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Revision as of 11:50, 2 April 2010 by Jadudm (talk | contribs)

Getting Started with IRC

For the next four weeks, we'll be using IRC as part of our classroom communications. There are two channels you'll want to make use of:

  • #fedora-mktg is where the Fedora project marketing team hangs out.
  • #allegheny is where we will hang out.

To get started with IRC, you'll want to do the following:

  1. Download and install Pidgin.
  2. Set up Pidgin for use with IRC. This blog post should help. Ask for help if you get stuck, or team up with a friend to figure this out.
  3. Choose a username. Mine is jadudm. You might choose something related to your own username, or something else entirely. (Remember, it is how people will recognize you online.)
  4. In Pidgin, choose "Join a Chat" from the "Conversation" menu. It will let you choose a channel to join. I chose #allegheny.
  5. See who is in the chat and say "hi".
  6. Talk to us a bit about where you are with your project. Fill us in. We'll ask some questions.


Normal IRC etiquette does not demand that you say "hi" as you enter an IRC chat room. There may be 100+ people there, and you don't need to announce your presence. However, in this particular case, the channel #allegheny is probably just "us," so that's a good "safe" place to experiment with things.

After you've said "hi," do the following while you're still there and can ask us for help:

  1. While you're there, register your IRC nickname. This means you have to type:
    1. /msg nickserv register <your-password> <your-email> (For example, I used a rather bogus password that I can remember easily (but isn't my email password), and my email address.) You'll get an email that contains an IRC command you need to copy-paste... go look for it.
    2. Next, type /msg nickserv set hidemail on to make sure your email address remains anonymous.

Things to Read

  • [April 1, 2010] Mel wrote a blog post introducing you to the Fedora "planet." That is, the aggregator for lots of weblogs about Fedora. We have one as well, as you may recall: the act.ivism pulse.

Installing Fedora WITHOUT Formatting your Computer

In plain language: you can install a "virtual computer" manager as a piece of software on your own machine. This is with an open source piece of software called Virtual Box. Download, install -- there should be nothing fancy/tricky about this step.

Now, open up Virtual Box. You can now create a "virtual machine." This means it will create a folder on your hard drive, and inside that folder it will create files that represent a real computer. (When you are done experimenting this semester, you can simply drag that folder to the trash, and you will have removed all of your "virtual machines.") As you set things up, it will (at some point) ask what you are using as an operating system. This is where your Fedora 13 Live CD comes in.

And, it is also where I stop writing directions. That is because there are step-by-step directions written by others for both Fedora 10 and Fedora 12. These are recent enough that the many, many screenshots and documentation should get you through. Certainly, they are better than me trying to write directions for Windows when I don't have a Windows computer!

The second link should be especially relevant -- it was written on January 31st, 2010. So even though we're doing this with a Fedora 13 Live CD (instead of Fedora 12), I expect things will be very, very similar.

Mac users: You, too, can use VirtualBox. It works on the Mac as well. (And, actually, if you use Linux, you can install VirtualBox there, too!) Regardless of whether you are using a Mac or a Windows computer, you probably need to have at least 1GB of RAM and 6GB of hard drive space available. Less than that, and you may find your machine gets cranky.

PLEASE NOTE: If you follow the instructions in the articles posted, you are not likely to damage any files on your computer. Matt will be around campus almost all weekend; please feel free to get on IRC or email questions, and we can get together and get you rolling.


Team Assignments

Video Sharing

  • Nick O.
  • Hannah (Bree, Brie, Breigh?)
  • Kevin T.
  • Eric

Twitter Strategy

  • Charlie W.
  • Noah K.
  • Tim C.
  • Dan S.

Press Kit

  • Matt B.
  • Adrienne N.
  • Sahar A.

One Page Release Notes

  • Dan E.
  • Tyler
  • Kevin I.
  • Ashley
  • Sarah H.

Feature Profiles

  • John
  • Matt
  • Hannah K.
  • Grant
  • Matt F.

Wild West (design team tickets)

  • Christina M.
  • Ryan S.
  • Connor
  • Ian

Sugar on a Stick Spin Webpage

  • Jordyn C.
  • Mark
  • Genevieve
  • Alex M.

Design Suite Spin Webpage

  • Anna S.
  • Ashley
  • Annie M.
  • Lisbeth P.
  • Lizzie H.
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