Talk:IT Fundamentals/2014/Hardware

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Activity 1 (Linux): lshw

lshw was not installed on my system, so I installed it, along with lshw-gtk, ran both and compared. The graphical one would be much better for a learner with minimal previous knowledge, as the output can be readily viewed one piece at a time, arranged in a hierarchy. However it is still a massive jumble of perplexing information for a user (not expert) with long experience, and the same goes for many other tools. On the other hand, I think the output of hardinfo is much more accessible to a beginner.

I'm not sure how to cater for the variations in which tools are actually available to the learner. Many will not have authority to install programs, and those that do may not yet know how. How varies with Linux flavour. One solution would be to suggest running apropos hardware, and then man whatever comes up for probing/listing hardware. That may be too much for introductory level. I lean towards offering a list. I'll pause for comments before doing anything.--Alkhowarizmi (discuss • contribs) 02:30, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

This is an active real-world course with 40 students currently enrolled. Minor improvements are welcome, but major changes should not be initiated at this time. Most students starting out are using either Windows or OS X. Those who already have Linux are / would be familiar with the differences between distributions. A simple solution might be to add a fourth bullet for hardinfo with a reference and corresponding instructions. The previous textbook we used for this course included a hardinfo activity, and that, also, had to be installed before students could use it. -- Dave Braunschweig (discuss • contribs) 03:26, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

I'm still finding my way around. Apparently, this course is not a place to "be bold". I haven't yet discovered a place where I might know that a page I plan to edit belongs to "an active real-world course ..." that should be more or less preserved, though I have come across mention of the concept. Does such a place exist? It's my instinct to always post on Talk pages before introducing radical change, but even that I don't do lightly. There's usually a fair amount of time and effort spent on researching or verifying my work. At any rate I'll leave it alone for now.--Alkhowarizmi (discuss • contribs) 07:42, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

There are two things you can look at regarding activity. The first is to view history and see how recently and how often a resource has been updated. The second is to view how recently the major contributor has been active on other projects. Using the Talk page to introduce yourself and your ideas is a great way to start.

Of the 20,000+ pages on Wikiversity, less than 20 are active courses with students participating. If you're looking for ways to make an impact, see Wikiversity:Statistics/2016/02. I only see one resource in the top 50 that I recognize as being part of an active course. Many of these resources are in the computer field, and some are specifically computer hardware, if that interests you. -- Dave Braunschweig (discuss • contribs) 13:05, 25 March 2016 (UTC)