First draft of new Audience section.

git-svn-id: http://svn.linuxfromscratch.org/LFS/trunk/BOOK@8908 4aa44e1e-78dd-0310-a6d2-fbcd4c07a689

prologue/audience.xml

@@ -10,77 +10,56 @@
 
   <title>Audience</title>
 
-  <para>There are many reasons why somebody would want to read this book.
-  The principal reason is to install a Linux system from the source code.
-  A question many people raise is, <quote>why go through all the hassle of
-  manually building a Linux system from scratch when you can just download
-  and install an existing one?</quote> That is a good question and is the
-  impetus for this section of the book.</para>
+<para>There are many reasons why you would want to read this book. One of the
+questions many people raise is, <quote>why go through all the hassle of manually
+building a Linux system from scratch when you can just download and install
+an existing one?</quote></para>
 
-  <para>One important reason for LFS's existence is to help people learn
-  how a Linux system works from the inside out. Building an LFS system
-  helps demonstrate what makes Linux tick, and how things work together
-  and depend on each other. One of the best things that this learning
-  experience provides is the ability to customize Linux to your own tastes
-  and needs.</para>
+<para>One important reason for this project's existence is to help you learn how
+a Linux system works from the inside out. Building an LFS system helps
+demonstrate what makes Linux tick, and how things work together and depend
+on each other. One of the best things that this learning experience can
+provide you with is the ability to customize a Linux system to suit your
+own unique needs.</para>
 
-  <para>A key benefit of LFS is that it allows users to have more control
-  over the system without relying on someone else's Linux implementation.
-  With LFS, <emphasis>you</emphasis> are in the driver's seat and dictate
-  every aspect of the system, such as the directory layout and bootscript
-  setup. You also dictate where, why, and how programs are installed.</para>
+<para>A key benefit of LFS is that it allows you to have more control over the
+system without relying on someone else's Linux implementation. With LFS,
+you are in the driver's seat and dictate every aspect of the system.</para>
 
-  <para>Another benefit of LFS is the ability to create a very compact Linux
-  system. When installing a regular distribution, one is often forced to
-  include several programs which are probably never used. These programs
-  waste disk space, or worse, CPU cycles. It is not difficult to build an
-  LFS system of less than 100 megabytes (MB), which is substantially smaller
-  than the majority of existing installations. Does this still sound like a
-  lot of space? A few of us have been working on creating a very small
-  embedded LFS system. We successfully built a system that was specialized
-  to run the Apache web server with approximately 8MB of disk space used.
-  Further stripping could bring this down to 5 MB or less. Try that with a
-  regular distribution! This is only one of the many benefits of designing
-  your own Linux implementation.</para>
+<para>LFS allows you to create very compact Linux systems. When installing
+regular distributions, you are often forced to install a great many
+programs which are probably never used or understood. These programs waste
+resources. You may argue that with today's hard drive and CPUs, such
+resources are no longer a consideration. Sometimes, however, you are still
+constrained by size considerations if nothing else. Think about bootable
+CDs, USB sticks and embedded systems. Those are areas where LFS can be
+beneficial.</para>
 
-  <para>We could compare Linux distributions to a hamburger purchased at a
-  fast-food restaurant&mdash;you have no idea what might be in what you are
-  eating. LFS, on the other hand, does not give you a hamburger. Rather,
-  LFS provides the recipe to make the exact hamburger desired. This allows
-  users to review the recipe, omit unwanted ingredients, and add your own
-  ingredients to enhance the flavor of the burger. When you are satisfied
-  with the recipe, move on to preparing it. It can be made to exact
-  specifications&mdash;broil it, bake it, deep-fry it, or barbecue it.</para>
+<para>Another advantage of a custom built Linux system is security. By compiling
+the entire system from source code, you are empowered to audit everything
+and apply all the security patches desired. It is no longer necessary to
+wait for somebody else to compile binary packages that fix a security hole.
+Unless you examine the patch and implement it yourself, you have no
+guarantee that the new binary package was built correctly and adequately
+fixes the problem.</para>
 
-  <para>Another analogy that we can use is that of comparing LFS with a
-  finished house. LFS provides the skeletal plan of a house, but it is up
-  to you to build it. LFS maintains the freedom to adjust plans throughout
-  the process, customizing it to the user's needs and preferences.</para>
+<para>The goal of Linux From Scratch is to build a complete and usable
+foundation-level system. If you do not wish to build your own Linux system
+from scratch, you may not entirely benefit from the information in this
+book. If you only want to know what happens while the computer boots, we
+recommend the <quote>From Power Up To Bash Prompt</quote> HOWTO located at
+<ulink url="http://axiom.anu.edu.au/~okeefe/p2b/"/> or on The Linux
+Documentation Project's (TLDP) website at <ulink
+url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/From-PowerUp-To-Bash-Prompt-HOWTO.html"/>.
+The HOWTO builds a system which is similar to that of this book, but it
+focuses strictly on creating a system capable of booting to a BASH prompt.
+Consider your objective. If you wish to build a Linux system while learning
+along the way, then this book is your best choice.</para>
 
-  <para>An additional advantage of a custom built Linux system is security.
-  By compiling the entire system from source code, you are empowered to audit
-  everything and apply all the security patches desired. It is no longer
-  necessary to wait for somebody else to compile binary packages that fix a
-  security hole. Unless you examine the patch and implement it yourself, you
-  have no guarantee that the new binary package was built correctly and
-  adequately fixes the problem.</para>
-
-  <para>The goal of Linux From Scratch is to build a complete and usable
-  foundation-level system. Readers who do not wish to build their own Linux
-  system from scratch may not benefit from the information in this book. If
-  you only want to know what happens while the computer boots, we recommend
-  the <quote>From Power Up To Bash Prompt</quote> HOWTO located at
-  <ulink url="http://axiom.anu.edu.au/~okeefe/p2b/"/> or on The Linux
-  Documentation Project's (TLDP) website at <ulink
-  url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/From-PowerUp-To-Bash-Prompt-HOWTO.html"/>.
-  The HOWTO builds a system which is similar to that of this book, but it
-  focuses strictly on creating a system capable of booting to a BASH prompt.
-  Consider your objective. If you wish to build a Linux system while learning
-  along the way, then this book is your best choice.</para>
-
-  <para>There are too many good reasons to build your own LFS system to
-  list them all here. This section is only the tip of the iceberg. As
-  you continue in your LFS experience, you will find the power that
-  information and knowledge truly bring.</para>
+<para>There are too many good reasons to build your own LFS system to list them
+all here. In the end, education is by far the most powerful of reasons. As
+you continue in your LFS experience, you will discover the power that
+information and knowledge truly bring.</para>
 
 </sect1>
+