Talk:Main Page

Hi everyone. The focus is to

    1/  provide sufficient basic info on Mint to a target audience of potential first-time users 
    2/  possibly be a source of info for some common issues that turn up in -help (I'd want a prior OK from Clem or at least the Ops). 

I think that short paragraphs would work best with some screenshots; enough info to get the idea but without making our text TL:DR  :) I personally like how How-To-Geek do their pages, e.g. https://www.howtogeek.com/242428/whats-the-best-way-to-back-up-my-computer/.

Each section could include

    the basic steps for the given topic
    common problems and fixes 
    some relevant homepage links for going deeper (Mint forums, Ubuntu, Debian, Archwiki, others?)  
    

I think it might be best if we spend some time on getting the layout, content, etc. sorted in document form for easy editing, then put it on the site once we're happy with it. I assume we want one webpage per main link?

Let me know if there are any sections you'd like to add/remove/re-order or any other ideas.

Stylus

                                              -----------------------------------

1 - What exactly is Linux?

   General info & a brief discussion of Mint & other distros, inc. level of expertise required. 
   Primary question; what do you want to do with your computer? 
   Links to Ubuntu, Arch, etc.'s homepages & distrowatch
   Advantages (Secure, stable, free, repo)
   Disadvantages (Supported badly/not at all on some hardware, Skype & other popular SW? Altering/fixing things can get deep very quickly)

2 - Terminology

   Table of Linux & Win terms

3 - Downloading and checking your ISO

   Win checkers, esp. Hashtab, 
   Newb-friendly version of Mint's verification process

4 - VM Installs from ISO (VBox, VMWare, others?)

   Live-sessions (what they are and why they're used. Advantages and limitations.) 

5 - Making install media

   From Win:
        Universal USB Installer - http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
        Rufus                   - https://rufus.akeo.ie/
        Unetbootin              - http://unetbootin.github.io/
        List of recommended DVD burning SW (suggestions?)

    From Linux:
         USB Image Writer (Mint)
         dd?
   

6 - Installation options, inc. how to use the installer's partitioning tool:

   BIOS edits to enable boot from USB/DVD 
   Mint-only, Dual-boot with Windows/another OS & potential Grub issues. Multi-HDD installs.
   Fastboot/Secure Boot issues

7 - LVM, RAID, Disk encryption - a brief what, why & how.

8 - Firewalls (UFW, GUFW, other?)

9 - Antivirus (ClamAV? Any others worth mentioning?)

10 - Updating the system (Update Manager preferred but also via CLI)

11 - Installing software (Software Manager/Synaptic/apt-get/PPAs)

12 – WINE, Playonlinux, Steam. Links to each.

13 - Printers/scanners

14 - Getting Help

    LinuxMint Documentation           https://linuxmint.com/documentation.php
    LinuxMint Tutorials               https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/search
    How to ask sensible questions     http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
    Hexchat use & etiquette
    The Linux Documentation Project   http://www.tldp.org/

15 - Recommended reading

    Linux is not Windows 
    How to become a Hacker            http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html
    TLDP                              http://www.tldp.org/

    (other good links, anyone?)

16 – Useful links (Distrowatch if it hasn't already been included, others?)

TODO:

    Where to put package management