X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/bda84efc36d29da8a824fb60b59377554d38a64f..21c8b6463fd65b6e35f2c9be2730113447f9dfd0:/blog/index.html diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html index 5d9c50d519..56fdd99b06 100644 --- a/blog/index.html +++ b/blog/index.html @@ -20,100 +20,132 @@
-
Second alpha release of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy
-
14th May 2013
-

The Debian Edu / Skolelinux -project is making great progress and made its second Wheezy based -release today. This is the release announcement:

+ +
27th July 2013
+

The first wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today. This is the release announcement:

-

New features for Debian Edu 7.0.0 alpha1 released -2013-05-14

+

New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b0 released +2013-07-27

-

This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux 7.0.0 edu -alpha1, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".

+

These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux +7.1+edu0~b0, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".

About Debian Edu and Skolelinux

-

Debian Edu, also known as Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based -on Debian providing an out-of-the box environment of a completely -configured school network. Immediatly after installation a school -server running all services needed for a school network is set up just -waiting for users and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable -Web-UI. A netbooting environment is prepared using PXE, so after -initial installation of the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all -other machines can be installed via the network.

- -

This is the first test release based on Wheezy (which currently is -not released yet). Basically this is an updated and slightly improved -version compared to the Squeeze release.

+

Debian Edu, also known as +Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an +out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school +network. Immediately after installation a school server running all +services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users +and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting +environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of +the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all other machines can be +installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP +database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home +directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The +desktop contains +more +than 60 educational software packages and more are available from +the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE +and Xfce desktop environment.

+ +

This is the fifth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically +this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the +Squeeze release.

+ +

ALERT: Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the +versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta +release.

Software updates

+
    -
  • Install freemind (0.9.0) by default, and stop installing vym by - default.
  • -
  • Install chromium (26.0.1410.43) by default.
  • -
  • Install goplay (0.5-1.1) to make golearn available by default.
  • -
  • Updated support for Japanese input methods, now based on - ibus-anthy.
  • + +
  • Switched roaming workstation profiles from wicd to network-manager + for network configuration, as wicd didn't work any more.
  • +
  • Changed version numbers of patched gosa and libpam-mklocaluser + packages to make sure our locally patched versions will be replaced + by the official packages when they are released from Debian. Those + installing alpha version need to reinstall or manually downgrade gosa + and libpam-mklocaluser.
  • +
  • Added bluetooth tools to the default desktop (bluedevil, blueman).
  • +
  • Added tools for sharing the desktop on KDE (krdc, krfb).
  • +
  • Added valgrind to the default installation for easier debugging of + crash bugs.
  • +

Other changes

+
    -
  • Switched default file system from ext3 to ext4 for speed and - reliability improvements.
  • -
  • Got rid of unwanted winbind daemon and PAM setup activated because - of 706434.
  • -
  • Extended and improved the testsuite tests to detect more possible - problems.
  • -
  • Corrected proxy handling to not set http_proxy to a bogus - direct:// URL.
  • -
  • Corrected proxy setup for diskless workstations.
  • -
  • Corrected PXE setup to use our updated udebs during installation.
  • -
  • Made installation handling of low entropy level more robust.
  • -
  • Create larger partitions for Roaming workstations and Thin client - servers, to make room for all the software installed.
  • -
  • Fix bug in Roaming workstation PAM setup, making it impossible to - log in (706753).
  • +
  • Fixed artwork package to work with gnome, no longer break + desktop=gnome installations.
  • +
  • Adjusted installer to now work when forced to use a proxy with the + netinst CD.
  • +
  • Fixed code detecting and setting/loading hardware specific + setup/firmware to work more robust out of the box.
  • +
  • Adjusted Kerberos setup to detect realm and server settings at + install time instead of dynamically at run time. This avoid a crash + with krb5-auth-dialog on diskless workstations without a DNS name.
  • +
  • Worked around misfeature in network-manager not calling the dhclient + exit hooks, causing automatic proxy configuration and automatic host + name setting at run time to work again.
  • +
  • Fixed feature setting the default Iceweasel start page from URL + fetched from LDAP, to allow schools to set the global default by + updating the dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no LDAP object.
  • +
  • Changed default host name on all networked machines to be unique + (generated from MAC or reverse DNS) after boot.
  • +
  • Adjusted partition sizes to make sure they are big enough.
  • +

Known issues

+
    -
  • IP resolution for the local hostname give useless IPv6 address - (705900). Only install - libnss-myhostname on roaming workstations until it is fixed.
  • -
  • DVD images are not yet ready.
  • -
  • No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) - available yet (698840).
  • -
  • Missing artwork for the KDE desktop (and probably a few others).
  • -
  • KDE Debian submenu lacks icons.
  • -
  • LXDE menu lacks entry for changing GOsa password - (website). Installing gosa-desktop will be an option.
  • -
  • Backup configuration via web interface is impossible due to - password submission problem - (700257).
  • +
  • Grub is missing the new artwork.
  • +
  • KDE fail to understand the wpad.dat file provided, causing it to + not use the http proxy as it should.
  • +
  • Chromium also fail to use the proxy.

Where to get it

To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

+ + +

The MD5SUM of this image is: 55d5de9765b6dccd5d9ec33cf1a07109 +
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 996a1d9517740e4d627d100de2d12b23dd545a3f

+ +

To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use

+ + -

The MD5SUM of this image is: 685ed76c1aa8e44b12d3fde21faf450b

+

The MD5SUM of this image is: d8f0818c51a78d357de794066f289f69 +
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 49185ca354e8d0543240423746924f76a6cee733

-

The SHA1SUM of this image is: 6c874de157024da13e115bab29c068080a11ec4c

How to report bugs

-

http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs

+

http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs

@@ -126,47 +158,112 @@ version compared to the Squeeze release.

- -
11th May 2013
-

In January, -I -announced a new IRC -channel #debian-lego, for those of us in the Debian and Linux -community interested in LEGO, the -marvellous construction system from Denmark. We also created -a wiki page to have -a place to take notes and write down our plans and hopes. And several -people showed up to help. I was very happy to see the effect of my -call. Since the small start, we have a debtags tag -hardware::hobby:lego -tag for LEGO related packages, and now count 10 packages related to -LEGO and Mindstorms:

- -

- - - - - - - - - - -
brickosalternative OS for LEGO Mindstorms RCX. Supports development in C/C++
leocadvirtual brick CAD software
libnxtutility library for talking to the LEGO Mindstorms NX
lnpddaemon for LNP communication with BrickOS
nbccompiler for LEGO Mindstorms NXT bricks
nqcNot Quite C compiler for LEGO Mindstorms RCX
python-nxtpython driver/interface/wrapper for the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot
python-nxt-filersimple GUI to manage files on a LEGO Mindstorms NXT
scratcheasy to use programming environment for ages 8 and up
t2nsimple command-line tool for Lego NXT

- -

Some of these are available in Wheezy, and all but one are -currently available in Jessie/testing. leocad is so far only -available in experimental.

- -

If you care about LEGO in Debian, please join us on IRC and help -adding the rest of the great free software tools available on Linux -for LEGO designers.

+ +
17th July 2013
+

Today I switched to +my +new laptop. I've previously written about the problems I had with +my new Thinkpad X230, which was delivered with an +180 +GB Intel SSD disk with Lenovo firmware that did not handle +sustained writes. My hardware supplier have been very forthcoming in +trying to find a solution, and after first trying with another +identical 180 GB disks they decided to send me a 256 GB Samsung SSD +disk instead to fix it once and for all. The Samsung disk survived +the installation of Debian with encrypted disks (filling the disk with +random data during installation killed the first two), and I thus +decided to trust it with my data. I have installed it as a Debian Edu +Wheezy roaming workstation hooked up with my Debian Edu Squeeze main +server at home using Kerberos and LDAP, and will use it as my work +station from now on.

+ +

As this is a solid state disk with no moving parts, I believe the +Debian Wheezy default installation need to be tuned a bit to increase +performance and increase life time of the disk. The Linux kernel and +user space applications do not yet adjust automatically to such +environment. To make it easier for my self, I created a draft Debian +package ssd-setup to handle this tuning. The +source +for the ssd-setup package is available from collab-maint, and it +is set up to adjust the setup of the machine by just installing the +package. If there is any non-SSD disk in the machine, the package +will refuse to install, as I did not try to write any logic to sort +file systems in SSD and non-SSD file systems.

+ +

I consider the package a draft, as I am a bit unsure how to best +set up Debian Wheezy with an SSD. It is adjusted to my use case, +where I set up the machine with one large encrypted partition (in +addition to /boot), put LVM on top of this and set up partitions on +top of this again. See the README file in the package source for the +references I used to pick the settings. At the moment these +parameters are tuned:

+ +
    + +
  • Set up cryptsetup to pass TRIM commands to the physical disk + (adding discard to /etc/crypttab)
  • + +
  • Set up LVM to pass on TRIM commands to the underlying device (in + this case a cryptsetup partition) by changing issue_discards from + 0 to 1 in /etc/lvm/lvm.conf.
  • + +
  • Set relatime as a file system option for ext3 and ext4 file + systems.
  • + +
  • Tell swap to use TRIM commands by adding 'discard' to + /etc/fstab.
  • + +
  • Change I/O scheduler from cfq to deadline using a udev rule.
  • + +
  • Run fstrim on every ext3 and ext4 file system every night (from + cron.daily).
  • + +
  • Adjust sysctl values vm.swappiness to 1 and vm.vfs_cache_pressure + to 50 to reduce the kernel eagerness to swap out processes.
  • + +
+ +

During installation, I cancelled the part where the installer fill +the disk with random data, as this would kill the SSD performance for +little gain. My goal with the encrypted file system is to ensure +those stealing my laptop end up with a brick and not a working +computer. I have no hope in keeping the really resourceful people +from getting the data on the disk (see +XKCD #538 for an explanation why). +Thus I concluded that adding the discard option to crypttab is the +right thing to do.

+ +

I considered using the noop I/O scheduler, as several recommended +it for SSD, but others recommended deadline and a benchmark I found +indicated that deadline might be better for interactive use.

+ +

I also considered using the 'discard' file system option for ext3 +and ext4, but read that it would give a performance hit ever time a +file is removed, and thought it best to that that slowdown once a day +instead of during my work.

+ +

My package do not set up tmpfs on /var/run, /var/lock and /tmp, as +this is already done by Debian Edu.

+ +

I have not yet started on the user space tuning. I expect +iceweasel need some tuning, and perhaps other applications too, but +have not yet had time to investigate those parts.

+ +

The package should work on Ubuntu too, but I have not yet tested it +there.

+ +

As for the answer to the question in the title of this blog post, +as far as I know, the only solution I know about is to replace the +disk. It might be possible to flash it with Intel firmware instead of +the Lenovo firmware. But I have not tried and did not want to do so +without approval from Lenovo as I wanted to keep the warranty on the +disk until a solution was found and they wanted the broken disks +back.

- Tags: debian, english, robot. + Tags: debian, english.
@@ -174,33 +271,54 @@ for LEGO designers.

- -
10th May 2013
-

I fjor sommer ble jeg -gledelig -overrasket over et oppslag i avisen Fremover om Narvik kommunes -bruk av Skolelinux. Oppslaget -var basert på et notat som besvarte spørsmål fra ordfører Tor Nysæter -og rådgiver for skolesektoren, Petter Falkbu, om bruken av Skolelinux -i Narvikskolene og konstnaden ved å gå over til Windows. For litt -over en uke siden siden fikk jeg endelig bedt kommunen om å få innsyn -i dette notatet, og det ble oversendt på epost tirsdag. Jeg fikk -lagt -ut notatet samme dag, og fikk i dag sjekket postlista til Narvik, -der jeg fant notatet som -sak -2013/1023.

- -

Notatet forteller at Narvik ville måtte betalt minst 9 millioner -for å gå over til Windows på skolene. I tillegg dokumenterer notatet -at læreplanens krav oppfylles uten problemer ved bruk av Skolelinux. -Jeg anbefaler alle å lese de 10 sidene med gode argumenter for å kutte -unødige utgifter på IT i skoleverket. :)

+ +
10th July 2013
+

A few days ago, I wrote about +the +problems I experienced with my new X230 and its SSD disk, which +was dying during installation because it is unable to cope with +sustained write. My supplier is in contact with +Lenovo, and they wanted to send a +replacement disk to try to fix the problem. They decided to send an +identical model, so my hopes for a permanent fix was slim.

+ +

Anyway, today I got the replacement disk and tried to install +Debian Edu Wheezy with encrypted disk on it. The new disk have the +same firmware version as the original. This time my hope raised +slightly as the installation progressed, as the original disk used to +die after 4-7% of the disk was written to, while this time it kept +going past 10%, 20%, 40% and even past 50%. But around 60%, the disk +died again and I was back on square one. I still do not have a new +laptop with a disk I can trust. I can not live with a disk that might +lock up when I download a new +Debian Edu / Skolelinux ISO or +other large files. I look forward to hearing from my supplier with +the next proposal from Lenovo.

+ +

The original disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB, +11S0C38722Z1ZNME35X1TR, ISN: CVCV321407HB180EGN, SA: G57560302, FW: +LF1i, 29MAY2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722, +Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40002756C4, Model: +SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU +P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.

+ +

The replacement disk is marked Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB, +11S0C38722Z1ZNDE34N0L0, ISN: CVCV315306RK180EGN, SA: G57560-302, FW: +LF1i, 22APR2013, PBA: G39779-300, LBA 351,651,888, LI P/N: 0C38722, +Pb-free 2LI, LC P/N: 16-200366, WWN: 55CD2E40000AB69E, Model: +SSDSC2BW180A3L 2.5" 6Gb/s SATA SSD 180G 5V 1A, ASM P/N 0C38732, FRU +P/N 45N8295, P0C38732.

+ +

The only difference is in the first number (serial number?), ISN, +SA, date and WNPP values. Mentioning all the details here in case +someone is able to use the information to find a way to identify the +failing disk among working ones (if any such working disk actually +exist).

- Tags: debian edu, norsk. + Tags: debian, english.
@@ -208,36 +326,26 @@ unødige utgifter på IT i skoleverket. :)

- -
5th May 2013
-

When I woke up this morning, I was very happy to see that the -release announcement -for Debian Wheezy was waiting in my mail box. This is a great -Debian release, and I expect to move my machines at home over to it fairly -soon.

- -

The new debian release contain heaps of new stuff, and one program -in particular make me very happy to see included. The -Scratch program, made famous by -the Teach kids code movement, is -included for the first time. Alongside similar programs like -kturtle and -turtleart, -it allow for visual programming where syntax errors can not happen, -and a friendly programming environment for learning to control the -computer. Scratch will also be included in the next release of Debian -Edu. - -

And now that Wheezy is wrapped up, we can wrap up the next Debian -Edu/Skolelinux release too. The -first -alpha release went out last week, and the next should soon -follow.

+

+
9th July 2013
+

The upcoming Saturday, 2013-07-13, we are organising a combined +Debian Edu developer gathering and Debian and Ubuntu bug squashing +party in Oslo. It is organised by the +member assosiation NUUG and +the Debian Edu / Skolelinux +project together with the hack space +Bitraf.

+ +

It starts 10:00 and continue until late evening. Everyone is +welcome, and there is no fee to participate. There is on the other +hand limited space, and only room for 30 people. Please put your name +on the event +wiki page if you plan to join us.

@@ -245,166 +353,79 @@ follow.

- -
1st May 2013
-

For noen uker siden, innen fristen 2013-04-15, leverte jeg og -Morten Kjelkenes vårt bidrag til -DIFIs apps4norge-konkurranse -under lagnavnet NUUGs tannlegeteam. -Vi leverte følgende i idé-kategorien:

- -
- -

Tittel: Stikk innom tannlegen

- -

- -

Beskrivelse:

- -

Idéen - -

Gjøre det enklere å finne en tannlege som er praktisk for deg, der -pris og reisetid med kollektivt, til fots eller med bil er tatt med i -beregningen, ved å oppgi hvor en bor og jobber, og få forslag til -tannleger både i nærheten og på veien mellom disse stedene.

- -

Brukeren oppgir hjemmeadresse og jobbadresse, og kanskje også -barnehage. Så kan en også oppgi egen timelønn (for å beregne taps -arbeidsfortjeneste) og om en reiser med kollektivt, til fots eller -kjører bil. Så trykker en søk, og får opp en todelt side med kart og -tekstliste. I kartdelen vises aktuelle tannleger (for eksempel maks -7), og i tekstdelen er de samme tannlegene listet opp, med pris og -reisetid for kollektivtransport, og pris pluss reisekostnad hvis en -reiser med bil. En kan endre sorteringsrekkefølge for listen ved å -trykke på aktuell kolonne, og velge om en skal sortere på pris, -reisetid eller totalkostnad. Kun tannleger som tar imot nye kunder tas -i utganspunktet med i listen. Når brukeren trykker med musa en -tannlegemarkør på kartet kommer det en popup med detaljer om -tannlegen, den samme informasjonen som finnes i listen under kartet, -og lenke til mer informasjon om tannlegen.

- -

For hvert enkelt tannlegekontor er det tilgjengelig en -informasjonsside med adresse, hjemmesideurl, telefonnummer, lenke til -side for å finne reisebeskrivelse, åpningstider, etc.

- -

Nytteverdi for brukeren

- -
    -
  • sparer tid pÃ¥ tannlegebesøk
  • -
  • kan utnytte normal reisevei mellom hjem/jobb/barnehage
  • -
  • kan finne aktuell tannlege basert pÃ¥ flere kriterier
  • -
  • sile bort tannleger som ikke tar imot flere kunder
  • -
  • fÃ¥r kart som viser tannleger i nærheten, pÃ¥ tvers av kommunegrenser
  • -
- -

Grad av innovasjon, nytenkning og kreativitet

- -

Enkel tjeneste som fokuserer på det vi selv mener er relevant ved valg -av tannlege.

- -

Tjenestekonseptet kan også brukes til andre næringer, f.eks. lege, -butikk, leiebiler, hvis en har aktuell datakilde å koble med.

- -

Skulle gjerne hatt med vurdering av tannlegene tilgjengelig, slik -at en kunne finne "flinke" tannleger basert på et eller annet -kriterium.

- -

Markedspotensiale - potensiale for å slå gjennom hos mange -brukere

- -
    -
  • Alle som ønsker eller vurderer Ã¥ skaffe seg ny tannlege, f.eks. nyinnflyttede og studenter
  • -
  • Familier med en travel hverdag
  • -
- -

Felles er at den gjør tannlegen lettere tilgjengelig for de som vil spare tid eller penger.

- -

Samfunnsøkonomisk nytte - bidrar til å løse -samfunnsutfordringer

- -

Kutter tid brukt på tannlegebesøk, og penger frigjøres som kan brukes på andre områder. Oppfordrer til bedre bruk av kollektivtransport ved å gi tips om tannleger i nærheten av allerede brukt reisevei mellom hjemme og jobb når en reiser kollektivt.

- -

X-faktor - “Det lille ekstra...”

- -

Denne tjenesten gir det lille ekstra ved at den ikke slår opp -avstand til tannlege fra et enkelt punkt men avstand fra en reisevei, -slik at en får flere tannleger å velge imellom og kanskje kan spare -enda mer tid og penger enn en ville gjort ved å sjekke kun de nærmest -hjemme eller jobb.

- -

Tjenesten gir informasjonen både som kart og som tekstlig oversikt, for å sikre at blinde og svaksynte kan få tilgang til informasjonen selv om de ikke får brukt kartvisningen.

- -

Datasett brukt

- - - -

Åpne offentlige datasett brukt i applikasjonen:

- -
    -
  • Reisetid med kollektivtrafikk pÃ¥ Østlandet
  • -
- -

Øvrige datasett brukt i appen/tjenesten:

-
    -
  • Fakta om tannleger, priser etc (upublisert JSON-API)
  • -
  • Data om statens satser for biltransport
  • -
  • Kartbilder, kartdata
  • -
  • Kommunegrenser, nabokommuner, postnummer
  • -
  • Bilveiruting med OpenStreetmap-data
  • -
  • Kollektivtrafikkkart
  • -
  • Routing med OpenStreetmap-data
  • -
  • Kollektivtrafikkruting for Norge med uviss dataopphav
  • -
- -

Kategori:

-
    -
  • Arbeid og velferd
  • -
  • Forbruker
  • -
  • Økonomi
  • -
- -

Geografi (dekningsområde for app):

- -

Hele landet

- -
- -

Vinneren annonseres 2013-05-08 ved -prisutdelingen -hos DIFI 09:00 til 12:00. Konkurransen blir hard. Det meldes at -38 apper og 50 ideer er registrert som kandidater. Jeg frykter at jeg -ikke rekker innom selv, på grunn av jobb og forpliktelser på -hjemmebanen.

+ +
5th July 2013
+

Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a +replacement +for my trusty old Thinkpad X41. Unfortunately I did not have much +time to spend on it, and it took a while to find a model I believe +will do the job, but two days ago the replacement finally arrived. I +ended up picking a +Thinkpad X230 +with SSD disk (NZDAJMN). I first test installed Debian Edu Wheezy as +a roaming workstation, and it seemed to work flawlessly. But my +second installation with encrypted disk was not as successful. More +on that below.

+ +

I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most +important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never +listed in the feature list. But I did get good help from the search +feature at Prisjakt, which +allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other +requirements. A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks according +to that search interface, so I had to drop specifying the number of +disks from my search parameters. I also asked around among friends to +get their impression on keyboards and robustness.

+ +

So the new laptop arrived, and it is quite a lot wider than the +X41. I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is +significantly wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my +hand a lot more to reach the edges. But the key response is fairly +good and the individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope +I will get used to it. My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really +needed a new laptop now. :)

+ +

Turning off the touch pad was simple. All it took was a quick +visit to the BIOS during boot it disable it.

+ +

But there is a fatal problem with the laptop. The 180 GB SSD disk +lock up during load. And this happen when installing Debian Wheezy +with encrypted disk, while the disk is being filled with random data. +I also tested to install Ubuntu Raring, and it happen there too if I +reenable the code to fill the disk with random data (it is disabled by +default in Ubuntu). And the bug with is already known. It was +reported to Debian as BTS +report #691427 2012-10-25 (journal commit I/O error on brand-new +Thinkpad T430s ext4 on lvm on SSD). It is also reported to the Linux +kernel developers as +Kernel bugzilla +report #51861 2012-12-20 (Intel SSD 520 stops working under load +(SSDSC2BW180A3L in Lenovo ThinkPad T430s)). It is also reported on the +Lenovo forums, both for +T430 +2012-11-10 and for +X230 +03-20-2013. The problem do not only affect installation. The +reports state that the disk lock up during use if many writes are done +on the disk, so it is much no use to work around the installation +problem and end up with a computer that can lock up at any moment. +There is even a +small C program +available that will lock up the hard drive after running a few +minutes by writing to a file.

+ +

I've contacted my supplier and asked how to handle this, and after +contacting PCHELP Norway (request 01D1FDP) which handle support +requests for Lenovo, his first suggestion was to upgrade the disk +firmware. Unfortunately there is no newer firmware available from +Lenovo, as my disk already have the most recent one (version LF1i). I +hope to hear more from him today and hope the problem can be +fixed. :)

- Tags: norsk, nuug, offentlig innsyn. + Tags: debian, english.
@@ -412,115 +433,147 @@ hjemmebanen.

- -
26th April 2013
-

The Debian Edu / Skolelinux project is still going strong and made -its first Wheezy based release today. This is the release -announcement:

+ +
4th July 2013
+

Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a replacement for my +trusty old Thinkpad X41. Unfortunately I did not have much time to +spend on it, but today the replacement finally arrived. I ended up +picking a Thinkpad +X230 with SSD disk (NZDAJMN). I first test installed Debian Edu +Wheezy as a roaming workstation, and it worked flawlessly. As I write +this, it is installing what I hope will be a more final installation, +with a encrypted hard drive to ensure any dope head stealing it end up +with an expencive door stop.

+ +

I had a hard time trying to track down a good laptop, as my most +important requirements (robust and with a good keyboard) are never +listed in the feature list. But I did get good help from the search +feature at Prisjakt, which +allowed me to limit the list of interesting laptops based on my other +requirements. A bit surprising that SSD disk are not disks, so I had +to drop number of disks from my search parameters.

+ +

I am not quite convinced about the keyboard, as it is significantly +wider than my old keyboard, and I have to stretch my hand a lot more +to reach the edges. But the key response is fairly good and the +individual key shape is fairly easy to handle, so I hope I will get +used to it. My old X40 was starting to fail, and I really needed a +new laptop now. :)

+ +

I look forward to figuring out how to turn off the touch pad.

+
+
+ + + Tags: debian, english. + + +
+
+
+ +
+ +
3rd July 2013
+

The fourth wheezy based alpha release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today. This is the release announcement:

-

New features for Debian Edu ~7.0.0 alpha0 released -2013-04-26

+

New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~alpha3 released +2013-07-03

-

This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux ~7.0.0 -edu alpha0, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".

+

These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux +7.1+edu0~alpha3, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".

About Debian Edu and Skolelinux

Debian Edu, also known as Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school -network. Immediatly after installation a school server running all +network. Immediately after installation a school server running all services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all other machines can be -installed via the network.

- -

This is the first test release based on Wheezy (which currently is -not released yet). Basically this is an updated and slightly improved -version compared to the Squeeze release.

+installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP +database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home +directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The +desktop contains +more +than 60 educational software packages and more are available from +the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE +and Xfce desktop environment.

+ +

This is the fourth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically +this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the +Squeeze release.

Software updates

- -
    -
  • Everything which is new in Debian Wheezy, eg: -
      -
    • Linux kernel 3.2.x
    • -
    • Desktop environments KDE "Plasma" 4.8.4, GNOME 3.4, and LXDE 4 - (KDE is installed by default; to choose GNOME or LXDE: see - manual.)
    • -
    • Web browser Iceweasel 10 ESR
    • -
    • LibreOffice 3.5.4
    • -
    • LTSP 5.4.2
    • -
    • GOsa 2.7.4
    • -
    • CUPS print system 1.5.3
    • -
    • Educational toolbox GCompris 12.01
    • -
    • Music creator Rosegarden 12.04
    • -
    • Image editor Gimp 2.8.2
    • -
    • Virtual universe Celestia 1.6.1
    • -
    • Virtual stargazer Stellarium 0.11.3
    • -
    • Scratch visual programming environment 1.4.0.6
    • -
    • New version of debian-installer from Debian Wheezy, see - installation - manual for more details.
    • -
    • Debian Wheezy includes about 37000 packages available for - installation.
    • -
    • More information about Debian Wheezy 7.0 is provided in the - release notes and the installation manual.
    • -
  • -
- -

Documentation

-
    -
  • The (English) Debian Edu Wheezy Manual is fully translated to - German, French, Italian and Danish. Partly translated versions exist - for Norwegian Bokmal and Spanish.
  • -
- -

LDAP related changes

    -
  • Slight changes to some objects and acls to have more types to - choose from when adding systems in GOsa. Now systems can be of type - server, workstation, printer, terminal or netdevice.
  • +
  • Dropped ispell dictionaries from our default installation.
  • +
  • Dropped menu-xdg from the KDE desktop option, to drop the Debian + submenu. It was not included with Gnome, LXDE or Xfce, so this + brings KDE in line with the others.
  • +
  • Dropped xdrawchem, xjig and xsok from our default installation as + they don't have a desktop menu entry and thus won't show up in the + menu now that menu-xdg was removed.
  • +
  • Removed the killer system to kill left behind processes on + multi-user machines, as it was no longer able to understand when a + X display was in use and killed the processes of the active users + too.
  • +
  • Dropped the golearn (from goplay) package as the debtags in wheezy + are too few to make the package useful.
-

Other changes

    -
  • LTSP clients start as diskless workstation / thin client can be - configured via command line argument -- or individually adding an - entry in lts.conf or LDAP.
  • -
  • GOsa gui: Now some options that seemed to be available, but are non - functional, are greyed out (or are not clickable). Some tabs are - completely hidden to the end user, others even to the GOsa admin.
  • +
  • Updated artwork matching http://wiki.debian.org/DebianArt/Themes/Joy +
  • Multi-arch i386/amd64 USB stick ISO available.
  • +
  • Got rid of ispell/wordlist related debconf questions that showed + up for some language options.
  • +
  • Switched to using http.debian.net as APT source by default.
  • +
  • Fixed proxy configuration on Main Server installations.
  • +
  • Changed LTSP setup to ask dpkg to use force-unsafe-io the same way + d-i is doing it.
  • +
  • Made sure root and user passwords were not left behind in the + debconf database after installation on Main Server installations.
  • +
  • Made Roaming Workstation dynamic setup more robust and added draft + script setup-ad-client to hook a Roaming Workstation up to a + Active Directory server instead of a Debian Edu Main Server.
  • +
  • Update system to install needed firmware packages during + installation, to work properly in Wheezy.
  • +
  • Update system to handle hardware quirks (debian-edu-hwsetup).
  • +
  • Corrected PXE installation setup to properly pass selected desktop + and keymap settings to PXE installation clients.
  • +
  • LTSP diskless workstations use sshfs by default, allowing them to + work without adding them to DNS and NIS netgroups for NFS access.
- -

Regressions

+

Known issues

    -
  • No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) available - yet.
  • +
  • No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) + available yet (698840).
  • +
  • Artwork not enabled for all desktops.
- -

No updated artwork

+

Where to get it

+

To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use

- -

Where to get it

-To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use +

The MD5SUM of this image is: 2b161a99d2a848c376d8d04e3854e30c +
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 498922e9c508c0a7ee9dbe1dfe5bf830d779c3c8

+ +

To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use

- -

The MD5SUM of this image is: c5e773ddafdaa4f48c409c682f598b6c

- -

The SHA1SUM of this image is: 25934fabb9b7d20235499a0a51f08ce6c54215f2

- + +

The MD5SUM of this image is: 25e808e403a4c15dbef1d13c37d572ac +
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 15ecfc93eb6b4f453b7eb0bc04b6a279262d9721

+

How to report bugs

http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs

@@ -536,66 +589,70 @@ To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use
- -
22nd April 2013
-

Bitcoin er mye i mediene for -tiden. Jeg følger med via Mylder for å finne -artikler som omtaler -temaet, og takket være dette oppdaget jeg at stortingsrepresentant -Ketil Solvik-Olsen fra FrP nylig har spurt finansminister Sigbjørn -Johnsen om hans syn på Bitcoin, og -fått -svar for noen dager siden. Jeg bet meg spesielt merke til -følgende formulering fra finansministeren:

- -

-«Det er også utfordringer ved at handel med Bitcoins er uregulert og -at transaksjonene er anonyme.» -

- -

At Bitcoin er anonymt er en myte som spres av både journalister og -andre, så det er ikke veldig overraskende at også finansministeren har -gått på limpinnen. Det er dog litt rart, da jeg håper at -finansdepartementet ikke baserer seg på rykter og myter når de -besvarer Stortinget. Men du trenger ikke bare tro på meg som kilde -til påstanden om at Bitcoin ikke er anonymt. Sondre Rønjom har -via Sikkerhetsbloggen -hos Nasjonal Sikkerhetsmyndighet uttalt følgende:

- -

-«At [bitcoin] i utgangspunktet -ikke er anonymt, -kommer kanskje som en overraskelse på mange.» -

- -

Enhver bevegelse av Bitcoin er offentlig tilgjengelig for alle på -Internet, og en må legge svært mye innsats inn hvis en skal hindre at -nettverksanalyse av transaksjonsloggene kan brukes til å identifisere -brukerne. F.eks. kan en enkelt se hva jeg har mottatt til min -offentliggjorte mottaksadresse ved å besøke blockexplorer og slå opp -adressen -15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b. -Det virker dermed på meg ganske klart at å påstå at -Bitcoin-transaksjoner er anonyme strengt tatt er å føre Stortinget bak -lyset.

- -

Finansministeren er ikke den eneste som har latt seg forlede av -medieomtalen. I spørsmålet fra Hr. Solvik-Olsen skriver han at «For -noen dager siden kom den første bitcoin-minibanken på Kypros», hvilket -så vidt jeg har klart å finne ut ikke er riktig. Det er annonsert -planer om en slik minibank (fra -BitcoinATM), men jeg finner -intet tegn til at en slik minibank er utplassert noe sted.

- -

Som vanlig, hvis du bruker Bitcoin og ønsker å vise din støtte til -mine aktiviteter, så setter jeg pris på Bitcoin-donasjoner til min -adresse -15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b.

+ +
25th June 2013
+

It annoys me when the computer fail to do automatically what it is +perfectly capable of, and I have to do it manually to get things +working. One such task is to find out what firmware packages are +needed to get the hardware on my computer working. Most often this +affect the wifi card, but some times it even affect the RAID +controller or the ethernet card. Today I pushed version 0.4 of the +Isenkram package +including a new script isenkram-autoinstall-firmware handling the +process of asking all the loaded kernel modules what firmware files +they want, find debian packages providing these files and install the +debian packages. Here is a test run on my laptop:

+ +

+# isenkram-autoinstall-firmware 
+info: kernel drivers requested extra firmware: ipw2200-bss.fw ipw2200-ibss.fw ipw2200-sniffer.fw
+info: fetching http://http.debian.net/debian/dists/squeeze/Contents-i386.gz
+info: locating packages with the requested firmware files
+info: Updating APT sources after adding non-free APT source
+info: trying to install firmware-ipw2x00
+firmware-ipw2x00
+firmware-ipw2x00
+Preconfiguring packages ...
+Selecting previously deselected package firmware-ipw2x00.
+(Reading database ... 259727 files and directories currently installed.)
+Unpacking firmware-ipw2x00 (from .../firmware-ipw2x00_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb) ...
+Setting up firmware-ipw2x00 (0.28+squeeze1) ...
+# 
+

+ +

When all the requested firmware is present, a simple message is +printed instead:

+ +

+# isenkram-autoinstall-firmware 
+info: did not find any firmware files requested by loaded kernel modules.  exiting
+# 
+

+ +

It could use some polish, but it is already working well and saving +me some time when setting up new machines. :)

+ +

So, how does it work? It look at the set of currently loaded +kernel modules, and look up each one of them using modinfo, to find +the firmware files listed in the module meta-information. Next, it +download the Contents file from a nearby APT mirror, and search for +the firmware files in this file to locate the package with the +requested firmware file. If the package is in the non-free section, a +non-free APT source is added and the package is installed using +apt-get install. The end result is a slightly better working +machine.

+ +

I hope someone find time to implement a more polished version of +this script as part of the hw-detect debian-installer module, to +finally fix BTS report +#655507. There really is no need to insert USB sticks with +firmware during a PXE install when the packages already are available +from the nearby Debian mirror.

- Tags: bitcoin, norsk, stortinget. + Tags: debian, english, isenkram.
@@ -603,22 +660,45 @@ adresse
- -
16th April 2013
-

This years first Skolelinux / -Debian Edu developer gathering take place the coming weekend in Trondheim. -Details about the gathering can be found -on -the FRiSK wiki. The dates are 19-21th of April 2013, and online -participation for those unable to make it in person is very welcome, -and I plan to participate online myself as I could not leave Oslo this -weekend.

- -

The focus of the gathering is to work on the web pages and project -infrastructure, and to continue the work on the Wheezy based Debian -Edu release.

- -

See you on IRC, #debian-edu on irc.debian.org, then?

+ +
22nd June 2013
+

In the Debian Edu / +Skolelinux project, we include a post-installation test suite, +which check that services are running, working, and return the +expected results. It runs automatically just after the first boot on +test installations (using test ISOs), but not on production +installations (using non-test ISOs). It test that the LDAP service is +operating, Kerberos is responding, DNS is replying, file systems are +online resizable, etc, etc. And it check that the PXE service is +configured, which is the topic of this post.

+ +

The last week I've fixed the DVD and USB stick ISOs for our Debian +Edu Wheezy release. These ISOs are supposed to be able to install a +complete system without any Internet connection, but for that to +happen all the needed packages need to be on them. Thanks to our test +suite, I discovered that we had forgotten to adjust our PXE setup to +cope with the new names and paths used by the netboot d-i packages. +When Internet connectivity was available, the installer fall back to +using wget to fetch d-i boot images, but when offline it require +working packages to get it working. And the packages changed name +from debian-installer-6.0-netboot-$arch to +debian-installer-7.0-netboot-$arch, we no longer pulled in the +packages during installation. Without our test suite, I suspect we +would never have discovered this before release. Now it is fixed +right after we got the ISOs operational.

+ +

Another by-product of the test suite is that we can ask system +administrators with problems getting Debian Edu to work, to run the +test suite using /usr/sbin/debian-edu-test-install and see if +any errors are detected. This usually pinpoint the subsystem causing +the problem.

+ +

If you want to help us help kids learn how to share and create, +please join us on +#debian-edu on +irc.debian.org and the +debian-edu@ mailing +list.

@@ -631,104 +711,143 @@ Edu release.

- -
9th April 2013
-

For cirka en måned siden -ba -jeg om begrunnelse på nektet innsyn i dokumenter om -standardkatalogen fra Fornyingsdepartementet. I dag fikk jeg svar fra -Fornyingsdepartementet, og tilgang til dokumentene. Jeg fikk både -innsyn i vedlegg sendt fra DIFI, og også innsyn i et notat brukt -internt i Fornyingsdepartementet:

- - - -

Det bør nevnes at da jeg ble nektet innsyn hos mottaker -Fornyingsdepartementet på høringsoppsummeringen som DIFI hadde sendt -ut, spurte jeg DIFI om innsyn i stedet. Det fikk jeg i løpet av et -par dager. Moralen er at hvis ikke mottaker ikke vil gi innsyn, spør -avsender i stedet. Kanskje de har forskjellig forståelse av hva som -bør holdes skjult for folket. Her er de tilsvarende dokumentene jeg -fikk innsyn i fra DIFI:

+ +
17th June 2013
+

The Debian Edu and +Skolelinux distribution have users and contributors all around the +globe. And a while back, an enterprising young man showed up on +our IRC channel +#debian-edu and started asking questions about how Debian Edu +worked. We answered as good as we could, and even convinced him to +help us with translations. And today I managed to get an interview +with him, to learn more about him.

+ +

Who are you, and how do you spend your days?

+ +

I'm a 25 year old free software enthusiast, living in Romania, +which is also my country of origin. Back in 2009, at a New Year's Eve +party, I had a very nice beer discussion with a +friend, when we realized we have no organised Debian community in our +country. A few days later, we put together the infrastructure for such +community and even gathered a nice Debian-ish crowd. Since then, I +began my quest as a free software hacker and activist and I am +constantly trying to cover as much ground as possible on that +field.

+ +

A few years ago I founded a small web development company, which +provided me the flexible schedule I needed so much for my +activities. For the last 13 months, I have been the Technical Director +of Fundația Ceata, which is a free +software activist organisation endorsed by the FSF and the FSFE, and +the only one we have in our country.

+ +

How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu +project?

+ +

The idea of participating in the Debian Edu project was a surprise +even to me, since I never used it before I began getting involved in +it. This year I had a great opportunity to deliver a talk on +educational software, and I knew immediately where to look. It was a +love at first sight, since I was previously involved with some of the +technologies the project incorporates, and I rapidly found a lot of +ways to contribute.

+ +

My first contributions consisted in translating the installer and +configuration dialogs, then I found some bugs to squash (I still +haven't fixed them yet though), and I even got my eyes on some other +areas where I can prove myself helpful. Since the appetite for free +software in my country is pretty low, I'll be happy to be the first +one around here advocating for the project's adoption in educational +environments, and maybe even get my hands dirty in creating a flavour +for our own needs. I am not used to make very advanced plannings, so +from now on, time will tell what I'll be doing next, but I think I +have a pretty consistent starting point.

+ +

What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian +Edu?

+ +

Not a long time ago, I was in the position of configuring and +maintaining a LDAP server on some Debian derivative, and I must say it +took me a while. A long time ago, I was maintaining a bigger +Samba-powered infrastructure, and I must say I spent quite a lot of +time on it. I have similar stories about many of the services included +with Skolelinux, and the main advantage I see about it is the +out-of-the box availability of them, making it quite competitive when +it comes to managing a school's network, for example.

+ +

Of course, there is more to say about Skolelinux than the +availability of the software included, its flexibility in various +scenarios is something I can't wait to experiment "into the wild" (I +only played with virtual machines so far). And I am sure there is a +lot more I haven't discovered yet about it, being so new within the +project.

+ +

What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?

+ +

As usual, when it comes to Debian Blends, I see as the biggest +disadvantage the lack of a numerous team dedicated to the +project. Every day I see the same names in the changelogs, and I have +a constantly fear of the bus factor in this story. I'd like to see +Debian Edu advertised more as an entry point into the Debian +ecosystem, especially amongst newcomers and students. IMHO there are a +lot low-hanging fruits in terms of bug squashing, and enough +opportunities to get the feeling of the Debian Project's dynamics. Not +to mention it's a very fun blend to work on!

+ +

Derived from the previous statement, is the delay in catching up +with the main Debian release and documentation. This is common though +to all blends and derivatives, but it's an issue we can all work +on.

+ +

Which free software do you use daily?

+ +

I can hardly imagine myself spending a day without Vim, since my +daily routine covers writing code and hacking configuration files. I +am a fan of the Awesome window manager (but I also like the +Enlightenment project a lot!), +Claws Mail due to its ease of +use and very configurable behaviour. Recently I fell in love with +Redshift, which helps me +get through the night without headaches. Of course, there is much more +stuff in this bag, but I'll need a blog on my own for doing this!

+ +

Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to +get schools to use free software?

+ +

Well, on this field, I cannot do much more than experiment right +now. So, being far from having a recipe for success, I can only assume +that:

-

Det jeg synes er mest interessant er endel av aktørene som -protesterte på fjerningen (Kartverket, Drammen kommune), og hvordan -høringsoppsummeringen ikke tar stilling til effekten av å fjerne ODF -fra katalogen.

-
-
- - - Tags: norsk, standard. - - -
-
-
- -
- -
7th April 2013
-

For en stund tilbake gikk nyheten om -Sandy -Island, en øy som var dukket opp på noen kart, men som ikke var -synlig når en sjekket den på satellittbilder. Dagbladet meldte for -eksempel at -«denne -øya finnes på kart, men ikke i virkeligheten». Noe senere begynte -jeg å lese -historier -om Ruffen til mine barn. Dette er historier om sjøormen Ruffen -skapt av Tor Åge Bringsværd, som starter med følgende beskrivelse:

- -

-«Langt ute i havet ligger en mystisk øy. Den er bare synlig hver -tirsdag og fredag. Derfor står den ikke på noe kart. På denne øya -ligger et slott, og i slottet bor en gammel, fin sjøormfamilie.» -

- -

Det virker åpenbart at Hr. Bringsværd tok feil når han trodde den -ikke var på noe kart, og at noen tydeligvis har vært i nærheten en -tirsdag eller en fredag og fått den med på et kart, mens -satellittbildene er tatt på noen av de fem andre dagene i uka og -dermed ikke ser øya. :)

- -

I følge -en -senere artikkel i Dagbladet hevder Shaun Higgins, en forsker fra -New Zealand, at et hvalfangstskip fra 1876 er opprinnelsen til at -spøkelsesøya i det hele tatt havnet på kartet. Det fremgår ikke fra -historien hvilken ukedag de var innom.

- -

Jeg har stor sans for Tor Åge Bringsværd. Og han viste nylig en -svært fin side av seg selv da han sa ja til EFNs forespørsel om å gi -ut novellen Kodémus med -Creative Commons-lisens.

+

I also see some problems in getting Skolelinux into schools; for +example, in our country we have a great deal of corruption issues, so +it might be hard(er) to fight against proprietary solutions. Also, +people who relied on commercial software for all their lives, would be +very hard to convert against their will.

- Tags: norsk. + Tags: debian edu, english, intervju.
@@ -754,7 +873,11 @@ Creative Commons-lisens.

  • April (6)
  • -
  • May (5)
  • +
  • May (9)
  • + +
  • June (10)
  • + +
  • July (7)
  • @@ -904,9 +1027,9 @@ Creative Commons-lisens.

  • bsa (2)
  • -
  • debian (73)
  • +
  • debian (83)
  • -
  • debian edu (126)
  • +
  • debian edu (138)
  • digistan (10)
  • @@ -914,7 +1037,7 @@ Creative Commons-lisens.

  • drivstoffpriser (4)
  • -
  • english (191)
  • +
  • english (210)
  • fiksgatami (21)
  • @@ -924,9 +1047,9 @@ Creative Commons-lisens.

  • frikanalen (11)
  • -
  • intervju (33)
  • +
  • intervju (37)
  • -
  • isenkram (6)
  • +
  • isenkram (7)
  • kart (18)
  • @@ -938,9 +1061,9 @@ Creative Commons-lisens.

  • multimedia (25)
  • -
  • norsk (232)
  • +
  • norsk (234)
  • -
  • nuug (152)
  • +
  • nuug (153)
  • offentlig innsyn (8)
  • @@ -970,7 +1093,7 @@ Creative Commons-lisens.

  • skepsis (4)
  • -
  • standard (42)
  • +
  • standard (43)
  • stavekontroll (3)