Meeting Ubuntu for the first time
We all have experience of introducing people to Ubuntu. We also have user research data gathered through more formal sessions. Let's use this session to consider what it is like for users meeting Ubuntu for the first time without a friendly introducer and look at ways that the user experience itself can help those people understand and enjoy this new environment.
What are our goals for the first 30 minutes with Ubuntu?
Blueprint information
- Status:
- Not started
- Approver:
- Ivanka Majic
- Priority:
- Undefined
- Drafter:
- None
- Direction:
- Needs approval
- Assignee:
- Charline Poirier
- Definition:
- New
- Series goal:
- Accepted for maverick
- Implementation:
-
Unknown
- Milestone target:
-
ubuntu-10.10-beta
- Started by
- Completed by
Whiteboard
From the user:
- What is this thing I am using?
- How is it different than what I am using?
- What makes this better than what I am used to?
- look at it from the context of someone thinking of using Ubuntu in a work environment
[winniemiel05]
Many users get their Ubuntu fix from other advocates
What about those who get a clean install / OEM pre-install
Can we improve what they first see?
We do some good things
People can get online
Improving things
Making it easy to install new apps
Show a video during/after install?
Bubbles pointing out interesting things on the screen
When we discuss first-use product introductions that we've seen before, we
immediately see that it's easy to make the experience lame (e.g. Clippy).
We do pretty well showing Ubuntu to people who haven't used a computer before
- some things even better than other Operating Systems
The Ubuntu Community:
* You are a part of the community when you feel as such
- brand affinity
* Consequently, the experience of first use of the software can affect how you
feel
- the message the software conveys about being different
== About Menu ==
- Not very discoverable (put it on the desktop?)
- http://
- http://
- About content is odd looking: large block of text inside a tiny window
- Less text, more visual. Not so geeky & specific. No need to call out
competition.
A video inspirational idea: us showing Ubuntu to our friends and how we present
it/what we show a new user.
Do we need to say it's open source/free software? Avoid the word 'free' for
sure. But still, do most people care about whether it is open source.
The tag line "Linux for Human Beings" is a bit of a swipe at rest of Linux
community. Maybe review such copy.
An app store is a highly marketed feature of Android/iPhone. We don't
advertise/point-out the Software Center at all. A person might very well
use Firefox to search for software, not at all to think of an app store.
AptURL helps a bit here.
Our first slideshow is during install. User may not be paying attention. OEM
installs won't show it. Need a post-install introduction (slideshow/video),
that's not likely to be just dismissed immediately and forgotten.
A user wants to *do* something. Like play music, look at photo, browse the
web, or even find cool apps. Rather than a slideshow - a "How to get things
done in Ubuntu" app with links to guide people to setting up accounts, listening
to music, etc... Slideshows dictate order and pace - the users should be able
to choose
note: something like http://
To draw attention to beginning material on desktop: glowing, pointing at it.
It's technically difficult though.
== Actions ==
- Ubuntu training sessions filmed to give us insight into what people find
useful - possible posting on youtube or others?
- use a video of someone providing an awesome introduction of ubuntu to find
out what sequence they introduce things
- first use wizard? introducing the desktop just like a person would do.
- Reduce About Menu options to 1 and improve it
- Talk to Dell Support about requirements for introduction material [jerone]
- Put a video/slideshow in on first boot and get some feedback
Work items:
[jerone] Talk to Dell Support about requirements for introduction material: TODO
