Re: How can the OS autodetect that a user is a newbie and offer help?
Alexey Feldgendler wrote:
> In a desktop environment, the user needs to do a special action to run
> the shell (such as starting the Gnome Terminal). It's somewhat unlikely
> that the user ends up in the "scary black screen" by accident, and even
> then he can easily find the familiar close button in the title bar of
> the window. My point is that today's user only gets a shell when he
> wants a shell, and users who don't know how to use the shell won't want it.
If something happens to X then a user can end up in the terminal. Even a
faulty application can trash X.
Maybe all what is needed is a small script and a warning. Suppose we
write a script called "desktop" or "start-desktop" that can start X,
Gnome, KDE or whatever is installed on the system - with safe values for
e.g. the X config. Sort of like Windows' rescue mode.
Then have a message appear when the terminal starts (not the virtual
terminals that you can start from your desktop, but the terminal you get
when X is dead) that reads something like:
"If your desktop accidentally died, type "start-desktop" and hit the
return key or type "reboot" to restart your computer."
If it can be made so that this message only appears when X is installed
but not running on the system, then even better.
--
Sander Marechal
http://www.gnome-hearts.org/
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