Re: OT Need to find a really good Linux introductory site ??

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On Mon, 2007-10-29 at 17:42 +0100, M. Fioretti wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 29, 2007 11:00:35 AM -0400, William Case (billlinux@xxxxxxxxxx) wrote:
> > Hi;
> > 
> > This question is good for one day only.
> 
> Hope I'm still on time then!
>  
> > I am giving a talk tonight to about 20 people about Linux.  All of
> > them will be Windows users and all will be very non-tech....  Do you
> > know of a site I could recommend as a starting place for this type
> > of Windows audience that I could I could use in my little sales
> > pitch tonight?
> 
> First of all, I would suggest http://www.reallylinux.com/
> "International Site for Linux Beginners"
> 
> Warning now, self-promotion ahead!
> 
> Considering the audience you described, I'll also dare to suggest
> that, before going to the talk, you read my "Seven Things we're tired
> of hearing from software hackers" at http://digifreedom.net/node/56 :
> while it's not about Linux specifically, it may help you to not spend
> too much time presenting to your audience arguments that are really
> NO relevant for them.
> 
> Hope this helps,
> 			Marco Fioretti
Only one comment, Marco,
	Actually more people program than ever before.  It is just that arcane
languages do not attract them, nor does hardly anyone learn or want to
learn assembly language.  However, many people create list managers,
databases in some form, spreadsheets, even use interfaces with word
processors to create various forms of HTML and XHTML code.  They often
don't know programming is actually what they are doing, but that is
because the continuing evolution of software and hardware mask the nasty
underlying details.  	
	It is this same form that is driving the development of gui-implemented
object oriented development such as JAVA.  Some interesting effects are
just beginning to grow out of the decades of AI and Neural Net
developments, and these, too will have revolutionizing effects on the
computer world, although the revolution and evolution is apparently slow
right now, just keep watching.  

	Add Mems, Optical computing, 3d interfaces and virtual reality, and the
scope really opens up.  There are millions on Second life, each of whom
created an avatar, many of whom have added special effects to their
avatars, some by purchasing them, some by tailoring existing code and
others by coding from scratch in Linden Script.  

	Another developing environment is interactive community development.
Check out the last three years of development on Croquet to get some
idea of a full 3-D interactive cooperative development environment, from
music, to artful creations, the scale of development is mind boggling.

	Yes, most people don't "program" in the sense of sitting down, drawing
up dependency diagrams, interviewing users, and doing a full march
development project (come to think of it, how many such projects even
exist without the bit bangers getting something interesting going by
guess and by golly first?)

	The whole thing is more complex than that.  True not everyone is a
hacker in driver or OS code, but most people do run programs, if only to
get their kids to pick up their rooms.  They just don't realize it, and
so it is heading with computers.  

	Stay tuned...

Regards,
Les H

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