October 2003 - openSUSE Edu - openSUSE Mailing Lists

New SchoolForge-UK project
by Chris Puttick 06 Oct '03

06 Oct '03

Hi Just created OpenCurriculum wiki page to facilitate development of UK oriented curriculum materials. Initially there is just some work being done on ICT, but all subjects could do with work being done. If you know anyone who would be interested, get them signed up - the more the merrier! Goto http://www.schoolforge.org.uk and click on Wiki Homepage. Cheers Chris

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Gnu Win
by paul 06 Oct '03

06 Oct '03

Hi A while ago one of the list members asked for some software suitable for education, I remembered the other day that the linux emporium www.linux-emporium.co.uk sell a cd for £2.50, called gnuWin, this has lots of software that is free but written for windows, thought I would mention here as it would benefit the whole group. Paul --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.522 / Virus Database: 320 - Release Date: 29/09/03

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Open Source in Education Conference cancelled
by Grainge, Derek 05 Oct '03

05 Oct '03

On Sat, Oct 04, 2003 at 11:20:33AM +0100, ian wrote: > Even nicer if it can read MS Access files, which makes > migration a lot easier. Access is a proprietary format. I doubt forms/queries/reports will ever be transferable because of the different document models each application uses. But It's easy to exchange data and structures using ODBC/SQL. All decent databases support it. And if you look at database backends like mySQL or PostgreSQL, they too use their own proprietary formats. There has been talk of XML as a 'standard' format. What we're crying out for is a nice front end for querying editing and displaying data - assuming of course it also contains tools which simplify the creation of the database itself. And as soon as you create a fancy front end, you have to store it - in a proprietary way of course :-) -- Derek Grainge Microtechnology Wellington College -- ******************************************************************************** All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of unacceptable material. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster(a)wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. Website: http://www.wellington-college.berks.sch.uk ********************************************************************************

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Open Source in Education Conference cancelled
by Grainge, Derek 05 Oct '03

05 Oct '03

-----Original Message----- From: ian [mailto:ian.lynch2@ntlworld.com] > To you perhaps, but not to the many teachers who think you need to be a > programmer to do HTML and produce websites using Publisher. The reality > is that most teachers want an Office suite and one that seems to them > similar to MS Office. In mentioning terms like queries, forms and reports I didn't want to imply an Access-like system. You will find similar concepts lying behind almost all major databases; AFAICS OO provides table and query functions; Knoda substitutes pure SQL for a QBE interface. Whether used educationally or not, database designers have to consider user interfaces and usability. IMO we lack a open product which supplies that. Some of us used Sun.Office precisely because they realised the deficiency and added a (non-free) database manager. If Knoda had a bolt-on QBE interface - a bit like OO.o's :-) - would the two together be considered a 'usable' database system ? I'm unaware of any other GPL'd solution to the problem but would be delighted to be told otherwise. -- ******************************************************************************** All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of unacceptable material. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster(a)wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. Website: http://www.wellington-college.berks.sch.uk ********************************************************************************

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Open Source in Education Conference cancelled
by N.Pauli 04 Oct '03

04 Oct '03

Dear All, I was really looking forward to this, wanted to ask lots of practical questions (how do I go about getting someone to write linux software for an interactive board?) and now I find that it has been cancelled. What is more, there doesn't seem to be any reaction to this on this list. Am I missing something? -- Nigel Pauli Network Manager St. John's School, Northwood

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This list
by Chris Puttick 02 Oct '03

02 Oct '03

Hi As a result of a core network failure on a scale I hope none of you ever have to face, I've only just had the delightful experience of reading today's developments of "wont run as root". I have to say some of it appalled me. Andrew (Nix, not Ray!) has made it clear a number of times that he is new to Linux; he joined this list on my suggestion as it is intended to help those trying to make Linux a solution in the UK schools environment, and I do not have either enough time or enough knowledge to resolve all the problems he comes across by being both a Linux "newbie" and supporting a cutting edge environment. To give some background, the Linux thin client network that faces our Mr Nix every working day is one of the biggest in the world (no exaggeration); it is also one of the only large-scale Linux deployments in an English school. Because of the realities of the British education system, there has been neither enough time or money to provide Andrew and his colleague with the training that they ideally would have had to support such a solution. This list provides them with access to essential front-line knowledge to make their position vaguely tenable. Those that are helped tend to become the helpers of the future; this is the primary advantage to me of utilising open source solutions - there's always someone slightly ahead of you who can help you the next step up the ladder, empowering you to then help those below. Don't take this personally, Thomas, but your answers have become increasingly complex, difficult to understand and are often not the simplest solution. Occam's razor is a simple tool for simple people like myself; please think about using it. In the thread in question, Garry gave a simple and effective answer which I personally was unaware of and have stored away for future use. While your discussion with our Mr Ray has been enlightening in parts, if I had read it 2 years ago it would have made very little sense and been of no use. And that's the point; on this list, unlike some others, answers need to be of use and preferably immediate. That's why people join, to ask for help. Moreover, by its very nature, many people joining will be very new to Linux, and possibly have little general technical understanding; those of us who can help do. When we can't help, we look forward to answers from those with more knowledge. As always, this is just IMNSHO (in my not so humble opinion!). Chris

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pam_mount
by tneale＠kingsdown.swindon.sch.uk 02 Oct '03

02 Oct '03

Has anyone successfully got pam_mount working on a Suse 8.2 system? If I try building pam_mount (0.9.5 although 0.9.4 has the same problem) from source I get the message: Oct 2 10:28:01 gecko login[20949]: PAM [dlerror: /lib/security/pam_mount.so: undefined symbol: EVP_DecryptInit_ex] And the module fails to work. I obtained a binary rpm for mandrake and tried that but then I get: Oct 2 10:06:26 gecko sshd[23053]: pam_mount: command: /bin/mount mount -t smbfs //server1/TN /home/TN -o username=TN,uid=TN,gid=TN,dmask=0750 Oct 2 10:06:26 gecko sshd[23052]: pam_mount: waiting for homedir mount Oct 2 10:06:26 gecko sshd[23052]: pam_mount: mount process failed Can anyone suggest what's happening? or even better point me to a working Suse rpm for pam_mount! Thanks in advance Tim Neale Kingsdown School, Swindon

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LTSP
by Paul Taylor 01 Oct '03

01 Oct '03

Hi all: Is there anyone in driving distance of Bath that has a working LTSP (or similar Linux server/desktop combo) I can come and have a look at? Paul

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Job opportunity
by Chris Puttick 01 Oct '03

01 Oct '03

It's a challenge, but someone is needed to replace me: http://www.centralmanclc.com/docs/jobs.htm because I'm off to here: http://www.euroele.com Cheers Chris

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RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Winbind & Suse
by Chris Puttick 01 Oct '03

01 Oct '03

Ok, it would be easiest with an NIS server for the Linux clients then that server authenticating to the domain - you could create all the users initially using <newusers> on the NIS server, starting with a CSV dump of the NT user database (using <addusers /d filename> on NT). Failing an available NIS server, running the newusers command on a few workstations should not be too much hassle. Try <man newusers> and <man 5 passwd> for more guidance on bulk user creation. -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Adam To: tneale(a)kingsdown.swindon.sch.uk; 'suse-linux-uk-schools(a)suse.com '; Chris Puttick Sent: 9/23/03 1:09 PM Subject: RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Winbind & Suse --- tneale(a)kingsdown.swindon.sch.uk wrote: > I had looked at smb_auth but was put off as it seems to require that > all users are set up with accounts on the Linux workstations first > whereas winbind would create them automatically, the former way > seems more time consuming and more difficult to maintain, of > course I've never done this before so maybe I'm just Hmm, how so? It is up to you, being the network administrator to create the accounts, anyhow. This can be automated somewhat using a simple shell script (I won't give an example, as it depends on how your usernames are mapped throughout the school). Or do I miss your point? -- Thomas Adam ===== Thomas Adam "The Linux Weekend Mechanic" -- www.linuxgazette.com ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Yahoo! Messenger http://mail.messenger.yahoo.co.uk

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