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Moving conclusions of discussion from #140 to the teaching notes
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gvwilson committed Mar 13, 2014
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Expand Up @@ -110,7 +110,32 @@ as long as learners using Windows do not run into roadblocks such as:
* It's hard to discuss `#!` (shebang) wihtout first discussing permissions,
which we don't do.

* Installing Bash and a reasonable set of Unix commands on Windows
always involves some fiddling and frustration.
Please see the latest set of installation guidelines for advice,
and try it out yourself *before* teaching a class.
#### Windows

Installing Bash and a reasonable set of Unix commands on Windows
always involves some fiddling and frustration.
Please see the latest set of installation guidelines for advice,
and try it out yourself *before* teaching a class.
Options we have explored include:

1. [msysGit](http://msysgit.github.io/) (also called "Git Bash"),
2. [Cygwin](http://www.cygwin.com/),
3. using a desktop virtual machine, and
4. having learners connect to a remote Unix machine (typically a VM in the cloud).

Cygwin was the preferred option until mid-2013,
but once we started teaching Git,
msysGit proved to work better.
Desktop virtual machines and cloud-based VMs work well for technically sophisticated learners,
and can reduce installation and configuration at the start of the bootcamp,
but:

1. they don't work well on underpowered machines,
2. they're confusing for novices (because simple things like copy and paste work differently),
3. learners leave the workshop without a working environment on their operating system of choice, and
4. learners may show up without having downloaded the VM or the wireless will go down (or become congested) during the lesson.

Whatever you use,
please *test it yourself* on a Windows machine *before* your bootcamp:
things may always have changed behind your back since your last bootcamp.
And please also make use of our Windows setup helper.

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