HOW TO: Learning Ubuntu made easy
Good documentation has helped keep the two-year-old Ubuntu project among the most popular 
Linux distributions. To complement the traditional venues for help, such as FAQs, HOWTOs, bulletin boards, and mailing lists, Ubuntu uses interactive forums such as Internet Relay Chat to conduct training classes for new users. Now add UbuntuClips.org to the list of helpful sites. This project, not associated with Ubuntu, combines the best of Linux screencasting tools and video-sharing portals to offer audio/video clips that lead new users through common tasks.
The founders of UbuntuClips.org, Richard Smith and Michael Felczak, serve on the board of the Vancouver Community Network (VCN), a local freenet in Vancouver, Canada. "VCN provides free dial-up access," Felczak says, "as well as a variety of Internet services such as Web space, mailing lists, etc., for lower income individuals and non-profits. We also provide introductory computer training and refurbish donated computers, which are made available to community organizations and groups."
To complement these efforts, the organization recently made available Ubuntu CDs as an option for people who receive refurbished computers. UbuntuClips.org was initially conceived as support for these efforts. "In addition to making Ubuntu CDs available, the idea was to make available a second CD that would include a collection of introductory documentation and video clips. We quickly realized that video clip tutorials were also well suited for any freenet with similar activities, or for a community computer lab, or for home users trying out Ubuntu for the first time for that matter," Felczak says. Linux.com | Learning Ubuntu made easy