[FM Discuss] Beyond Manuals
adam hyde
adam at flossmanuals.net
Wed Apr 15 12:18:21 PDT 2009
it could also be something like 'small business tools' ie. drop the
free/open
comments anyone?
adam
On Thu, 2009-04-16 at 07:11 +1200, John & Melonie Curwood wrote:
> Hi Adam,
>
> I've been thinking about the name for the manual and I liked the term
> Janet Swisher used in a previous email "Open Tools for Small Business".
> Then I thought maynbe "Free Tools for Small Business" would be a better
> title for someone who doesn't know much about Open Source Software. If
> anyone has some ideas they are welcome otherwise I will go for Free
> Tools for Small Business for the name.
>
> Cheers,
>
> John
>
>
> John & Melonie Curwood wrote:
> >
> > Hi Adam,
> >
> > I'll be happy to take the lead, I haven't finalised a name for it yet
> > and will get back to you as soon as I do.
> > Won't be able to do much for about a month as we are moving town in a
> > few weeks, and will be fairly swamped doing all the moving stuff and
> > then getting work set up in a new city.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > John
> >
> >
> > -------- Original Message --------
> > Subject: Re: [FM Discuss] Beyond manuals
> > From: adam hyde <adam at flossmanuals.net>
> > Date: Wed, April 08, 2009 1:53 pm
> > To: discuss at lists.flossmanuals.net
> > ok,
> > you want to take the lead in this John? that means doing
> > some writing,
> > convincing others to contribute...
> > if so, give me a nod and tell me the name of the manual
> > and I will set
> > it up
> > adam
> > On Thu, 2009-04-09 at 06:59 +1200, John & Melonie
> > Curwood wrote:
> > > Hi Adam,
> > >
> > > I think this is a great idea, an intro to what does what, how
> > it is
> > > useful and testimonials could be aligned with relavant
> > chapters (e.g. I
> > > use open office Calc because..., I use open office writer...,
> > open
> > > office impress..., you could even include I use evolution
> > because... and
> > > I use gnucash because... if it were to include the full range of
> > > office/business admin tools)
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > John
> > >
> > >
> > > adam hyde wrote:
> > > > it wouldnt take us much to set up a manual to tackle this
> > situation. we
> > > > could outline what softwares do what with maybe a chapter a
> > piece. we
> > > > dont need to go into how to use the software, but maybe we
> > could include
> > > > some testimonials from business people saying 'I use open
> > office
> > > > because ...'
> > > >
> > > > what do u think john?
> > > >
> > > > adma
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, 2009-04-07 at 07:07 +1200, John & Melonie Curwood
> > wrote:
> > > >
> > > >> Andy Oram wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >>> I've been silent for a couple days, but now I have an
> > evening to answer FM-related mail and start working on the
> > command-line manual again.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> John's idea below sounds like a really nice project,
> > although a big one. To give businesses enough information about all
> > the tools for them to feel confident they can trust their businesses
> > to free software, you'd have to say a lot about each tool.
> > > >>>
> > > >>>
> > > >> With regards to businesses needing enough information to
> > feel confident
> > > >> I would say yes and no about needing to say alot for all
> > the tools. For
> > > >> the software that handles the accounts/inventory/invoicing
> > I would
> > > >> definitely say that something very thorough would be
> > required, when
> > > >> dealling with Money and accurately and securely keeping
> > track of it
> > > >> business owners want assurance that a product will do the
> > job.
> > > >> But for the rest, in my experience most business owners
> > think very
> > > >> little about what they use and most have a very small
> > understanding of
> > > >> what they are using. For example the majority of bosses
> > and managers
> > > >> that I have had would have used MS excel only for making
> > tables, which a
> > > >> spreadsheet is not very good at.compared to the table
> > functions in most
> > > >> word processors. That is what the see the spreadsheet is
> > good for.
> > > >> When talking about an office suite, I think something that
> > would say
> > > >> "Hey OpenSource Software can do everything MS Office can
> > do and it's
> > > >> easy to learn how" would be what is needed. I think the
> > biggest barrier
> > > >> to implementing a new system is the fact that people don't
> > like change,
> > > >> they don't want to have to learn a new system. When I
> > first bought a
> > > >> Mac I was so excited about it, I thought the way it worked
> > was really
> > > >> cool, and the fact that it never crashed was fantastic, so
> > I went around
> > > >> all my friends and family preaching the virtues of iMacs
> > and OSX, but
> > > >> whenever they tried using my computer, it always came back
> > to 'it
> > > >> doesn't work the same as windows', 'I can't use the same
> > shortcuts as in
> > > >> windows', etc. And in the end not one of them converted,
> > they all
> > > >> appreciated the fact that things ran smother on the Mac
> > but were
> > > >> prepared to keep putting up with random crashes and
> > program freezes
> > > >> rather than have to learn a new system. And I think this
> > is one of the
> > > >> major hurdles for getting business to adopt open sourced
> > software, they
> > > >> would rather put up with the same bugs in their current
> > software than
> > > >> have to learn something new.
> > > >> Woops sorry about all the exposition, but I think when
> > trying to promote
> > > >> the use of Free Software in a business situation, the
> > emphasis should be
> > > >> on how smooth the transition can be and how easy it is to
> > learn the new
> > > >> software.
> > > >>
> > > >> Cheers,
> > > >>
> > > >> John
> > > >>
> > > >>> This reminds me that a few years ago I tried to pull
> > together a book about the value of open source software and open
> > formats (two different but related issues) for government. At first I
> > thought I would propose it at O'Reilly, but we decided we couldn't
> > sell enough copies to make money, so I tried to organize it as a
> > collaborative project covering multiple continents (sound familiar?).
> > That didn't work.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> It was an advocacy book, not a how-to book, but the goal
> > was similar: to persuade frightened office managers to make the
> > migration.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> Andy
> > > >>>
> > > >>> ----- Original Message -----
> > > >>> From: "John & Melonie Curwood"
> > <marketing at lovinglearning.co.nz>
> > > >>> To: discuss at lists.flossmanuals.net
> > > >>> Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 9:36:18 PM GMT -05:00
> > US/Canada Eastern
> > > >>> Subject: Re: [FM Discuss] Beyond manuals
> > > >>>
> > > >>> With regards to an OpenOffice manual, maybe create a
> > doing stuff with
> > > >>> free software manual about running a small business or
> > something which
> > > >>> would include Openoffice, something like mozilla
> > thunderbird/sunbird or
> > > >>> evolution for email/organising and something like gnucash
> > or better (I'm
> > > >>> not familiar with OpenSource Accounting packages) for
> > doing the accounts.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> I know it is not as exciting as say the digital
> > foundations book, but it
> > > >>> could have quite a wide audience.
> > > >>>
> > > >>> As some one said earler it would take more that a sprint
> > to put and
> > > >>> Openoffice manual together, more like a marathon, or in
> > this case maybe
> > > >>> a triathlon. :)
> > > >>>
> > > >>> Cheers,
> > > >>>
> > > >>> John
> > > >>> _______________________________________________
> > > >>> Discuss mailing list
> > > >>> Discuss at lists.flossmanuals.net
> > > >>>
> > http://lists.flossmanuals.net/listinfo.cgi/discuss-flossmanuals.net
> > > >>>
> > > >>>
> > > >>>
> > > >>>
> > > >> _______________________________________________
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> > >
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> > --
> > Adam Hyde
> > Founder FLOSS Manuals
> > German mobile : + 49 15 2230 54563
> > Email : adam at flossmanuals.net
> > irc: irc.freenode.net #flossmanuals
> > "Free manuals for free software"
> > http://www.flossmanuals.net/about
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--
Adam Hyde
Founder FLOSS Manuals
German mobile : + 49 15 2230 54563
Email : adam at flossmanuals.net
irc: irc.freenode.net #flossmanuals
"Free manuals for free software"
http://www.flossmanuals.net/about
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