[Wylug-discuss] Provisional Meeting Schedule For 2006

[Dave Fisher]

Hi All,

Please find below, two lists.

The first is a list of suggested topics for the beginners series that has been
under discussion for quite some time.  The dates are extremely tentative. All
topics are pretty standalone, so the order can easily be changed to suit
people's interests and other commitments.

The second is a list of suggestions for intermediate and/or advanced topics
that might accompany them.

I'm publishing both lists now in the hope that people might be more willing to
volunteer to speak on a known topic, which may not be required for several
months hence.

If you interested in doing any sort of talk at any time, please conact me
(off-list) immediately.  I really need some commitments now, however vague they
may be, if we are to avoid stumbling from one ad-hoc meeting to another.

I am desparate for volunteers to speak to the beginners topics, especially
people who are prepared to volunteer without specifying the topic, i.e. people
willing to do a bit of preparation to direct their existing knowledge to a less
experienced audience.  

I can think of at least a dozen WYLUG members who could speak usefully to any
of these topics, so please step forward, now.

I am open to negotiation about the precise ground covered by the beginners
talks. Nothing is 'set in stone', but it would be good if each of these
introductory talks could adopt a common format, e.g.

  * Overview of common tasks and problems related to the topic
  * Survey of tools available
  * Evaluation of commonly adopted tools and approaches
    - Especially warning beginners off quarter-baked, and guru-only ones
  * Howto setup and use the most useful tool/s
  * Demo of some more advanced/interesting features

There is no reason why those interested in talking to more advanced subjects
should stick to the suggested list at all, i.e. the list is mainly designed to
get people thinking ... although it would be tidier if you could think of some
hook to the beginners' tpoic being covered at the same meeting.

The bottom line is: 'the talks cupboard is bare', so I'm happy to
consider almost any subject at any level from anyone!

Dave

== Beginners Topics == 

* Getting Started [FEB]
  * Choosing a Distro
  * Installation
  * Initial Configuration, e.g.
    * Display
    * Printer
    * Network interface
    * Desktop

* Document Production [MAR]
  * Office 'Productivity' Suites
  * Standalone Office Apps
  * Integration (e.g. with Databases, Web and Email)
  * Alternatives (The 'Unix Way'): text editor, markup, CLI, pipe

* Minimal Networking  [APR]
  * Simple DNS and DHCP
  * Using Routers and Modems
  * Basic configuration and use of SSH/SCP
  * Recieving and Sending Email
  * Configuring an Email Client
  * Simple Wireless Networking
  * Remote Desktop, VNC, NX, etc

* Print and Graphics [MAY]
  * Photos
  * Diagrams
  * Page Layout
  * Scanning
  * Printing

* Building and Managing Websites [JUN]
  * Static vs Dynamic
  * Dynamic Alternatives: Client Side, Server Side, AJAX
  * Architectures and Frameworks
  * Content Management

* Document and Data Management [JUL]
  * Files and Databases
  * Which RDBMS? Mysql, Postgre, SQL Lite
  * Query and Reporting Tools

* Multimedia [AUG] 
  * Capturing
  * Transcoding
  * Editing
  * Publishing

* System Maintenance, Fault Finding, Diagnostics [SEP]
  * Kernel logging
  * Application Logging
  * Syslog
  * dmesg, /var/log/messages, /var/log/***


== Intermediate and Advanced Topics ==

* Parallel to Getting Started
  * The Kernel and Minority Hardware
  * Kernel Modules and Device Drivers
  * Building Customised Kernels
  * Distro-specific Kernel Issues, e.g. Debian Kernel Toolchain and Policy
  * The Boot Sequence, Init, Runlevels, Login shell, etc.
  * The Fundamentals of X
  * Adanced Display, e.g. TV Out, Multi-screen
* Document Production
  * Programming Open Office, scribus, etc
  * Docbook, Linuxdoc, LDP, Debian, Gnome, KDE, POD, etc
  * Programming Postscript and PDF
  * Multi-lingual Document Production
  * Advanced text editing
* Networking
  * DNS Tricks
  * Creating a VPN
  * Securing a wireless network
  * Network monitoring (Nagios, et al.)
  * Network Server tricks, Web, Mail, Mailing List
* Print and Graphics
  * Graphic design techniques, e.g, layers, mattes, alpha blending 
  * Scripting Gimp, Imagemagick, Inkscape, etc
  * Conversion, compression
  * X Fonts
* Building and Managing Websites
  * Building AJAX applications
  * Advanced CSS 
  * Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby tricks
  * Ruby on Rails, Catalyst, Quixote, Cheetah, Cake
* Document and Data Management
  * Database optimisation
  * Database programming
  * Bespoke and customise document management
* Multimedia
  * Controlling hardware
  * Streaming media servers
  * Podcasting
  * Scripted editing
  * Special effects
* System Maintenance, Fault Finding and Diagnostics
  * Bug Reporting and Debugging 
  * Advanced monitoring
  * Remote and 'automated' management
  * Sniffing, Scanning, Probing
  * Patching