one but probably only a few. "Case Studies", same comments as the two above. "Comparisons" implies much but yields little. I'd think a newcomer on a budget would expect to see something about LinuxCNC vs Mach3 and any serious CNC buff would expect to see more about other industrial controllers than the existing one-line entry concerning an unknown version of EMC versus Fanuc11m. I'm just saying "OldReleases" and "Released" need a little fixing up. The former means releases prior to 2.4 and the latter now means 2.4.x and 2.5. Section 2. "Hardware Requirements" needs work to bring it up to current technology, both in terms of LinuxCNC and in terms of platforms. Since the following subsection "LinuxCNC Supported Hardware" also uses the word "Hardware" but in the sense of interfaces, I think it would be useful to choose the title "Computer Requirements" instead. "LinuxCNC Supported Hardware" is probably as good as it gets given the flux in the marketplace. "Latency Test" is a conundrum for me. I can't figure whether it would be better to sort it on brandname or on date of the system. Right now the table seems a mixture of top posting, bottom posting, and alphabetical posting. Still, I wouldn't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. "Installing LinuxCNC" is where I crashed and burned during the great name change because the token "emc" is so well embedded in the names of directories, scripts, what have you. I think an "executive" decision has to be made. Is this page to support both installation of LinuxCNC 2.5 and also EMC2 2.4.7 and earlier? Then I believe the page has to be split up into clearly demarcated subsections. A better solution may be to create separate pages as in Installing LinuxCNC -LinuxCNC -earlier, pre-namechange versions [please think of a better title] "Install to CompactFlash" has one instance of "emc" which I missed in January but otherwise is probably ok. "LinuxCNC Pure Simulator" is in a similar situation as
Re: [Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
On 4/17/2012 11:33 PM, Przemek Klosowski wrote: > On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 11:18 AM, Kent A. Reed > wrote: >> Speaking of the Wiki, it could use a lot more >> editorial work. Looking at the Recent Changes listing, I see the usual >> few suspects making progress but there is a lot of work left. >> >> <...> >> I wish I were in a position to do more of what needs to be done, but >> recent challenges at home make a concerted effort impossible. I'm lucky > You're very persuasive--this sounds like a useful project that I'd > like to help. Can you make a list of pages that require most urgent > update, in your opinion? > > Well, if I had time to do that, maybe I'd have time to do the actual work:-) Still, you've made your point and I'll see what I can come up with. Regards, Kent -- For Developers, A Lot Can Happen In A Second. Boundary is the first to Know...and Tell You. Monitor Your Applications in Ultra-Fine Resolution. Try it FREE! http://p.sf.net/sfu/Boundary-d2dvs2 ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
On Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:45:49 -0400 Przemek Klosowski wrote: > On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 11:18 AM, Kent A. Reed > wrote: > > > > Speaking of the Wiki , it could use a lot > > more editorial work. Looking at the Recent Changes listing, I see > > the usual few suspects making progress but there is a lot of work > > left. > > > > Back in January, after the decision was announced to rebrand our > > work LinuxCNC, I spent time under my SourceForge pseudonym > > CNCDreamer trying to fix up the most egregious instances of "EMC2" > > but had to leave a number of pages marked as "in progress" because > > they required technical changes I felt unprepared or even > > unqualified to make. Looking now, I see many of the same pages > > haven't been touched since. There are a number of pages that are > > terribly stale and the organization of the home page is trending > > toward chaos. Try to read it like you were new to LinuxCNC and see > > what you make of it. > > > > I wish I were in a position to do more of what needs to be done, but > > recent challenges at home make a concerted effort impossible. I'm > > lucky > > You're very persuasive--the > can you make a list of pages that require most urgent update, in your > opinion? > > > to have time to skim the mail-list traffic and I have a bunch of > > projects that haven't progressed beyond acquisition of parts. > > > > I know exactly what you mean :) we must be careful never to let our > wifes meet and talk :) OT but too good to miss. Oh, very funny. :-) Something like the toast in "Captain and Commander": "To ours wives and mistresses, may they never meet". Since we family camp with my kids, grandkids, etc in our arkansas condos at an "island in the sound", I've experienced the exchange of stories when wife #1 and wife #2 get together and exchange tales. If you google 'island in the sound' you'll get more information than you really needed. ;-) Dave > > -- > Better than sec? Nothing is better than sec when it comes to > monitoring Big Data applications. Try Boundary one-second > resolution app monitoring today. Free. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/Boundary-dev2dev > ___ > Emc-users mailing list > Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users -- Better than sec? Nothing is better than sec when it comes to monitoring Big Data applications. Try Boundary one-second resolution app monitoring today. Free. http://p.sf.net/sfu/Boundary-dev2dev ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 11:18 AM, Kent A. Reed wrote: > > Speaking of the Wiki , it could use a lot more > editorial work. Looking at the Recent Changes listing, I see the usual > few suspects making progress but there is a lot of work left. > > Back in January, after the decision was announced to rebrand our work > LinuxCNC, I spent time under my SourceForge pseudonym CNCDreamer trying > to fix up the most egregious instances of "EMC2" but had to leave a > number of pages marked as "in progress" because they required technical > changes I felt unprepared or even unqualified to make. Looking now, I > see many of the same pages haven't been touched since. There are a > number of pages that are terribly stale and the organization of the home > page is trending toward chaos. Try to read it like you were new to > LinuxCNC and see what you make of it. > > I wish I were in a position to do more of what needs to be done, but > recent challenges at home make a concerted effort impossible. I'm lucky You're very persuasive--the can you make a list of pages that require most urgent update, in your opinion? > to have time to skim the mail-list traffic and I have a bunch of > projects that haven't progressed beyond acquisition of parts. > I know exactly what you mean :) we must be careful never to let our wifes meet and talk :) -- Better than sec? Nothing is better than sec when it comes to monitoring Big Data applications. Try Boundary one-second resolution app monitoring today. Free. http://p.sf.net/sfu/Boundary-dev2dev ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
Re: [Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 11:18 AM, Kent A. Reed wrote: > > Speaking of the Wiki , it could use a lot more > editorial work. Looking at the Recent Changes listing, I see the usual > few suspects making progress but there is a lot of work left. > > Back in January, after the decision was announced to rebrand our work > LinuxCNC, I spent time under my SourceForge pseudonym CNCDreamer trying > to fix up the most egregious instances of "EMC2" but had to leave a > number of pages marked as "in progress" because they required technical > changes I felt unprepared or even unqualified to make. Looking now, I > see many of the same pages haven't been touched since. There are a > number of pages that are terribly stale and the organization of the home > page is trending toward chaos. Try to read it like you were new to > LinuxCNC and see what you make of it. > > I wish I were in a position to do more of what needs to be done, but > recent challenges at home make a concerted effort impossible. I'm lucky You're very persuasive--this sounds like a useful project that I'd like to help. Can you make a list of pages that require most urgent update, in your opinion? > to have time to skim the mail-list traffic and I have a bunch of > projects that haven't progressed beyond acquisition of parts. > I know exactly what you mean :) we must be careful never to let our wifes meet and talk :) -- Better than sec? Nothing is better than sec when it comes to monitoring Big Data applications. Try Boundary one-second resolution app monitoring today. Free. http://p.sf.net/sfu/Boundary-dev2dev ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
[Emc-users] the state of the Wiki
Gentle persons: When the dust settles over some of the recent, long threads on subjects like "G540 Test Update" and "BLDC" I hope the essences of the subjects get distilled into useful pages on our Wiki. Speaking of the Wiki , it could use a lot more editorial work. Looking at the Recent Changes listing, I see the usual few suspects making progress but there is a lot of work left. Back in January, after the decision was announced to rebrand our work LinuxCNC, I spent time under my SourceForge pseudonym CNCDreamer trying to fix up the most egregious instances of "EMC2" but had to leave a number of pages marked as "in progress" because they required technical changes I felt unprepared or even unqualified to make. Looking now, I see many of the same pages haven't been touched since. There are a number of pages that are terribly stale and the organization of the home page is trending toward chaos. Try to read it like you were new to LinuxCNC and see what you make of it. I wish I were in a position to do more of what needs to be done, but recent challenges at home make a concerted effort impossible. I'm lucky to have time to skim the mail-list traffic and I have a bunch of projects that haven't progressed beyond acquisition of parts. Come on, jump in, the water's fine. Regards, Kent -- Better than sec? Nothing is better than sec when it comes to monitoring Big Data applications. Try Boundary one-second resolution app monitoring today. Free. http://p.sf.net/sfu/Boundary-dev2dev ___ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
