Comments and suggestions

[wwblm]

OK, so I am trying to explain how and why I use Linux. Just put together an 8 min video and put it up on my little server. This is still http instead of https so if you aren't comfortable with that I understand. Upgrading my server is on the list;-) Definitely not high production quality but I think it gets the general points across or perhaps not. Thought I would throw it out here to what should be a friendly community to ask for feedback. Thanks,
Wade

http://www.wadebrezina.com/LinuxTour.mp4

[coffee412]

I like your video.

Is the Mac desktop a remote desktop session?

Unfortunately, I cannot dance . I have a hard time just keeping time with music.

[tenfoot]

Enjoyed your video. Certainly shows those new to Linux that there's nothing to fear,Well done!

[wwblm]

I like your video.

Is the Mac desktop a remote desktop session?

Thank You! I appreciate the encouragement. I really believe that many people can have a much better computer experience with Mint and I hope to be able to do my part to make that happen. Feels like a long way to go but at least I finally got a start.

Yes the Mac is a remote VNC session. That particular session was using something that got installed when I installed QEMU/KVM called Remote Viewer. I go back to the days of Timbuktu with dialup modems It absolutely amazes me that I can sit at my Linux system, run my Apple system, and ultimately run another apple system on another content!

[coffee412]

Its a hard row. I have been able to convert a lot of my clients over to linux. I really push the Mate Desktop because my residential customers have a hard time just grasping 'copy and paste'. The menu system is easy to understand.

Just finished up a laptop 'repair' of windows 11. The things you run into with w11 are just really unbelievable. Just wanted to install Firefox for him. Well, Cannot do that from their website (would you even trust the windows store?). Remove bitlocker, Turn off secure boot, Turn off S mode. reboot...reboot....reboot.... Finally can install Firefox.

What I do not understand is people keep putting up with all this stuff. I know exactly why all these things are here. They are there to keep you from installing linux or anything else. MS does not care if you get viruses or adware. Its very sick garbage software. Well, Ok. Sorry to rant.

I think you will have good luck really in converting people. Just have to be patient and pick your type of user your going after. Alot of people just use the browser and probably MS Office. Tax software is a problem for many.

[BG405]

Tax software is a problem for many.

In the US? In that case, the gubbermint should provide the "necessary" licence keys if they insist on people using proprietary OSes and software for such. IDK, I'm not in that jurisdiction.

[coffee412]

In the US? In that case, the gubbermint should provide the "necessary" licence keys if they insist on people using proprietary OSes and software for such. IDK, I'm not in that jurisdiction.

The Government only insists you pay taxes. How you do your taxes with what software is up to the taxpayer. Tax software companies have never been interested in writing tax software for a 3% market share.

[Jimmy9190]

My wife and I did our taxes this year on the freetaxusa website. It really was 100% free, it did a perfect job and works fine with Mint. We had no need to download any special software or dedicated tax app.

Jimmy

[wwblm]

Thank you for the encouragement so far. I see some things that I really want to re-do and hopefully gain some more impact. There is another point I really want to make and I intend to do this one with much better production quality and more to say. This particular video is told from the perspective of Apple and yet they are not even close to what is about to happen with windows 12. Perhaps I should start a new thread for this and it probably is even in the work section as I used MX Plasma for the video due to the eye candy factor;-) In any case here is 2 minutes with a 13 year old laptop.

http://wadebrezina.com/2min2011mbp.mp4

[BG405]

Only one problem with that second video: it is not compatible with a PC/laptop/TV display (or our vision, for that matter) ... please hold your phone the right way so everyone can enjoy it (regardless of viewing device)!

[coffee412]

My wife and I did our taxes this year on the freetaxusa website. It really was 100% free, it did a perfect job and works fine with Mint. We had no need to download any special software or dedicated tax app.

Jimmy

I can see that for individual tax returns. However, For those that are a sole proprietor or run a small business your kinda locked into either a tax specialist or Windows. Good to know though.

Oops, Just saw they do small business. Ok. I will check them out - Thank you. I do see its like 15.oo for state though. Not like it will break me.

[Jimmy9190]

We live in Florida, and there is no state tax here, so we didn't pay much attention to the charge for state filing. Is the $15.00 for state filing any cheaper than the other tax prep websites? We did see that Freetaxusa does offer some paid services near the end of filing but we didn't need any of those, they looked to be more helpful for people with complicated returns.

Jimmy

[wwblm]

Only one problem with that second video: it is not compatible with a PC/laptop/TV display (or our vision, for that matter) ... please hold your phone the right way so everyone can enjoy it (regardless of viewing device)!

Thank you! That did not even occur to me. Re-did it and hopefully that is what you were pointing out. I intend to have someone else shoot this video with better quality and add some B-Roll and make several points I have yet to raise. I am just particularly disgusted with Apple due to the fact that they do put out solid equipment that is capable of running for a long time and very artificially cut the life of that equipment short. What is about to happen with Windows completely dwarfs Apple and furthers what I am trying to point out. The shareholders of these corporations are handsomely rewarded due to the fact that they bear no responsibility for the very real effects their actions have on the environment.

Hopefully I will continue to learn and develop my message and hopefully this new take will demonstrate that I am moving in the right direction at least. Thanks again for your help and encouragement

http://wadebrezina.com/2min2011mbp.mp4.

[BG405]

Thank you! That did not even occur to me. Re-did it and hopefully that is what you were pointing out.

You're very welcome! Glad you appreciate it (and weren't offended, like some people seem to get). Thing is, most people seem to be oblivious of that, just "used to it" or just don't care.

Why can't the manufacturers just put square sensors in, or have the camera the "right" way for general phone holding/handling in the first place, like some of the older Nokia phones? Or at least display something to remind the user? (Maybe, the broadcasters should just reject such footage? You know who you are .. BB (cough) C and IT (cough splutter) V .. often with those migraine/seizure-inducing BlurBlinker™ fillers).

.. A mate of mine has filmed most if not all her technical stuff this way too .. approx 329px X 768px on my laptops!!

The shareholders of these corporations are handsomely rewarded due to the fact that they bear no responsibility for the very real effects their actions have on the environment.

And peoples' hard earned cash! Which also impacts the environment as people have to do more work to pay for it, meaning factory machinery, lights and heaters/air-con stay on for longer, more freight, more journeys to/from work etc..

[GreenIsBest]

Definitely not high production quality but I think it gets the general points across or perhaps not. Thought I would throw it out here to what should be a friendly community to ask for feedback

On the contrary my dear. I'd say the general "clunkyness" and slight "awkwardness" of the presentation (words I here mean in the nicest sense) actually add to the charm AND quality of it, and I think most of the intended audience will find it relatable.

• It clearly shows this isn't a "pro review" or following a script; it is a spontaneous presentation by a random generic Joe-Everybody user "like me", presenting Linux in a non-technical non-geeky language I can easily understand. It gives it a person-to-person feel, and really shines the message of "Linux isn't hard" trough show-don't-tell, giving it that encouraging "if he can do it, so can I" vibe.

• It shows this isn't yet another punch-clock youtube video made to get views by capitalizing on a new version release, on Win11 dissatisfaction or whatever; it presents it as being made from a genuine "I wonder if there is a better alternative" mindset.

• You don't "shout out" the features, customization or. Heck, you barely scratch the surface about its user experience (both good and bad aspects of it) but show more than enough to show it isn't THAT much different from what people are already used to in other OS's.

• All the hesitations, the recurring "uhhh..." pauses, again, add to the charm and shine the "Linux isn't hard" message. You barely even call things by their technically correct names (ex: "This <description-like> thing", "... or whatever it's called"), but you show you are clearly capable to find your way around the OS. It lowers the perceived entry-barrier, and you present Mint as a easy change, with only a short-term challenge/learning curve, where one doesn't need to go trough all that boring geeky nerdy side of Linux to operate the OS. You show the normal everyday user they don't need to "know" how Linux works, you can just "mostly get it" how it works and still do the stuff they want/need.

• You show both the GUI stuff, and the terminal stuff justaposed, but barely talk about the terminal at all. This is good, and positively downplays the stereotypical bogeyman associated with the comand terminal, without dismissing its existance/utility. And again, you do it in a show-don't-tell approach.
  See all these windows and icons and GUI? This IS the Linux OS.
  Uhhh... but what about that complicated terminal stuff? I'm allways hearing about that.
  Oh yeah, its all here too, see?... Anyway, back to the GUI.

If your target audience is casual low-techliteracy users hoping/looking for alternatives but are too hesitant or scared to try Linux, dare I say you "accidentaly" made it more "high production quality" than you think?

[wwblm]

If your target audience is casual low-techliteracy users hoping/looking for alternatives but are too hesitant or scared to try Linux, dare I say you "accidentaly" made it more "high production quality" than you think?

Thank you for those very insightful and interesting comments! I did not see it that way. I used to be a Toastmaster so I was rather mortified by my presentation. You pointed out some very important things that I just could not see.

FWIW, I actually do know that it is the Panel it's just that I have too many years of telling people to go to the menu bar under my belt Funny thing with that is it completely reinforces your point. I was dealing with people who had been using their computer for years and still did not really know what a menu bar was. People are a funny lot when it comes to computers -- myself included. During the video it was more of a senior moment but your points are very well taken. Thank You!

[wwblm]

Glad you appreciate it (and weren't offended, like some people seem to get). Thing is, most people seem to be oblivious of that, just "used to it" or just don't care.

FWIW, its all too easy to get offended. I continue to struggle with that to this day. Bottom line is however that I asked for feedback and that is a good thing! Taking offense accomplishes nothing. If you were truly trying to be offensive then the best course of action for me would be to just ignore you. Due to the fact of it being impossible for me to know if you were trying to be offensive the best course of action is to see if I can learn something regardless of my reaction! Frankly I was a little offended and initially I just didn't get it. Thinking it through a little longer it really was a solid positive suggestion.

I will always remember my first job out of college where I had to write a newsletter for my company. My boss was tasked with editing my writing before we could publish it. Forty years on I can still feel the smoke coming out of my ears from the fury of my offense! Given some time to cool off and go back to it I really don't remember there being a time where his editing was not in the end a positive contribution to my work.

[BG405]

I'll say that GreenIsBest's comment sums it up for me.

What I'll add is .. it looks to me like a great video to show-case what Linux can do "from a "Layman's Perspective"". We really need more of this!

Plus I'll also add .. I've been thinking of doing YouTube videos for a while (other than my "silent-movie" one) but have zero confidence that anyone would actually want to listen to my own voice/narration. I have no "stage presence" but at the same time don't want to do an AI-style voice-over either. Hats off to you (and others) who don't have this sort of stage-fright-scenario .. or are willing to give it a go anyway. Plus, in my case being mortally embarrassed/ashamed of hearing my own voice played back .. thanks rellies for getting me to "sing" into a cassette recorder as a 3-year-old; scarred for life on that front.

Maybe a 5-10 minute video project for YouTube is on the cards? I'll certainly look forward to that, when you have the time.

What are you using for production, by the way? KDEnlive or something else?

[wwblm]

What are you using for production, by the way? KDEnlive or something else?

I used OBS Studio mostly. Shotcut for the editing and handbrake to make it web ready and small enough for my server to handle easily. OBS kind of blows me away. It is like having your own studio, literally! Both of them seem easy enough to me as there are lots of tutorials available and I can go back when my pea brain forgets. All of them work on the 3 major platforms but Handbrake is the only one I've used before. I haven't done much of this kind of thing in a long time. At one point I had final cut express and a fairly decent DVR Camera. Thankfully my needs are not that complex! Learning final cut express all those years ago probably helps and over all I am quite happy with Shotcut.

[wwblm]

Plus I'll also add .. I've been thinking of doing YouTube videos for a while (other than my "silent-movie" one) but have zero confidence that anyone would actually want to listen to my own voice/narration. I have no "stage presence" but at the same time don't want to do an AI-style voice-over either. Hats off to you (and others) who don't have this sort of stage-fright-scenario .. or are willing to give it a go anyway. Plus, in my case being mortally embarrassed/ashamed of hearing my own voice played back .. thanks rellies for getting me to "sing" into a cassette recorder as a 3-year-old; scarred for life on that front.

FWIW, I can't stand the sound of my voice on recording either. The only thing I am OK with is watching myself dance. As for the Linux stuff I just have to ignore my voice and not look at myself. Am mortified at the quality of the presentation at the moment but if, as so eloquently stated elsewhere in this thread, my lack of polish achieves purpose then it is a good thing. My purpose is simply to help people realize that they can use a computer under their own control that does not have to be Windows or Mac. The concentration of power and lack of regard for resources is just not right and I want to at least try to do something about it.