Better LaptopTesting pages?

[Jeff Abbott]

Daniel Skov Klejnstrup wrote:

> Hi there...

Hello!

> Why not make a flexible PHP-solution, that enables both the creator and 
> the enduser to view through different hardware from the same MAKE&MODEL 
> (My Dell Inspiron 8600 could be ordered with 3 different gfx's! - Just 
> an example!)

The ThinkPad line has a similar problem.  Are you talking about 
integrating such a tool with the wiki?  If that's the case, I'd propose 
that it should be done as a MoinMoin extension and thus written in 
Python, since I believe the Ubuntu wiki is MoinMoin-powered.  We should 
strive for consistency in languages for the tools we use wherever 
possible.  That said, if such a thing isn't possible with a MoinMoin 
extension then PHP would probably work just fine.

> It could also enable people to create ALL ubuntu-versions (and kubuntu, 
> edubuntu, etc... if there are specific setup issues in these 
> subdistros!) as subpages to the MAKE&MODEL-page (It's possible now, but 
> NOT flexible at all!)

It might simply be time for a cleanup of the LaptopTestingTeam page and 
subpages.  I'm not sure how long its been since I just got here, but I 
think we might be able to go a long way towards enhancing 
maintainability and updatability by simply cleaning up the hierarchy a bit.

I think we could start by moving all the unmaintained reports to being 
children of another page -- UnmaintainedReports maybe? -- under 
LaptopTestingTeam to get them off the main page.  I also think we should 
condense any vendor with, say, three or more testing reports to having 
subpages the way that IBM/Lenovo, Compaq, Dell, and a few others are.

Perhaps we could move all testing reports to vendor-specific subpages of 
LaptopTestingTeam, even if there's only one testing report for that 
vendor.  We could put UnmaintainedReports as a subpage of 
LaptopTestingTeam as well, and move old reports to vendor-specific 
subpages of that.  I dunno.  I'm brainstorming here.  :-)

We might also be able to add a new column to the tables to include a 
shorthand of the system's specs, kind of like Apple has on the backs of 
their desktops (and inside the battery bay on their laptops) -- for 
instance, my PowerBook G4 is "1.5GHz/1GB/80G/SuperDrive/BT/APX/Backlit 
KB".  Maybe my ThinkPad could be notated as 
"PM1.7GHz/1.5GB/80G/Combo/Radeon Mobility 9600 64MB" or something. 
Would make it easier for people to scan down a table to find a hardware 
configuration that matches theirs.  Again, more brainstorming.

I love your interest in helping, Daniel -- I share that interest -- and 
I'm not trying to fault your idea at all, so please don't misunderstand 
me.  I just want to make sure we don't have "tools" already available 
that'd allow us to make things cleaner and easier for both users and 
maintainers.  What does everyone else think?

Thanks,
Jeff