X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/d13a851f3d49dd6a28e81df88eb3038839a3423f..fc69198f89b689c41f669748e7e9839dfcf9d19b:/blog/index.rss diff --git a/blog/index.rss b/blog/index.rss index 9bebd77e6e..57c57503a2 100644 --- a/blog/index.rss +++ b/blog/index.rss @@ -7,674 +7,394 @@ - Skolelinux-intervju: Nirosan Thiyagalingam - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Skolelinux_intervju__Nirosan_Thiyagalingam.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Skolelinux_intervju__Nirosan_Thiyagalingam.html - Fri, 24 May 2013 21:40:00 +0200 - <p>En ting -<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux-prosjektet</a> har -hatt mye glede av er studentprosjekter. F.eks. er -<a href="http://linuxstopmotion.org/">stillbildeanimasjonssystemet -Stopmotion</a> resultat av et studentprosjekt i Skolelinux. De siste -månedene har en ivrig student veiledet av Marius Kotsbak i -<a href="http://www.friprogramvareiskolen.no/">FRiSK</a> testet hva en -kan få til med en datamaskin til NOK 400,- (antagelig 1700,- med -skjerm, tastatur og mus) når det brukes i Skolelinux. Jeg spurte han -om et intervju.</p> - -<p><strong>Hvem er du, og hva driver du med til daglig?</strong></p> - -<p>Jeg heter Nirosan Thiyagalingam. Jeg er 24 år og studerer -dataingeniør studiet ved Høgskolen i Sør Trøndelag. Interessen for -data har siden ung alder vært tilstede og jeg har i tillegg alltid -vært glad i å lære nye ting. Med teknologi som endres svært hurtig er -det alltid noe nytt å lære. Noe som igjen har gjort det svært -interessant å følge med på utviklingen. Jeg valgte dataingeniør -studiet grunnet ønske om å lære enda mer om programmering og utvikling -av store systemer.</p> - -<p><strong>Hvordan kom du i kontakt med Skolelinux-prosjektet?</strong></p> - -<p>Skolelinux prosjektet hørte jeg først om i media. Men det var først -når jeg skulle velge bacheloroppgave at jeg fattet mer interesse for -prosjektet. Et enkelt søk på nettet førte meg til skolelinux sine -hjemmesider. Informasjonen jeg fant der gjorde meg enda nysgjerrig og -jeg valgte derfor en oppgave som gikk ut på å få en -<a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org">Raspberry PI</a>. Altså en -ultra-billig datamaskin til å kjøre Debian Edu på lik linje med -vanlige datamaskiner. I løpet av prosjektet ble det gjort mye -forskning på nettet. Det var mye jeg måtte forstå rundt hvordan -operativsystemet Linux fungerte før jeg kunne angripe -problemet. Prøvde først å finne ut hvordan man kunne transformere en -vanlig installasjon av Skolelinux til Raspberry PI, men dette var -altfor vanskelig å jeg endte opp med mer spørsmål enn svar. Det ble -videre opprettet kontakt med Skolelinux utviklere på IRC der jeg fikk -diskutert hvilken retning jeg burde gå for å få til en fullverdig -løsning. Det ble bestemt at jeg skulle gå for å først installere -<a href="http://www.raspbian.org/">Raspian</a>. Dette er et -operativsystem basert på Debian spesiallaget for Raspberry Pi sin -maskinvare. Nå som Debian var installert på datamaskinen gjenstod det -å installere de nødvendige Skolelinux pakkene for å få til et -fullverdig system. Disse pakkene ble installert manuelt i første -omgang, men ble senere installert automatisk via et script som Petter -Reinholdtsen laget. Dette scriptet er så enkel å bruke at man er i -gang med installasjonen i løpet av bare 5 minutter. Ikke nok med det, -alt skjer helt automatisk. Alt i alt er jeg veldig fornøyd med -resultatet av installasjonsprosessen. Raspberry Pi er en veldig svak -maskin og det merkes godt når man har installert Skolelinux på -den. Video og 3D-rendering fungerer utrolig dårlig, men nettsurfing og -kontorprogrammer fungerer godt. Det kan derfor konkluderes med at -datamaskinen er egnet for enkle oppgaver. - -<p>Jeg syns det er viktig påpeke at dette kun er startfasen av en slik -løsning. På markedet finnes det nå maskiner som har bedre hardware enn -Raspberry Pi. Det er store muligheter for at man kan klare å -installere Skolelinux på disse også, og da forsvinner nok mest -sannsynlig ytelsesproblemene med Video og 3D rendering også.</p> - -<p>Det ble også prøvd med en løsning som gjorde at Raspberry Pi -fungerte som en tynnklient. Denne løsningen hadde langt bedre ytelse -med tanke på hastighet og brukeropplevelse. Men også her var video og -3D rendering dårlig. Det ble brukt en liten Linux distribusjon kalt -<a href="http://www.berryterminal.com/">BerryTerminal</a> for å få til -dette.</p> - -<p><strong>Hva er fordelene med Skolelinux slik du ser det?</strong></p> - -<p>Fordelen med Skolelinux er mange. At det er gratis er en stor -fordel, men at det er så mange som er med på å utvikle det og -vedlikeholde det er en enda større fordel. Allerede før jeg startet -med prosjektet så jeg mange fordeler, og når jeg nærmet meg sluttfasen -så jeg langt flere. At prosjektet skulle inneha en så høy kvalitet -hadde jeg aldri trodd. En vanlig Skolelinux installasjon har de -nødvendige programmene og funksjonen som både små og store skoler i -tillegg til organisasjoner kan klare seg med. At prosjektet tilbyr en -så komplett løsning er en kjempefordel. Installasjonen er knirkefri -og det er svært enkelt å installere og komme i gang.</p> - -<p><strong>Hva er ulempene med Skolelinux slik du ser det?</strong></p> - -<p>Ulempene jeg ser med prosjektet er ryddigheten av websidene. Selv -om websidene er enkle og konsise er det allikevel ikke appellerende i -like stor grad som for eksempel -<a href="http://www.ubuntu.com">Ubuntu</a> sine sider. Deres side -tilbyr, i tillegg til godt design og presentasjon, en nettbasert -emulator av deres operativsystem. Dette er en stor fordel slik jeg ser -det. Bortsett fra dette ser jeg absolutt ingen ulemper med -Skolelinux-prosjektet.</p> - -<p><strong>Hvilken fri programvare bruker du til daglig?</strong></p> - -<p>Til daglig er jeg en flittig bruker av det åpne media -sentersystemet <a href="http://xbmc.org/">XBMC</a>. Det enorme -samfunnet rundt dette prosjektet har gjort dette til et program som -dekker alles behov. Man kan tilpasse det akkurat slik man vil både med -tanke på utseende og funksjoner ved installere plug-ins eller -scripts.</p> - -<p><strong>Hvilken strategi tror du er den rette å bruke for å få -skoler til å ta i bruk fri programvare?</strong></p> - -<p>Strategien som burde brukes sett fra mine øyne er -markedsføring. Jeg er sikker på at om flere skoler fikk et lite innsyn -i hvor bra Skolelinux er så ville de ikke nølt med å gå over fra noe -annet som koster de store summer. At skolelinux til de grader tilbyr -en så komplett løsning bure komme frem. Enten via reklamekampanjer -eller ved å sende ut folk til skoler for så å la skolenettverk -ansvarlige får teste ut hvordan Skolelinux fungerer i praksis. Om det -i tillegg ble utviklet gode websider og en emulator for å la brukere -prøve operativsystemet ville nok dette ha styrket inntrykket -betraktelig.</p> - - - - - How to transform a Debian based system to a Debian Edu installation - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_transform_a_Debian_based_system_to_a_Debian_Edu_installation.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_transform_a_Debian_based_system_to_a_Debian_Edu_installation.html - Fri, 17 May 2013 11:50:00 +0200 - <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> is -an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools. It -contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to -pupils in the primary schools. It provide both the central server, -network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of -educational software. The project was founded almost 12 years ago, -2001-07-02. If you want to support the project, which is in need for -cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity, -<a href="http://www.linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">please -donate some money</a>. - -<p>A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing -lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or -Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation. It isn't very -hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by -the Debian Edu installer.</p> - -<p>The script, -<a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/debian-edu/branches/wheezy/debian-edu-config/share/debian-edu-config/tools/debian-edu-bless?view=markup">debian-edu-bless<a/> -in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and -transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation -into a Debian Edu Workstation:</p> - -<ol> - -<li>Add skolelinux related APT sources.</li> -<li>Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration.</li> -<li>Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in - our configuration.</li> -<li>Preseed debconf database with profile setup in - /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages - according to the profile specified in the config above, - overriding some of the Debian automation machinery.</li> -<li>Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything - that could not be done using preseeding.</li> -<li>Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes.</li> - -</ol> - -<p>There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be -replicated like this. Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example. -So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all -the needed packages.</p> - -<p>The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on -setting up <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org">Raspberry Pi</a> as a -Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing -<a href="http://www.raspbian.org/FrontPage‎">Raspbian</a> installation and -transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or -Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).</p> - -<p>The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation. -If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the -PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:</p> - -<p><pre> -PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation" -DESKTOP="lxde" -</pre></p> - -<p>The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in -the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some -virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first -boot.</p> - - - - - Second alpha release of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Second_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Second_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html - Tue, 14 May 2013 23:30:00 +0200 - <p>The <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux -project</a> is making great progress and made its second Wheezy based -release today. This is the release announcement:</p> - -<p><strong>New features for Debian Edu 7.0.0 alpha1 released -2013-05-14</strong></p> - -<p>This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux 7.0.0 edu -alpha1, based on <ahref="http://www.debian.org">Debian</a> with -codename "Wheezy".</p> - -<p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p> - -<p>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.</p> + How to fix a Thinkpad X230 with a broken 180 GB SSD disk + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_fix_a_Thinkpad_X230_with_a_broken_180_GB_SSD_disk.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_fix_a_Thinkpad_X230_with_a_broken_180_GB_SSD_disk.html + Wed, 17 Jul 2013 23:50:00 +0200 + <p>Today I switched to +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">my +new laptop</a>. I've previously written about the problems I had with +my new Thinkpad X230, which was delivered with an +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html">180 +GB Intel SSD disk with Lenovo firmware</a> 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.</p> + +<p>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 <tt>ssd-setup</tt> to handle this tuning. The +<a href="http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=collab-maint/ssd-setup.git">source +for the ssd-setup package</a> 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.</p> + +<p>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:</p> -<p>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.</p> - -<p><strong>Software updates</strong></p> <ul> - <li>Install freemind (0.9.0) by default, and stop installing vym by - default.</li> - <li>Install chromium (26.0.1410.43) by default.</li> - <li>Install goplay (0.5-1.1) to make golearn available by default.</li> - <li>Updated support for Japanese input methods, now based on - ibus-anthy.</li> -</ul> -<p><strong>Other changes</strong></p> -<ul> +<li>Set up cryptsetup to pass TRIM commands to the physical disk + (adding discard to /etc/crypttab)</li> - <li>Switched default file system from ext3 to ext4 for speed and - reliability improvements.</li> - <li>Got rid of unwanted winbind daemon and PAM setup activated because - of <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/706434">706434</a>.</li> - <li>Extended and improved the testsuite tests to detect more possible - problems.</li> - <li>Corrected proxy handling to not set http_proxy to a bogus - direct:// URL.</li> - <li>Corrected proxy setup for diskless workstations.</li> - <li>Corrected PXE setup to use our updated udebs during installation.</li> - <li>Made installation handling of low entropy level more robust.</li> - <li>Create larger partitions for Roaming workstations and Thin client - servers, to make room for all the software installed.</li> - <li>Fix bug in Roaming workstation PAM setup, making it impossible to - log in (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/706753">706753</a>).</li> -</ul> +<li>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.</li> -<p><strong>Known issues</strong></p> -<ul> +<li>Set relatime as a file system option for ext3 and ext4 file + systems.</li> - <li>IP resolution for the local hostname give useless IPv6 address - (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/705900">705900</a>). Only install - libnss-myhostname on roaming workstations until it is fixed.</li> - <li>DVD images are not yet ready.</li> - <li>No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) - available yet (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/698840">698840</a>).</li> - <li>Missing artwork for the KDE desktop (and probably a few others).</li> - <li>KDE Debian submenu lacks icons.</li> - <li>LXDE menu lacks entry for changing GOsa password - (website). Installing gosa-desktop will be an option.</li> - <li>Backup configuration via web interface is impossible due to - password submission problem - (<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/700257">700257</a>).</li> +<li>Tell swap to use TRIM commands by adding 'discard' to + /etc/fstab.</li> -</ul> +<li>Change I/O scheduler from cfq to deadline using a udev rule.</li> -<p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p> +<li>Run fstrim on every ext3 and ext4 file system every night (from + cron.daily).</li> -<p>To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use</p> -<ul> - - <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso</a></li> - <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso</a></li> - <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso</li> +<li>Adjust sysctl values vm.swappiness to 1 and vm.vfs_cache_pressure + to 50 to reduce the kernel eagerness to swap out processes.</li> </ul> -<p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 685ed76c1aa8e44b12d3fde21faf450b</p> - -<p>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 6c874de157024da13e115bab29c068080a11ec4c</p> - -<p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p> - -<p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a></p> +<p>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 +<a href="http://xkcd.com/538/">XKCD #538</a> for an explanation why). +Thus I concluded that adding the discard option to crypttab is the +right thing to do.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>My package do not set up tmpfs on /var/run, /var/lock and /tmp, as +this is already done by Debian Edu.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>The package should work on Ubuntu too, but I have not yet tested it +there.</p> + +<p>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.</p> - Debian, the Linux distribution of choice for LEGO designers? - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian__the_Linux_distribution_of_choice_for_LEGO_designers_.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian__the_Linux_distribution_of_choice_for_LEGO_designers_.html - Sat, 11 May 2013 20:30:00 +0200 - <P>In January, -<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_IRC_channel_for_LEGO_designers_using_Debian.html">I -announced a</a> new <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-lego">IRC -channel #debian-lego</a>, for those of us in the Debian and Linux -community interested in <a href="http://www.lego.com/">LEGO</a>, the -marvellous construction system from Denmark. We also created -<a href="http://wiki.debian.org/LegoDesigners">a wiki page</a> 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 -<a href="http://debtags.debian.net/search/bytag?wl=hardware::hobby:lego">hardware::hobby:lego</a> -tag for LEGO related packages, and now count 10 packages related to -LEGO and <a href="http://mindstorms.lego.com/">Mindstorms</a>:</p> - -<p><table> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/brickos">brickos</a></td><td>alternative OS for LEGO Mindstorms RCX. Supports development in C/C++</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/leocad">leocad</a></td><td>virtual brick CAD software</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/libnxt">libnxt</a></td><td>utility library for talking to the LEGO Mindstorms NX</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/lnpd">lnpd</a></td><td>daemon for LNP communication with BrickOS</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nbc">nbc</a></td><td>compiler for LEGO Mindstorms NXT bricks</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/nqc">nqc</a></td><td>Not Quite C compiler for LEGO Mindstorms RCX</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/python-nxt">python-nxt</a></td><td>python driver/interface/wrapper for the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/python-nxt-filer">python-nxt-filer</a></td><td>simple GUI to manage files on a LEGO Mindstorms NXT</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/scratch">scratch</a></td><td>easy to use programming environment for ages 8 and up</td></tr> -<tr><td><a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/t2n">t2n</a></td><td>simple command-line tool for Lego NXT</td></tr> -</table></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> + Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB with Lenovo firmware still lock up from sustained writes + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Intel_SSD_520_Series_180_GB_with_Lenovo_firmware_still_lock_up_from_sustained_writes.html + Wed, 10 Jul 2013 13:30:00 +0200 + <p>A few days ago, I wrote about +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html">the +problems I experienced with my new X230 and its SSD disk</a>, which +was dying during installation because it is unable to cope with +sustained write. My supplier is in contact with +<a href="http://www.lenovo.com/">Lenovo</a>, 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.</p> + +<p>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 +<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux</a> ISO or +other large files. I look forward to hearing from my supplier with +the next proposal from Lenovo.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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).</p> - Narvik sparer minst 9 millioner på å bruke Skolelinux - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Narvik_sparer_minst_9_millioner_p____bruke_Skolelinux.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Narvik_sparer_minst_9_millioner_p____bruke_Skolelinux.html - Fri, 10 May 2013 18:30:00 +0200 - <p>I fjor sommer ble jeg -<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Gladoppslag_om_Skolelinux_i_avisen_Fremover.html">gledelig -overrasket</a> over et oppslag i avisen Fremover om Narvik kommunes -bruk av <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a>. 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 -<a href="http://www.nuug.no/pub/offentliginnsyn/from-Narvik-kommune/2013-04-29-09:12-skolelinux-notat/PetterFalkbuogwindowsfornarvikskolen%20(L)351310.pdf">lagt -ut notatet</a> samme dag, og fikk i dag sjekket postlista til Narvik, -der jeg fant notatet som -<a href="https://www.narvik.kommune.no/innsyn.aspx?response=arkivsak_detaljer&arkivsakid=2013001023&scripturi=/innsyn.aspx&skin=infolink&Mid1=301&">sak -2013/1023</a>.</p> - -<p>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. :)</p> + July 13th: Debian/Ubuntu BSP and Skolelinux/Debian Edu developer gathering in Oslo + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/July_13th__Debian_Ubuntu_BSP_and_Skolelinux_Debian_Edu_developer_gathering_in_Oslo.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/July_13th__Debian_Ubuntu_BSP_and_Skolelinux_Debian_Edu_developer_gathering_in_Oslo.html + Tue, 9 Jul 2013 10:40:00 +0200 + <p>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 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">the +member assosiation NUUG</a> and +<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">the Debian Edu / Skolelinux +project</a> together with <a href="http://bitraf.no/">the hack space +Bitraf</a>.</p> + +<p>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 <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/BSP/2013/07/13/no/Oslo">the event +wiki page</a> if you plan to join us.</p> - Debian Wheezy is out - and Debian Edu / Skolelinux should soon follow! #newinwheezy - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Wheezy_is_out___and_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_should_soon_follow___newinwheezy.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Wheezy_is_out___and_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_should_soon_follow___newinwheezy.html - Sun, 5 May 2013 07:40:00 +0200 - <p>When I woke up this morning, I was very happy to see that the -<a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2013/20130504">release announcement -for Debian Wheezy</a> 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.</p> - -<p>The new debian release contain heaps of new stuff, and one program -in particular make me very happy to see included. The -<a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/">Scratch</a> program, made famous by -the <a href="http://www.code.org/">Teach kids code</a> movement, is -included for the first time. Alongside similar programs like -<a href="http://edu.kde.org/kturtle/">kturtle</a> and -<a href="http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Activities/Turtle_Art">turtleart</a>, -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.</a> - -<p>And now that Wheezy is wrapped up, we can wrap up the next Debian -Edu/Skolelinux release too. The -<a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/2013/04/msg00132.html">first -alpha release</a> went out last week, and the next should soon -follow.<p> + The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230? + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230_.html + Fri, 5 Jul 2013 08:30:00 +0200 + <p>Half a year ago, I reported that I had to find a +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html">replacement +for my trusty old Thinkpad X41</a>. 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 +<a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad X230</a> +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.</p> + +<p>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 <a href="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, 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.</p> + +<p>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. :)</p> + +<p>Turning off the touch pad was simple. All it took was a quick +visit to the BIOS during boot it disable it.</p> + +<p>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 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/691427">BTS +report #691427 2012-10-25</a> (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 +<a href="https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=51861">Kernel bugzilla +report #51861 2012-12-20</a> (Intel SSD 520 stops working under load +(SSDSC2BW180A3L in Lenovo ThinkPad T430s)). It is also reported on the +Lenovo forums, both for +<a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T430s-Intel-SSD-520-180GB-issue/m-p/1070549">T430 +2012-11-10</a> and for +<a href="http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/x230-SATA-errors-with-180GB-Intel-520-SSD-under-heavy-write-load/m-p/1068147">X230 +03-20-2013</a>. 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 +<a href="https://git.efficios.com/?p=test-ssd.git">small C program +available</a> that will lock up the hard drive after running a few +minutes by writing to a file.</p> + +<p>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. :)</p> - Vårt konkurransebidrag til #apps4norge bruker @opnedata - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/V_rt_konkurransebidrag_til__apps4norge_bruker__opnedata.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/V_rt_konkurransebidrag_til__apps4norge_bruker__opnedata.html - Wed, 1 May 2013 23:45:00 +0200 - <p>For noen uker siden, innen fristen 2013-04-15, leverte jeg og -Morten Kjelkenes vårt bidrag til -<a href="http://www.apps4norge.no/">DIFIs apps4norge-konkurranse</a> -under lagnavnet <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">NUUG</a>s tannlegeteam. -Vi leverte følgende i idé-kategorien:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><strong>Tittel: Stikk innom tannlegen</strong><p> - -<p><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-05-01-tannlegeportal.jpeg"><img width="70%" src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2013-05-01-tannlegeportal.jpeg"></a></p> - -<p><strong>Beskrivelse:</strong><p> - -<p><em>Idéen</em> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>For hvert enkelt tannlegekontor er det tilgjengelig en -informasjonsside med adresse, hjemmesideurl, telefonnummer, lenke til -side for å finne reisebeskrivelse, åpningstider, etc.</p> - -<p><em>Nytteverdi for brukeren</em></p> - -<ul> -<li>sparer tid på tannlegebesøk</li> -<li>kan utnytte normal reisevei mellom hjem/jobb/barnehage</li> -<li>kan finne aktuell tannlege basert på flere kriterier</li> -<li>sile bort tannleger som ikke tar imot flere kunder</li> -<li>får kart som viser tannleger i nærheten, på tvers av kommunegrenser</li> -</ul> - -<p><em>Grad av innovasjon, nytenkning og kreativitet</em></p> - -<p>Enkel tjeneste som fokuserer på det vi selv mener er relevant ved valg -av tannlege.</p> - -<p>Tjenestekonseptet kan også brukes til andre næringer, f.eks. lege, -butikk, leiebiler, hvis en har aktuell datakilde å koble med.</p> - -<p>Skulle gjerne hatt med vurdering av tannlegene tilgjengelig, slik -at en kunne finne "flinke" tannleger basert på et eller annet -kriterium.</p> - -<p><em>Markedspotensiale - potensiale for å slå gjennom hos mange -brukere</em></p> - -<ul> -<li>Alle som ønsker eller vurderer å skaffe seg ny tannlege, f.eks. nyinnflyttede og studenter</li> -<li>Familier med en travel hverdag</li> -</ul> - -<p>Felles er at den gjør tannlegen lettere tilgjengelig for de som vil spare tid eller penger.</p> - -<p><em>Samfunnsøkonomisk nytte - bidrar til å løse -samfunnsutfordringer</em></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><em>X-faktor - “Det lille ekstra...”</em></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><em>Datasett brukt</em></p> - -<ul> - -<li><a href="http://www.hvakostertannlegen.no/">http://www.hvakostertannlegen.no/</a> -(Ikke-publisert JSON-API), se f.eks. JSON-output fra -<a href="http://www.hvakostertannlegen.no/services/klinikker/oslo/undersokelse-med-2-rontgenbilder">http://www.hvakostertannlegen.no/services/klinikker/oslo/undersokelse-med-2-rontgenbilder</a></li> - -<li>Kartdata, -<a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/">http://www.openstreetmap.org/</a> -<a href="http://mapit.nuug.no/">http://mapit.nuug.no/</a> (nabokommuner, postnummer)</li> - -<li><a href="http://labs.trafikanten.no/how-to-use-the-api.aspx">http://labs.trafikanten.no/how-to-use-the-api.aspx</a> -(reisetid med kollektivtrafikk på Østlandet), -<a href="http://data.norge.no/data/ruter-kollektivtrafikkdata">http://data.norge.no/data/ruter-kollektivtrafikkdata</a></li> - -<li><a href="http://reiseregningen.no">http://reiseregningen.no</a> -(data om statens satser for biltransport)</li> - -<li>Kollektivtrafikkkart, -<a href="http://öpnvkarte.de/?zoom=17&lat=59.91056&lon=10.75641&layers=BT">http://öpnvkarte.de/?zoom=17&lat=59.91056&lon=10.75641&layers=BT</a></li> - -<li>Routing med OpenStreetmap-data, -<a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Routing/OnlineRouters">http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Routing/OnlineRouters</a></li> - -<li>Bilveiruting med OpenStreetmap-data, <a href="http://map.project-osrm.org/">http://map.project-osrm.org/</a></li> -<li>Kollektivtrafikkruting for Norge med uviss datakilde, <a href="http://dit.no/">http://dit.no/</a></li> -</ul> - -<p><strong>Åpne offentlige datasett brukt i applikasjonen:</strong></p> - -<ul> -<li>Reisetid med kollektivtrafikk på Østlandet</li> -</ul> - -<p><strong>Øvrige datasett brukt i appen/tjenesten:</strong></p> -<ul> -<li>Fakta om tannleger, priser etc (upublisert JSON-API)</li> -<li>Data om statens satser for biltransport</li> -<li>Kartbilder, kartdata</li> -<li>Kommunegrenser, nabokommuner, postnummer</li> -<li>Bilveiruting med OpenStreetmap-data</li> -<li>Kollektivtrafikkkart</li> -<li>Routing med OpenStreetmap-data</li> -<li>Kollektivtrafikkruting for Norge med uviss dataopphav</li> -</ul> - -<p><strong>Kategori: </strong></p> -<ul> -<li>Arbeid og velferd</li> -<li>Forbruker</li> -<li>Økonomi</li> -</ul> - -<p><strong>Geografi (dekningsområde for app): </strong></p> - -<p>Hele landet</p> - -</blockquote> - -<p>Vinneren annonseres 2013-05-08 ved -<a href="http://www.apps4norge.no/arrangement/2013-05-08-invitasjon-til-prisutdeling-apps4norge-8mai-2013">prisutdelingen -hos DIFI 09:00 til 12:00</a>. 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.</p> + The Thinkpad is dead, long live the Thinkpad X230 + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_Thinkpad_is_dead__long_live_the_Thinkpad_X230.html + Thu, 4 Jul 2013 09:20:00 +0200 + <p>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 <a href="http://www.linlap.com/lenovo_thinkpad_x230">Thinkpad +X230</a> 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.</p> + +<p>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 <ahref="http://www.prisjakt.no/">Prisjakt</a>, 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.</p> + +<p>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. :)</p> + +<p>I look forward to figuring out how to turn off the touch pad.</p> - First alpha release of Debian Edu / Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html - Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:30:00 +0200 - <p>The Debian Edu / Skolelinux project is still going strong and made -its first Wheezy based release today. This is the release -announcement:</p> + Fourth alpha release of Debian Edu/Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Fourth_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu_Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Fourth_alpha_release_of_Debian_Edu_Skolelinux_based_on_Debian_Wheezy.html + Wed, 3 Jul 2013 14:00:00 +0200 + <p>The fourth wheezy based alpha release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today. This is the release announcement:</p> -<p><strong>New features for Debian Edu ~7.0.0 alpha0 released -2013-04-26</strong></p> +<p><strong>New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~alpha3 released +2013-07-03</strong></p> -<p>This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux ~7.0.0 -edu alpha0, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".</p> +<p>These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux +7.1+edu0~alpha3, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".</p> <p><strong>About Debian Edu and Skolelinux</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu, also known as Skolelinux</a>, 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> +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 +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Educational_applications_included_in_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux__the_screenshot_collection____.html">more +than 60 educational software packages</a> and more are available from +the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE +and Xfce desktop environment.</p> + +<p>This is the fourth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically +this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the +Squeeze release.</p> <p><strong>Software updates</strong></p> - <ul> -<li>Everything which is new in Debian Wheezy, eg: - <ul> - <li>Linux kernel 3.2.x</li> - <li>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.)</li> - <li>Web browser Iceweasel 10 ESR</li> - <li>LibreOffice 3.5.4</li> - <li>LTSP 5.4.2</li> - <li>GOsa 2.7.4</li> - <li>CUPS print system 1.5.3</li> - <li>Educational toolbox GCompris 12.01</li> - <li>Music creator Rosegarden 12.04</li> - <li>Image editor Gimp 2.8.2</li> - <li>Virtual universe Celestia 1.6.1</li> - <li>Virtual stargazer Stellarium 0.11.3</li> - <li>Scratch visual programming environment 1.4.0.6</li> - <li>New version of debian-installer from Debian Wheezy, see - <a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/wheezy/installmanual">installation - manual</a> for more details.</li> - <li>Debian Wheezy includes about 37000 packages available for - installation.</li> - <li>More information about Debian Wheezy 7.0 is provided in the - <a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/wheezy/releasenotes">release notes</a> and the <a href="http://www.debian.org/releases/wheezy/installmanual">installation manual</a>.</li> - </ul></li> + <li>Dropped ispell dictionaries from our default installation.</li> + <li>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.</li> + <li>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.</li> + <li>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.</li> + <li>Dropped the golearn (from goplay) package as the debtags in wheezy + are too few to make the package useful.</li> </ul> - -<p><strong>Documentation</strong></p> -<ul> -<li>The (<a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Wheezy">English</a>) Debian Edu Wheezy Manual is fully translated to - German, French, Italian and Danish. Partly translated versions exist - for Norwegian Bokmal and Spanish.</li> -</ul> - -<p><Strong>LDAP related changes</strong></p> -<ul> -<li>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.</li> -</ul> - <p><strong>Other changes</strong></p> <ul> -<li>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.<li> -<li>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.</li> + <li>Updated artwork matching http://wiki.debian.org/DebianArt/Themes/Joy + <li>Multi-arch i386/amd64 USB stick ISO available.</li> + <li>Got rid of ispell/wordlist related debconf questions that showed + up for some language options.</li> + <li>Switched to using http.debian.net as APT source by default.</li> + <li>Fixed proxy configuration on Main Server installations.</li> + <li>Changed LTSP setup to ask dpkg to use force-unsafe-io the same way + d-i is doing it.</li> + <li>Made sure root and user passwords were not left behind in the + debconf database after installation on Main Server installations.</li> + <li>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.</li> + <li>Update system to install needed firmware packages during + installation, to work properly in Wheezy.</li> + <li>Update system to handle hardware quirks (debian-edu-hwsetup).</li> + <li>Corrected PXE installation setup to properly pass selected desktop + and keymap settings to PXE installation clients.</li> + <li>LTSP diskless workstations use sshfs by default, allowing them to + work without adding them to DNS and NIS netgroups for NFS access.</li> </ul> - -<p><strong>Regressions</strong></p> +<p><strong>Known issues</strong></p> <ul> -<li>No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) available - yet.</li> + <li>No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) + available yet (698840).</li> + <li>Artwork not enabled for all desktops.</li> </ul> - -<p><strong>No updated artwork</strong></p> +<p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p> +<p>To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use</p> <ul> -<li>Updated artwork which is visible during installation, in the login - screen and as desktop wallpaper is still missing or the same as we - had for our Squeeze based release.</li> + <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso</a></li> + <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso</a></li> + <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-CD.iso .</li> </ul> - -<p><strong>Where to get it</strong></p> -To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use +<p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 2b161a99d2a848c376d8d04e3854e30c +<br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 498922e9c508c0a7ee9dbe1dfe5bf830d779c3c8</p> + +<p>To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use</p> <ul> -<li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/</a></li> -<li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/</a></li> -<li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/</li> + <li><a href="ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso">ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso</a></li> + <li><a href="http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso">http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso</a></li> + <li>rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~a3-USB.iso .</li> </ul> - -<p>The MD5SUM of this image is: c5e773ddafdaa4f48c409c682f598b6c</p> - -<p>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 25934fabb9b7d20235499a0a51f08ce6c54215f2</p> - + +<p>The MD5SUM of this image is: 25e808e403a4c15dbef1d13c37d572ac +<br>The SHA1SUM of this image is: 15ecfc93eb6b4f453b7eb0bc04b6a279262d9721</p> + <p><strong>How to report bugs</strong></p> <p><a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs">http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs</a></p> @@ -682,85 +402,376 @@ To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use - Bitcoin er ikke anonymt - føres Stortinget bak lyset av finansministeren? - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Bitcoin_er_ikke_anonymt___f_res_Stortinget_bak_lyset_av_finansministeren_.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Bitcoin_er_ikke_anonymt___f_res_Stortinget_bak_lyset_av_finansministeren_.html - Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:30:00 +0200 - <p><a href="http://bitcoin.org/">Bitcoin</a> er mye i mediene for -tiden. Jeg følger med via Mylder for å finne -<a href="http://mylder.no/?drill=bitcoin">artikler som omtaler -temaet</a>, 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 -<a href="http://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Sporsmal/Skriftlige-sporsmal-og-svar/Skriftlig-sporsmal/?qid=57052">fått -svar for noen dager siden</a>. Jeg bet meg spesielt merke til -følgende formulering fra finansministeren:</p> - -<p><blockquote> -«Det er også utfordringer ved at handel med Bitcoins er uregulert og -at transaksjonene er anonyme.» -</blockquote></p> - -<p>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 -<a href="http://blogg.nsm.stat.no/archives/3241">via Sikkerhetsbloggen -hos Nasjonal Sikkerhetsmyndighet</a> uttalt følgende:</p> - -<p><blockquote> -«At [bitcoin] i utgangspunktet -<a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.4524"><em>ikke</em> er anonymt</a>, -kommer kanskje som en overraskelse på mange.» -</blockquote></p> - -<p>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 -<a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a>. -Det virker dermed på meg ganske klart at å påstå at -Bitcoin-transaksjoner er anonyme strengt tatt er å føre Stortinget bak -lyset.</p> - -<p>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 -<a href="http://www.bitcoinatm.com/">BitcoinATM</a>), men jeg finner -intet tegn til at en slik minibank er utplassert noe sted.</p> - -<p>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 -<b><a href="bitcoin:15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b&label=PetterReinholdtsenBlog">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a></b>.</p> + Automatically locate and install required firmware packages on Debian (Isenkram 0.4) + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatically_locate_and_install_required_firmware_packages_on_Debian__Isenkram_0_4_.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Automatically_locate_and_install_required_firmware_packages_on_Debian__Isenkram_0_4_.html + Tue, 25 Jun 2013 11:50:00 +0200 + <p>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 +<a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/isenkram">Isenkram package</a> +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:</p> + +<p><pre> +# 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) ... +# +</pre></p> + +<p>When all the requested firmware is present, a simple message is +printed instead:</p> + +<p><pre> +# isenkram-autoinstall-firmware +info: did not find any firmware files requested by loaded kernel modules. exiting +# +</pre></p> + +<p>It could use some polish, but it is already working well and saving +me some time when setting up new machines. :)</p> + +<p>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 +<tt>apt-get install</tt>. The end result is a slightly better working +machine.</p> + +<p>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 <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/655507">BTS report +#655507</a>. 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.</p> + + + + + The value of a good distro wide test suite... + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_value_of_a_good_distro_wide_test_suite___.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_value_of_a_good_distro_wide_test_suite___.html + Sat, 22 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0200 + <p>In the <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / +Skolelinux</a> 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.</p> + +<p>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 ad 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.</p> + +<p>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 <tt>/usr/sbin/debian-edu-test-install</tt> and see if +any errors are detected. This usually pinpoint the subsystem causing +the problem.</p> + +<p>If you want to help us help kids learn how to share and create, +please join us on +<a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">#debian-edu on +irc.debian.org</a> and the +<a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/">debian-edu@</a> mailing +list.</p> + + + + + Debian Edu interview: Victor Nițu + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Victor_Ni_u.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Victor_Ni_u.html + Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:50:00 +0200 + <p>The <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu and +Skolelinux</a> distribution have users and contributors all around the +globe. And a while back, an enterprising young man showed up on +<a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">our IRC channel +#debian-edu</a> 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.</p> + +<p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p> + +<p>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 <strike>beer</strike> 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.</p> + +<p>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 <a href="http://ceata.org/">Fundația Ceata</a>, which is a free +software activist organisation endorsed by the FSF and the FSFE, and +the only one we have in our country.</p> + +<p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu +project?</strong></p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux/Debian +Edu?</strong></p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?</strong></p> + +<p>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!</p> + +<p>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.</p> + +<p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p> + +<p>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!), +<a href="http://www.claws-mail.org/‎">Claws Mail</a> due to its ease of +use and very configurable behaviour. Recently I fell in love with +<a href="https://launchpad.net/redshift">Redshift</a>, 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!</p> + +<p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to +get schools to use free software?</strong></p> + +<p>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:</p> + +<ul> + +<li>schools would like to get rid of proprietary software</li> + +<li>students will love the openness of the system, and will want to + experiment with it - maybe we need to harvest the native curiosity + of teenagers more?</li> + +<li>there is no "right one" when it comes to strategies, but it would + be useful to have some success stories published somewhere, so + other can get some inspiration from them (I know I'd promote + them!)</li> + +<li>more active promotion - talks, conferences, even small school + lectures can do magical things if they encounter at least one + person interested. Who knows who that person might be? ;-)</li> + +</ul> + +<p>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.</p> - First Debian Edu / Skolelinux developer gathering in 2013 take place in Trondheim - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_developer_gathering_in_2013_take_place_in_Trondheim.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/First_Debian_Edu___Skolelinux_developer_gathering_in_2013_take_place_in_Trondheim.html - Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0200 - <p>This years first <a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux / -Debian Edu</a> developer gathering take place the coming weekend in Trondheim. -Details about the gathering can be found -<a href="http://www.friprogramvareiskolen.no/Gathering/2013-04-19-21-Trondheim">on -the FRiSK wiki</a>. 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>See you on <a href="irc://irc.debian.org/%23debian-edu">IRC, #debian-edu on irc.debian.org,</a> then?</p> + Debian Edu interview: Jonathan Carter + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Jonathan_Carter.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Debian_Edu_interview__Jonathan_Carter.html + Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:50:00 +0200 + <p>There is a certain cross-over between the +<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Debian Edu / Skolelinux +project</a> and <a href="http://www.edubuntu.org/">the Edubuntu +project</a>, and for example the LTSP packages in Debian are a joint +effort between the projects. One person with a foot in both camps is +Jonathan Carter, which I am now happy to present to you.</p> + +<p><strong>Who are you, and how do you spend your days?</strong></p> + +<p>I'm a South-African free software geek who lives in Cape Town. My +days vary quite a bit since I'm involved in too many things. As I'm +getting older I'm learning how to focus a bit more :)</p> + +<p>I'm also an Edubuntu contributor and I love when there are +opportunities for the Edubuntu and Debian Edu projects to benefit from +each other.</p> + +<p><strong>How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu +project?</strong></p> + +<p>I've been somewhat familiar with the project before, but I think my +first direct exposure to the project was when I met Petter +[Reinholdtsen] and Knut [Yrvin] at the Edubuntu summit in 2005 in +London. They provided great feedback that helped the bootstrapping of +Edubuntu. Back then Edubuntu (and even Ubuntu) was still very new and +it was great getting input from people who have been around longer. I +was also still very excitable and said yes to everything and to this +day I have a big todo list backlog that I'm catching up with. I think +over the years the relationship between Edubuntu and Debian-Edu has +been gradually improving, although I think there's a lot that we could +still improve on in terms of working together on packages. I'm sure +we'll get there one day.</p> + +<p><strong>What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?</strong></p> + +<p>Debian itself already has so many advantages. I could go on about +it for pages, but in essence I love that it's a very honest project +that puts its users first with no hidden agendas and also produces +very high quality work.</p> + +<p>I think the advantage of Debian Edu is that it makes many common +set-up tasks simpler so that administrators can get up and running +with a lot less effort and frustration. At the same time I think it +helps to standardise installations in schools so that it's easier for +community members and commercial suppliers to support.</p> + +<p><strong>What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian +Edu?</strong></p> + +<p>I had to re-type this one a few times because I'm trying to +separate "disadvantages" from "areas that need improvement" (which is +what I originally rambled on about)</p> + +<p>The biggest disadvantage I can think of is lack of manpower. The +project could do so much more if there were more good contributors. I +think some of the problems are external too. Free software and free +content in education is a no-brainer but it takes some time to catch +on. When you've been working with the same proprietary eco-system for +years and have gotten used to it, it can be hard to adjust to some +concepts in the free software world. It would be nice if there were +more Debian Edu consultants across the world. I'd love to be one +myself but I'm already so over-committed that it's just not possible +currently.</p> + +<p>I think the best short-term solution to that large-scale problem is +for schools to be pro-active and share their experiences and grow +their skills in-house. I'm often saddened to see how much money +educational institutions spend on 3rd party solutions that they don't +have access to after the service has ended and they could've gotten so +much more value otherwise by being more self-sustainable and +autonomous.</p> + +<p><strong>Which free software do you use daily?</strong></p> + +<p>My main laptop dual-boots between Debian and Windows 7. I was +Windows free for years but started dual-booting again last year for +some games which help me focus and relax (Starcraft II in +particular). Gaming support on Linux is improving in leaps and bounds +so I suppose I'll soon be able to regain that disk space :)</p> + +<p>Besides that I rely on Icedove, Chromium, Terminator, Byobu, irssi, +git, Tomboy, KVM, VLC and LibreOffice. Recently I've been torn on +which desktop environment I like and I'm taking some refuge in Xfce +while I figure that out. I like tools that keep things simple. I enjoy +Python and shell scripting. I went to an Arduino workshop recently and +it was awesome seeing how easy and simple the IDE software was to get +up and running in Debian compared to the users running Windows and OS +X.</p> + +<p>I also use mc which some people frown upon slightly. I got used to +using Norton Commander in the early 90's and it stuck (I think the +people who sneer at it is just jealous that they don't know how to use +it :p) + +<p><strong>Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to +get schools to use free software?</strong></p> + +<p>I think trying to force it is unproductive. I also think that in +many cases it's appropriate for schools to use non-free systems and I +don't think that there's any particular moral or ethical problem with +that.</p> + +<p>I do think though that free software can already solve so so many +problems in educational institutions and it's just a shame not taking +advantage of that.</p> + +<p>I also think that some curricula need serious review. For example, +some areas of the world rely heavily on very specific versions of MS +Office, teaching students to parrot menu items instead of learning the +general concepts. I think that's very unproductive because firstly, MS +Office's interface changes drastically every few years and on top of +that it also locks in a generation to a product that might not be the +best solution for them.</p> + +<p>To answer your question, I believe that the right strategy is to +educate and inform, giving someone the information they require to +make a decision that would work for them.</p>