preparing websites content for Fedora 10

[Paul W. Frields]

On Wed, Oct 01, 2008 at 09:59:45PM +0200, Max Spevack wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Oct 2008, Craig Thomas wrote:
>
>> and our draft implementation:
>>
>> http://craigt.fedorapeople.org/get-fedora/get-fedora
>
> Ok, people, it's time to speak up.  Craing and Juank have done a great  
> job bringing us this far (thank you both), and get-fedora is the SINGLE  
> MOST IMPORTANT page that people will visit in the first week or two of  
> F10.
>
> I think this is a good direction to take the page, since it begins to  
> solve the "too many choices and I'm confused" problem.  In my opinion,  
> the place where the most work still needs to be done is in figuring out  
> EXACTLY what the text needs to be for each of these options, and getting  
> those ready for translation.

The minor problems I see -- and these really are minor -- include:

* Text rewrites to make the text easier to translate.

"Step 1: What type of computer do you have?"
"Step 2: What type of media do you prefer?"
"Step 3: How do you prefer to download?"

And then hide the final message completely until the third step is
completed.  Only then, show a heading-sized link that says "Click here
to get Fedora."

* Need fewer (ideally, *no*) exclamation points

They don't match the Fedora communication style and are generally bad
for translations since in many languages they mean an imperative, or a
command.  We don't want to shout at, or speak down to, our users.

* The right bar is crowded and looks jumbled and off-theme

But it could be left out entirely of the finished product until we
have a better design sense of how we want to implement more content on
the site.  If that work is currently underway, though, simply make
this part of the "issues to be settled" list.

As a Docs guy and a writer wannabe, I'm happy to help with other text
suggestions.  How about these?

Step 1:
--------
"32-bit PC: Works on all Intel, AMD, VIA C4, and Apple MacBook Pro."

"64-bit PC: Works only on Intel Core 2 Duo, Centrino Core 2 Duo, Xeon,
AMD Athlon64/X2, Sempron64/X2, and Duron64."

(PowerPC looks good.)

Step 2: 
--------
"DVD Installation media: This DVD is a large download that includes a
wide variety of software.  You cannot run Fedora directly from the
DVD.  This choice is good for users who already know they want to
install Fedora, and want flexibility and choice."

"Desktop Live media: This disc is a smaller download, with a preset
software configuration.  You can run Fedora directly from this image
on CD or a USB key.  This choice is good for beginners or users who
want a portable Fedora environment."

"KDE Live media: Similar to the Desktop Live media, except it
showcases KDE software.  This choice is good for KDE fans."

"Want a Custom spin?  Click here to choose from a variety of other
available media for specialized needs and interests."

Step 3:
--------
"Direct download: Download media directly from a location near you.
This option works better for some users behind a firewall."

"Torrent: Download media using [[BitTorrent software]], which also
guarantees accuracy.  This option works well for most users,
especially in the first month after release."

** The [[BitTorrent software]] text should be a direct link to:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Distribution/Download/BitTorrent

-- 
Paul W. Frields                                http://paul.frields.org/
  gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233  5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717
  http://redhat.com/   -  -  -  -   http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/
  irc.freenode.net: stickster @ #fedora-docs, #fedora-devel, #fredlug
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