October 2003 - openSUSE Edu - openSUSE Mailing Lists

OpenOffice 1.1 released
by ian 11 Oct '03

11 Oct '03

Just to let you all know that OpenOffice 1.1 final got released to-day. Quite a big improvement and direct export to pdf is a really useful extra. No doubt it will find its way into the latest Linux dostros soon If you want it now go to www.openoffice.org - but the web site was creeking a bit last time looked. -- ian <ian.lynch2(a)ntlworld.com> Education Lead for OpenOffice.org project

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Web design
by Paul Taylor 11 Oct '03

11 Oct '03

Hi all: What would be the market rate for a web site designed using PHP and running on a database like MySQL? I need a "ballpark" figure or a break down of hourly rate and possible number of hours. My school is a Business and Enterprise school and the head (without concern for the technical issues) has taken a contract from the council to design them a site and that is what they need. My knowledge and practice of these dark arts is very newbie (sorry Thomas) but I suspect I will be asked to do it and if that is the case I need a good justification for taking me off timetable for a few months. Cheers, Paul

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] edexcel gcse coursework
by Chris Puttick 10 Oct '03

10 Oct '03

Ask them! Any response based around requiring MS solutions (explicit or implied) would be highly inappropriate; more importantly they would be contravening both offical government policy and guidelines from the DfES. In fact it is important that you do ask them - do post any response here. Cheers Chris -----Original Message----- From: fsanta To: suse-linux-uk-schools(a)suse.com Sent: 10/10/03 7:06 PM Subject: [suse-linux-uk-schools] edexcel gcse coursework I wonder how the edexcel gods would react to being presented with a Scribus based dtp mini project or screenshots of mysql-jdbc in OOo for things more compulsory. Steve. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-unsubscribe(a)suse.com For additional commands, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-help(a)suse.com

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screen resolution at startup
by Alan Davies 10 Oct '03

10 Oct '03

Don't answer all once... I re-installed our SUSE linux (8.2) on a new box (with new monitor). Re -did samba, iptables for masquesading, firewall, remote XDM,etc. I'm getting quite good at this. And I went into desktop settings and set it for what I thought would be a lower resolution on next boot. However, when I re-positioned the machine in the server room (with a KVM switch) there was no display. The monitor there only does 800x600 at around 60 Hz at best. ISTR that CTL-SHFT with + and - should change the resolution - once you have started an X session - but nothing seems to work. The box is working fine of course - and can be used remotely. What do I need to do to persuade the startup to happen in a lower resolution? I get as far as seeing the option to use SAFE settings? Should I persue this or will it permanently use safe settings? TIA. -- Alan Davies Head of Computing Birkenhead School

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Switched off
by Chris Puttick 10 Oct '03

10 Oct '03

I think that, unless the reseller/manufacturer have suggested the systems have some sort of bizarre surge protection/voltage on interface function that causes the switch to reset, then none of these sorts of problems could/should have an effect. Mains voltage, flourescent lights etc. near data cables will not cause significantly high voltage to run in the data cable; however it can degrade data quality to the point of uselessness, e.g. 80%+ packet loss - easily tested with ping. Even if high voltage was to reach the switch interface (is that an ethernet socket or an ISDN one - oops, it was ISDN...) it would at worst kill the switch (permanently) and at best damage the particular interface it was applied to; this would similarly effect the devices at the other end of the cable. The switch configuration should be stored in flash ram, where some (more expensive!) switches may have three stored - default, startup and running - some older switch OSes like CatOS only have default and running, which is scary in a complex network (change settings only when you have a console cable available and physical access to the switches...). Resetting to default is normally through actuation of a concealed button (like the manual release for CD drives), or via user intervention during the boot up sequence (console lead time again...). Again, high voltage causing this reset would be much more likely to damage the switch and other connected devices. Presumably you could test how the current switches store configs by making a change and powering them off and seeing if the change is still there on power-on. A switch that loses settings during power off is not suitable for use in mission critical network (like any school one!) and should be returned for a full refund on that basis. Realistically, switches installed on large(r) sites should also have layer 3 functionality and significant switching fabric capacity to allow for future capacity demands. The current best value solution for education is HP - if you want more advice on specs for these, let me know. Cheers Chris -----Original Message----- From: adrian.wells To: SuSE for Schools Sent: 10/10/03 3:51 PM Subject: Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Switched off Hi Paul, I missed the bit about the mains & data sharing the same conduit. This is against regs. and you should get the installer to make good. There is a recommended minimum distance for mains & data running in a parallel course, even in separate conduits and they should not run in the same conduit. Tis Friday and I cant remember the details. Note that 3 part trunking should be screened, but little that is installed today is because users get away with it working! Same thing goes for avoiding fluorescent lamps, give a wide birth - I think that's 0.5m.. Crossing mains at 90deg is okay but looks bad (hey, lets keep those walls neat!) The problem is that there's a lot of 'professional installers' out there that would be better suited to house bashing and have learned their trade from a mate, having never read the CAT5 regs let alone the electrical regs. If you have induced voltages on the cat5 then the UPS will not help, you could try surge protectors on the CAT5 but you'd do better to get the cabling sorted first. If the manufactures send a rep to your site they'll be looking for any 'let-out' rather than admit fault. As Mark says, it's okay to mix lo voltages in the same conduit. including telephones that can have 120V on the ringer! although 50V is more common on conventional switches - rambling now! Not sure how much this helps Have a good weekend Adrian ----- Original Message ----- From: Paul Taylor <ptaylor(a)writhlington.bathnes.sch.uk> To: adrian.wells <adrian.wells(a)sidcot.org.uk> Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 3:07 PM Subject: RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Switched off > >===== Original Message From "adrian.wells" <adrian.wells(a)sidcot.org.uk> ===== > >Hi Paul, > > > >This does sound strange! > > > >I know that d-link are cheap but... (I'd recommend Lantech MaxSwitches - > >easy after the event.) > > > >Are the units doing a full reset. i.e they go through a POST or are they > >resetting the tables only? > > > I think it is the power cables as I just had a look (see the message to Mark) > and tere are power cables all over the data cables. > >Do all of the units reset at the same time? > > > >I assume that you are happy with the mains supply. Have you tried fitting a > >UPS to filler out staffroom kettles etc. :-) > > > There are no UPS at present which could well solve a lot of it. > >Another big problem in school is the need to have everything up at the same > >time, but have you tried connecting one segment at a time. > > > >Sorry, but all obvious stuff really :-( > > > >Adrian > > > > > Thanks Adrian, -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-unsubscribe(a)suse.com For additional commands, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-help(a)suse.com

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] screen resolution at startup
by Chris Puttick 10 Oct '03

10 Oct '03

Switch to a console prompt (Alt+F1 or Ctrl+Alt+F1), log in as root and go to runlevel 3 (init 3). At the new prompt (you may have to hit return), run sax2 - this should give you a working X config. Alternatively, consider only using runlevel 3 anyway, and accessing the settings via yast (rather than yast2). Cheers Chris -----Original Message----- From: Alan Davies To: suse-linux-uk-schools(a)suse.com Sent: 10/10/31 6:36 PM Subject: [suse-linux-uk-schools] screen resolution at startup Don't answer all once... I re-installed our SUSE linux (8.2) on a new box (with new monitor). Re -did samba, iptables for masquesading, firewall, remote XDM,etc. I'm getting quite good at this. And I went into desktop settings and set it for what I thought would be a lower resolution on next boot. However, when I re-positioned the machine in the server room (with a KVM switch) there was no display. The monitor there only does 800x600 at around 60 Hz at best. ISTR that CTL-SHFT with + and - should change the resolution - once you have started an X session - but nothing seems to work. The box is working fine of course - and can be used remotely. What do I need to do to persuade the startup to happen in a lower resolution? I get as far as seeing the option to use SAFE settings? Should I persue this or will it permanently use safe settings? TIA. -- Alan Davies Head of Computing Birkenhead School -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-unsubscribe(a)suse.com For additional commands, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-help(a)suse.com

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Switched off
by Paul Taylor 10 Oct '03

10 Oct '03

Hi all: I expect this is slightly off list but I am perplexed by a problem with our network which seems beyond the understanding of the suppliers. We have a brand new set of swiches with a gigabit backbone as a result of a leak following some dodgy building of the new server room. The switches are all D-Link. There are 8 24 port switches which are stacked in blocks of 4 and a master with the gig modules. Once we got the network running they kept falling over and resetting themselves to the factory default setting for the IP. The supplier and D-Link "solved" it by replacing all of them and they have worked for a few days but they have reset again. My question is, what would cause a switch to reset? It wouldn't reset if it was bombarded with packages? Would it be a bad NIC card somewhere in the system sending higher than normal voltage packages? All I can think of is that the power leads are causing problems. The suppliers have run the power cables through all of the data runs. Would this cause enough extra inteference to cause a switch to reset itself? Also (apologies to Thomas following his last missive about read the f** archives) but I can't find some discussion I had about squid settings sometime back. I believe it was mainly with Mark Evans but anyone else's oppinion would be welcome. I am setting up a box with the swgfl and they are unlocking port 80 for me. Would it be better to use 2 NICs or would just one using ipchains be enough to protect the internal network? I would appreciate anyones sample squid.conf with a 2 card setup to save me some time on books and how-tos. I realise this is rather lazy but I am a teacher and time is not a luxury I possess. Paul

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] can we stay?
by Chris Puttick 10 Oct '03

10 Oct '03

Speaking for myself, of course you can stay! There are a number of schools and other educational making use of Linux on both servers and desktops, often by thin client technology. To see some case studies, have a look at SchoolForge-UK (http://schoolforge.org.uk - the Wiki HomePage via the link on the left). Hopefully you'll find some other useful resources there too. Chris Puttick -----Original Message----- From: fsanta To: suse-linux-uk-schools(a)suse.com Cc: duncan(a)ctv.es Sent: 10/8/03 10:59 PM Subject: [suse-linux-uk-schools] can we stay? Hi everyone. We are a small international school in Spain running courses for KS1-3, gcse and A-level. We use 8.2 on a 100% teaching lan basis. If we are allowed to stay on the list, could we ask if anyone else is using Linux over there? Not just as a server. Thanks, Steve. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-unsubscribe(a)suse.com For additional commands, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-help(a)suse.com

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PAM_MOUNT
by Richard Rothwell 10 Oct '03

10 Oct '03

Hi All, Thanks for the help with winbind and authentication against an NT server, I know have this working on my LTSP server. I'm now trying to get 'pam_mount' to automatically mount the nt home directories.... If there is anyone outh there who has got thi working can the get in touch? thanks in advance, ===== rgds, Richard Rothwell -------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't teach pigs to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pigs. Robert Kiyosaki ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] can we stay?
by Chris Puttick 09 Oct '03

09 Oct '03

Speaking for myself, of course you can stay! There are a number of schools and other educational making use of Linux on both servers and desktops, often by thin client technology. To see some case studies, have a look at SchoolForge-UK (http://schoolforge.org.uk - the Wiki HomePage via the link on the left). Hopefully you'll find some of the other resources there useful too. Please submit a case study about your own school and any resources you may have - there's currently a particular interest in how to use OpenOffice.org for curriculum delivery, so if you and your colleagues have some experience in this, do get it down on the Wiki (probably under the Open Curriculum project). Chris Puttick -----Original Message----- From: fsanta To: suse-linux-uk-schools(a)suse.com Cc: duncan(a)ctv.es Sent: 10/8/03 10:59 PM Subject: [suse-linux-uk-schools] can we stay? Hi everyone. We are a small international school in Spain running courses for KS1-3, gcse and A-level. We use 8.2 on a 100% teaching lan basis. If we are allowed to stay on the list, could we ask if anyone else is using Linux over there? Not just as a server. Thanks, Steve. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-unsubscribe(a)suse.com For additional commands, e-mail: suse-linux-uk-schools-help(a)suse.com

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