Ubuntu Maverick Post-install Guide is late, but on the way.

Posted: 2010-12-11

I've felt bad about not having the post-install guide ready really early on, so i decided to not post anything until i do. It turns out this is an ineffective technique for pressuring myself into getting things done. I've done the same thing with the Noam Chomsky interview which should've been posted 9 months ago, but a tiny little bug in PiTiVi has been blocking me, and i'm just about ready to throw money i don't have at someone to fix it. Anyway.

What should you do if you're looking for the new post-install guide? Use the last one. It hasn't been completely obsoleted by the new version of Ubuntu! 

But why is it so late?

  • Lame reasons: 
    • Because i've been busy. I'm just finishing up two computer science classes at Harvard Extension (one of which was not only the "intensive" version, but also a prerequisite of the other). 
    • These guides are a ton of work. I have to go through an installation of Ubuntu from scratch, test a ton of software, take and edit screenshots, and write up the whole guide.
  • Better reasons:
    • The list of software i'll be featuring has probably doubled in size, maybe more, and that doesn't include the many new apps i try but decide not to feature. So, hopefully all the new stuff will make up for it's lateness!
    • It can take a bit of time for PPA's and other repositories to catch up to the latest version of Ubuntu. There's lots of cool new software and i'm still finding out about more! Surely you'd want me to be able to provide you the repos for them, wouldn't you?
    • I was hoping to make the new guide available in nice downloadable formats, and allow for nice typesetting (which is not my area of expertise). This should also make the work of translators much easier.

So, how much is done, and more importantly, how long do we have to wait? A lot has been done, but there's still lots to do. I'd estimate having about half the work done at this point. Half the software tested and screenshots taken, and most of the guide written. After those are all done, i still have to edit, format, add links, and do all the things i'm surely forgetting. I really don't know how long it will take, and i can't make a promise. A rough estimate is two months, and i will aim for less than one month, but there's a lot of others things i need to worry about!