Re: LUG: Linux/UNIX Intro Material - Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:18:07 -0400

Subject : Re: LUG: Linux/UNIX Intro Material

From : Jack Neely <jjneely@ncsu.[redacted]>

Date : Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:18:07 -0400

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 07:11:56PM -0400, Jay Goel wrote:
> To answer Jack's question, this is the first book I used (read from
> chapter 1, etc) to really get a feel for Linux, how file perms worked,
> different sysadmin tasks, etc. Essential System Administration.
> http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596003432/
>
> Now, less-related:
>
> I feel like the take-home point is that, oddly enough, different people
> would have different motivations for wanting to dabble in linux. So I am
> going to argue in favor of the command-line because the argument that
> "new users have to feel like linux is usable, so show them the GUI"
> seems obvious to me.
>
> I bet if you plucked a handful of undergraduates who were, say, actively
> involved in research - comp sci, biologists, chemists, etc - they might
> be much more likely to want to do command-line stuffs. Why? Because
> research-people do a lot of number crunching, statistical stuff, and
> LaTeX. Research-people (undergraduates!) might be more likely to be the
> types of folks who are motivated to be Power Users, always wanting to
> learn more about how the next "lower level" works. Who knows.
>
> But there is definitely a market for command-line power, and treating
> new users as people who only want "teh shinyz" seems unfair to the
> intelligence of new users and inadequate to show that Linux is /better/.
> A good number of sensible folk aren't really interested in a spinning
> cube, and honestly, most of us stop running desktop effects after the
> first week. Linux doesn't really do a better job letting me check my
> Facebook anyway - firefox, thunderbird, and pidgin work just as well on
> Windows.
>
> I think that one problem is that E115 is just not taught very well. How
> about making that a LUG seminar: "E115: The stuff your TA didn't want
> you to know" and do a correct job of introducing Linux to beginners?
>
> Or possibly a similar concept for desktop-related features. Or - gasp -
> teaching both!
>
> /flame,
>
> Jay
>
>

[snip]

Top posters... ;-)

Thanks guys for your suggestions for books and articles. I've updated

https://secure.linux.ncsu.edu/moin/Guides

Which...if you'd like to contribute anyone with an NCSU account can
login and edit the wiki.

All of you have some great feedback about E115. Its gone through more
iterations than I can remember. It used to be all Solaris/Linux based
and you learned the ins and outs of unix and how to get around in the
NCSU Realm. Today, its just an hour on unix...now let's go back to
installing anti virus on your windows laptop.

Your thoughts need to get back to the E115 folks.
http://www.eos.ncsu.edu/e115/

Also, as the university's approach to computing becomes "just go use
VCL" I would like to make Realm Linux a more attractive alternative.
Gary from ITECS and I have spent some time making some of the most
popular realm apps avaiable from the Applications Menu under NCSU Realm.

Fedora isn't too much of an option in the labs due to its limited
lifecycle and RHEL 5 IS getting long in the tooth. (Not to mention OIT
keeps pulling me in different directions.) Although, I do have some
plans in this area...its just the time to do them.

But if you folks have suggestions I'm definitely interested.

Jack
--
Jack Neely <jjneely@ncsu.[redacted]>
Linux Czar, OIT Campus Linux Services
Office of Information Technology, NC State University
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