July 2007 - openSUSE Edu - openSUSE Mailing Lists

Re: [opensuse-edu] what does LTSP\thin client technology mean to you?
by James Tremblay 19 Jul '07

19 Jul '07

Gentleman, the thread was started to discuss LTSP and what it means to school technology people. Please don't HIJACK. >>> Phil Thane <phil(a)brynvilla.llangollen.co.uk> 7/19/2007 2:47:09 PM >>> On Thursday 19 July 2007 17:44:26 Rodney Donovan wrote: > Come on Phil! There is so much more than CAD out there. Truly, I know how > you feel because some one left the idiots in charge. They can't see the > forest for the trees. What we have here is one software package dictating > what operating system you have to use. Really now, what we need is to > experiment with other packages on linux. OK VariCAD works on Linux. Is it > cheaper than AutoCad? Well then, problem solved. Maybe? No, not really. Yes VariCAD is cheaper than AutoCAD, but then very few schools use AutoCAD over here anyway. About 8 years ago PTC did a deal with our govt to distribute ProDesktop free of charge to all UK secondary schools. It's not especially good but it was a good deal, PTC got the publicity in return for some CDs, the government paid for support and training by leaving it in the hands of the Design & Technology Association (DATA, trade body for D&T teachers in England and Wales). DATA charged for training and the money came from the schools' training budgets. If you did the training your school got 'free' software. Now ProD is obsolete (see reply to Ian) DATA is trialling ProE in some of our more adventurous schools, chances are it won't be free but probably highly subsidised. DATA have already told me they aren't even considering supporting the Linux version in schools. I agree about other software, and as far as I can see in UK secondary schools most of the other sujects use Office and IE for almost everything, so moving to Linux, OO and another browser is no problem, but D&T departments are generally the most demanding computer users in our schools. They've struggled to master ProD, are sort of used to it now and if Linux cannot offer a simple (preferably free) alternative it stands no chance. It's not stopping me pushing, and in the absence of any official encouragement I'm starting an unofficial YouthLUG in my school in September using kit dragged out of the school skip (dumpster to US readers). I'll probably use Edubuntu though, I gave up on SuSE with 10.1 since then my desktop and laptos have all been Kubuntu. -- Regards Phil Thane Bryn Villa Penycoed Road Llangollen LL20 8LR 01978 861677 07971 087623 phil(a)brynvilla.llangollen.co.uk www.brynvilla.llangollen.co.uk -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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[opensuse-edu] Campus-wide adoption?
by massonpj＠delhi.edu 19 Jul '07

19 Jul '07

Hello all, I am looking for any campuses (ideally higher ed.) that may have "officially" adopted Linux on the desktop as a replacement for Windows or even as a co-supported platform. Thanks, Patrick ----- Patrick Masson Chief Information Officer 331B Bush Hall College of Technology at Delhi, State University of New York Delhi, New York 13753 607-746-4670massonpj(a)delhi.edu -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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Fwd: [opensuse-edu] what does LTSP\thin client technology mean to you?
by Christopher Dawson 19 Jul '07

19 Jul '07

Resending - original rejected d/t HTML. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Christopher Dawson <mrdatahs(a)gmail.com> Date: Jul 19, 2007 9:17 AM Subject: Re: [opensuse-edu] what does LTSP\thin client technology mean to you? To: James Tremblay <jamesat(a)comcast.net> Cc: opensuse-edu(a)opensuse.org This is, in fact, my biggest deciding factor in choosing a Linux distro. Edubuntu works brilliantly and looks just like the ubuntu desktop. I like SUSE a lot and have been incredibly impressed with it's speed, stability and interface. However, there is no chance that I would adopt openSUSE without LTSP support. Edubuntu/Ubuntu is sufficiently mature that OpenSUSE does not offer enough additional features to sway my decision without supporting LTSP. There must be some way that this can be monetized - LTSP certainly represents a more robust and cost-effective model for small businesses and education. Posting to education.zdnet.com now...Good luck getting this included. This is definitely a deal-breaker. Thanks for the heads up, Chris Dawson On 7/19/07, James Tremblay <jamesat(a)comcast.net> wrote: > I have an important question. If I told you that LTSP5 was not going to > be adopted in either openSUSE or SLE's thin client server (which only > supports those 500$ type thin clients with flash drives, like those from > Wyse and HP), would this influence your decisions about using Novell > products? Would you be less inclined to buy an SLE based agreement if > your thin client interests were only being met by Ubuntu? Would you > simply say well I need a Linux server and I already have the Ubuntu > server disk and I know how to use it so....? > > I'm being told that Novell can't find a fiduciary reason to support LTSP > and I keep saying that giving us this feature means that, we can and > probably will use an SLE server to host the applications we want to go > with it, we can and probably will use e-Directory to manage our user > ID's, but if we have to support multiple technologies (Ubuntu and SLE) > we will probably shift to the one that cost us less at the desktop (both > monetarily and intellectually) simply because supporting the desktop > translates into learning to support the server very easily. Reminiscent > of the shift to MS servers from Novell servers, in my opinion Novell > lost the school server battle simply because schools don't have the time > \money to learn\support two OSes. For how many of us is the History > teacher who is good with windows XP, the guy who helps us maintain the > 2003 server in that building? > > Is there really no money in supporting LTSP and Education specific > products? If your answer is, "I don't really care about LTSP and it > won't effect my decisions about my Novell purchases" then ignore me, but > if the answer is "I rely on LTSP to help me put more desktops in the > classroom and I really would prefer to have it managed with my other > Novell products", then I must inform you that the likelihood of you > being able to use LTSP5 with Novell products is slim, there are two of > us working on integrating the bits and both of us are non-coders, we are > merely translating some batch scripts that we can understand and > borrowing the best parts of KIWI( a new Novell imaging technology) to > make most of it work, which leaves: local device support, network sound, > a descent disk-less boot process and much more undone and likely never > to be done. > > Please respond to this list thread and any Novell employee you know, if > you want this to change. > -- > James Tremblay > Director of Technology > Newmarket School District > Newmarket,NH > http://en.opensuse.org/Education > "let's make a difference" > > -- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org > For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org > > -- Christopher Dawson 508-826-0277 (mobile) cdawson(a)atholhigh.org mrdatahs(a)gmail.com -- Christopher Dawson 508-826-0277 (mobile) cdawson(a)atholhigh.org mrdatahs(a)gmail.com -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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Re: [opensuse-edu] Campus-wide adoption?
by Jordan Zebor 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

Hello, I am from the San Diego Unified School District and we are currently between phase one and two of our linux laptop deployment. If you would like some more info on what we are doing check out this site. http://moodle.sandi.net/course/view.php?id=1359 -- -Jordan > On 7/18/07, James Tremblay <jamesat(a)comcast.net > wrote: > > On Sun, 2007-07-15 at 06:57 -0400, James Tremblay wrote: > > > On Sat, 2007-07-14 at 21:47 -0400, massonpj(a)delhi.edu wrote: > > > > Hello all, > > > > > > > > I am looking for any campuses (ideally higher ed.) that may have > > > > "officially" adopted Linux on the desktop as a replacement for Windows or > > > > even as a co-supported platform. > > > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > Patrick, > > > There are a number of examples of k-12 districts that have moved to > > > Linux as a primary OS , however there is always some MS in the network > > > it just makes sense considering that lots of education software is > > > written for it. I doubt that you'll find any post secondary schools that > > > have adopted an OS on the desktop as a standard at all , considering > > > that those schools don't pay for most of the computers used by the > > > students. There are likely some programs that may require Linux to be > > > used as a means to accomplish some particular task and I'm sure that > > > some labs are setup with Linux for web research, writing papers or other > > > generic tasks. > > > > > > I hope this helps. > > > > Patrick, > > You should also do a little research on Ericom, > > http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ericom.com/termemulation.asp&sa=X&oi… , > > this is one of the best ways to adopt SLED as a desktop without loosing > > important windows apps. > > -- > > James Tremblay > > Director of Technology > > Newmarket School District > > Newmarket,NH > > http://en.opensuse.org/Education > > "let's make a difference" > > > > -- > > To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org > > For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org > > > > > > -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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[opensuse-edu] Cheap Reliable Thin Clients
by James Tremblay 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

Hey guys, who better to provide a reliable linux thin client hardware than the guys who wrote the LTSP software? http://www.disklessworkstations.com/cgi-bin/web/aboutus.html try these: http://www.disklessworkstations.com/cgi-bin/web/200104.html?id=rDjX3Sa9 -- James Tremblay Director of Technology Newmarket School District Newmarket,NH http://en.opensuse.org/Education "let's make a difference" -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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Re: [opensuse-edu] [Fwd: One computer per two children for your primary school by October.]
by Andy Trevor 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

snip Another client-side issue for schools - particularly primary schools - is the space taken up by PCs and monitors, and the problems of moving them each time the classroom is re-arranged (not something they do so often in high schools). We're looking at various thin client solutions, including laptops, but would rather we could use regular recycled boxen :-/ Having done a number of schools thin client with OS desktops now, I am starting to think that unless you have 2 or 3 year old boxes that you are going to recycle the cost savings are not as great as using new thins. At year 3-4 they start becoming unreliable. This causes a management overhead that can be done without, especially at Primary school level. I would opt for new thins. HPT5xxx series of even look at Sun Ray to Linux desktop -- *Andy Trevor* Technical Director *Cutter Project Limited* 18 Lynn Rd, Ely Cambs, CB6 1DA Phone: 08704902068 Mobile: 07983616419 http://www.cutterproject.co.uk ------------------------------- Ubuntu Partners <http://uk.sun.com> -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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RE: [opensuse-edu] [Fwd: One computer per two children for your primary school byOctober.]
by Richard Smedley 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

On Mon, 2007-07-09 at 09:38 -0400, Robison, Jonathon (M.) wrote: > UK only???? Hello Jonathon, Yes, sorry - it's the UK that needs the most help :( 1.5 billion Euros of Education IT spend puring into a black hole every year. :-/ - Richard > -------- Forwarded Message -------- > > One computer per two children for your primary school by October: are > you up for it? -- Richard Smedley, rs(a)m6-it.org Technical Director, www.M6-IT.org M6-IT CIC +44 (0)779 456 07 14 Sustainable Third Sector IT solutions. PRINCE2[TM] Project Management Web services * Back-ups * Support * Training & Certification * E-Mail M6-IT is a Community Interest Company, limited by guarantee. Registered in England & Wales, Registration No: 6040154 11 St Marks Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9 7DT Northern Office: 4, Hollins Green, Bradwall, Cheshire, CW10 0LA. Welsh office/Swyddfa Gogledd Cymru: e-mail / e-bost - cymru(a)m6-it.org Southern Office: Bristol contact matthew(a)m6-it.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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[opensuse-edu] setup-ltsp.sh install - rodney
by Rodney Donovan 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

Hello James,and cyberorg. Listed is what I got when I ran the setup-ltsp.sh file. I went ahead and used the <source path="opensuse://10.2"/> on both lines 27 and 40. I then went to get a cup of coffee. Can you look at this open office doc and tell me if I just need some simple changes, or delete the folders and redo? Don't worry, I'm like a pit bull after a bone on this thin client stuff. I actually think it will revolutionize education, business, and even government. For once, I would like to be ahead of the game instead of just following it. Thanks for your time and dedication guys. tspserv:~ # sh /usr/share/kiwi/image/kwltsp-suse-10.2/setup-ltsp.sh Please enter your server IP address 192.168.0.254 Creating KIWI-LTSP image Jul-10 09:22 <1> : Reading image description... done Jul-10 09:22 <1> : Setting up root log on: /srv/kiwi-ltsp/screenrc.log... done Jul-10 09:22 <1> : Setting up package manager: smart done Jul-10 09:22 <1> : Setting RPM signature check to: False done Jul-10 09:22 <1> : Adding local smart channel: kiwi1-12322 done Jul-10 09:22 <1> : Adding local smart channel: kiwi2-12322 done Jul-10 09:22 <1> : Initializing image system on: /srv/kiwi-ltsp... done Jul-10 09:29 <1> : Removing smart channel(s): kiwi1-12322 kiwi2-12322 done Jul-10 09:29 <1> : Resetting RPM signature check to: True done Jul-10 09:29 <1> : Mounting required file systems done Jul-10 09:29 <1> : Setting RPM signature check to: False done Jul-10 09:29 <1> : Adding image smart channel: kiwi1-12322 done Jul-10 09:29 <1> : Adding image smart channel: kiwi2-12322 done Jul-10 09:29 <1> : Installing image packages... done Jul-10 09:33 <1> : Copying user defined files to image tree done Jul-10 09:33 <1> : Create .profile for package scripts done Jul-10 09:33 <1> : Calling image script: config.sh done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Add0.79"ing user: linux [users] done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Crea0.79"ting in-place SVN repository... done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Logfile available at: /srv/kiwi-ltsp.log done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : KIWI exited successfully done setting up nfs exports Reload kernel based NFS server done updating sshkeys of the KIWI LTSP image Setting up ssh_known_hosts in: /srv/ftp WARNING: /srv/ftp/etc/ssh not found. skipping... /srv/kiwi-ltsp /srv/www WARNING: /srv/www/etc/ssh not found. skipping... /srv/tftpboot WARNING: /srv/tftpboot/etc/ssh not found. skipping... Now creating KIWI-Netboot image Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Reading image description... done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Setting up root log on: /tmp/kiwi-netboot/screenrc.log... done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Setting up package manager: smart done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Setting RPM signature check to: False done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Adding local smart channel: kiwi2-13901 done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Adding local smart channel: kiwi1-13901 done Jul-10 09:34 <1> : Initializing image system on: /tmp/kiwi-netboot... done Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Removing smart channel(s): kiwi2-13901 kiwi1-13901 done0.79" Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Resetting RPM signature check to: True done Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Mounting required file systems done Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Mounting local channel: kiwi2-13901 skipped Jul-10 09:38 <2> : Couldn't mount read-only, using bind mount done Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Setting RPM signature check to: False done Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Adding image smart channel: kiwi2-13901 done Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Adding image smart channel: kiwi1-13901 done Jul-10 09:38 <1> : Installing image packages... done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Copying user defined files to image tree done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Crea0.79"te .profile for package scripts done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Setti0.79"ng up linuxrc... done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Preparing package setup scripts done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Checking for package: kernel-default done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Calling package setup script: kernel-default done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Logfile available at: /tmp/kiwi-netboot.log done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : KIWI exited successfully done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Reading image description... done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Setting up root log on: /tmp/kiwi-netboot/screenrc.log... done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Extracting kernel... done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Calculating kernel module dependencies... done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Calling image script: images.sh done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Image requires 53 MB, got 60M MB done Jul-10 09:40 <1> : Suggested Image size: 61 MB done Jul-10 09:41 <1> : Creating image MD5 sum... done Jul-10 09:41 <1> : Logfile available at: /tmp/kiwi-netboot.log done Jul-10 09:41 <1> : KIWI exited successfully done /srv/tftpboot/boot ~ mv: target `linux' is not a directory ~ Change the server IP in /srv/kiwi-ltsp/etc/hosts file, leave the server's hostname as it is there Please recheck your tftp, nfsserver and dhcpd configurations Set up complete0.79" ltspserv:~ # /download/home/cyberorg/openSUSE_10.2//download/home/cyberorg/openSUSE_10.2//download/home/cyberorg/openSUSE_10.2/ 0.79" Best Regards -- Rod Donovan Systems Support Specialist II Texas A&M University Corpus Christi College of Education Early Childhood Development Center 361-825-3080 rodney.donovan(a)tamucc.edu -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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[opensuse-edu] Re: [opensuse] THIN Clients and opensuse
by James Tremblay 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

On Sun, 2007-07-01 at 17:29 +1200, John O'Gorman wrote: > On Thu, 2007-06-28 at 19:11 -0400, James Tremblay wrote: > > Hey Everyone, > > We have been building a new version of LTSP for openSUSE using KIWI. > > I have written a set of installation instructions at > > http://en.opensuse.org/LTSP try it out and let me know how it goes. > > I have been an enthusiastic user of LTSP for many years. I'm delighted > it is to be integrated into the openSUSE distro. > > Can you clarify for me your instructions for installing KIWI-LTSP from > scratch. In particular, your point 3) next edit .... config.xml > > There you talk about changing <source path>="/mnt/iso/"/> > and <source path="opensuse://10.2/> to your installation source. > > Questions: > > 1. This installation source: Is is a once-only thing needed to create > the kernel file during set up of KIWI-LTSP, or does it have to be > constantly available for each reboot of the thin client. If not, then I > suppose something like /media/SU1020.001 would be OK? John, This "source" location is only needed when building the kernel or later when we have the update tools available, for KIWI to apply patches to the kernel. Any location of the installation\build files even the internet as in the reference to "<source path="opensuse://10.2/>" will do, it just takes longer the further you go from the local disk. > > 2. A complete copy of the 600MB installation DVD stored permanently on > the HDD seems overkill. Is that what you intend? If so, should it go > into /srv ? it is common practice to build a network installation server in /srv and if the source is always available even the host can be modified using this as a source. -- James Tremblay Director of Technology Newmarket School District Newmarket,NH http://en.opensuse.org/Education "let's make a difference" -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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[opensuse-edu] [Fwd: One computer per two children for your primary school by October.]
by Richard Smedley 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

Please pass on : -------- Forwarded Message -------- One computer per two children for your primary school by October: are you up for it? OSA [1] would like to find a UK primary school ready for a serious IT upgrade. They will select one school from those that apply, and kit out the entire school with sustainable computing solutions. Each classroom will have one computer per two pupils, enabling better collaborative working than one PC each, yet ensuring full access for all. Sustainable computing: re-cycled hardware, and Free & Open Source Software provide low running costs, and a maintainable solution capable of integrating with existing IT, and growing further when needed. Could interested schools please contact Richard Smedley at: PrimarySchools(a)openschoolsalliance.org We hope to contact short-listed schools by early next week. Note: This installation will be completed to tie in with the release in October of Edubuntu 7.10, an education-focussed release of the GNU/Linux Free Software system, and with OSA's October software spectacular day, to be staged in Liverpool - see the website nearer the time for more details. [1] OSA = Open Schools Alliance http://www.openschoolsalliance.org/ The Open Schools Alliance is a campaigning organisation supported by Free & Open Source businesses, technical experts, educationalists and concerned citizens. We are united by the common belief that the UK could enhance education, save taxpayers' money and strengthen its IT sector by treating Free & Open Source Software fairly. -- Richard Smedley, rs(a)m6-it.org Technical Director, www.M6-IT.org M6-IT CIC +44 (0)779 456 07 14 Sustainable Third Sector IT solutions. PRINCE2[TM] Project Management Web services * Back-ups * Support * Training & Certification * E-Mail M6-IT is a Community Interest Company, limited by guarantee. Registered in England & Wales, Registration No: 6040154 11 St Marks Road, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9 7DT Northern Office: 4, Hollins Green, Bradwall, Cheshire, CW10 0LA. Welsh office/Swyddfa Gogledd Cymru: e-mail / e-bost - cymru(a)m6-it.org Southern Office: Bristol contact matthew(a)m6-it.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-edu+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-edu+help(a)opensuse.org

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