There is a certain cross-over between the -Debian Edu / Skolelinux -project and the Edubuntu -project, 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.
- -Who are you, and how do you spend your days?
- -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 :)
- -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.
- -How did you get in contact with the Skolelinux / Debian Edu -project?
- -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.
- -What do you see as the advantages of Skolelinux / Debian -Edu?
- -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.
- -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.
- -What do you see as the disadvantages of Skolelinux / Debian -Edu?
- -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)
- -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.
- -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.
- -Which free software do you use daily?
- -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 :)
- -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.
- -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) - -
Which strategy do you believe is the right one to use to -get schools to use free software?
- -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.
- -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.
- -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.
- -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.
+ +The other day I was pleased and surprised to discover that Marcelo +Salvador had published a +video on +Youtube showing how to install the standalone Debian Edu / +Skolelinux profile. This is the profile intended for use at home or +on laptops that should not be integrated into the provided network +services (no central home directory, no Kerberos / LDAP directory etc, +in other word a single user machine). The result is 11 minutes long, +and show some user applications (seem to be rather randomly picked). +Missed a few of my favorites like celestia, planets and chromium +showing the Zygote Body 3D model +of the human body, but I guess he did not know about those or find +other programs more interesting. :) And the video do not show the +advantages I believe is one of the most valuable featuers in Debian +Edu, its central school server making it possible to run hundreds of +computers without hard drives by installing one central +LTSP server.
+ +Anyway, check out the video, embedded below and linked to above:
+ + + +Are there other nice videos demonstrating Skolelinux? Please let +me know. :)
When installing RedHat, Fedora, Debian and Ubuntu on some machines, -the screen just turn black when Linux boot, either during installation -or on first boot from the hard disk. I've seen it once in a while the -last few years, but only recently understood the cause. I've seen it -on HP laptops, and on my latest acquaintance the Packard Bell laptop. -The reason seem to be in the wiring of some laptops. The system to -control the screen background light is inverted, so when Linux try to -turn the brightness fully on, it end up turning it off instead. I do -not know which Linux drivers are affected, but this post is about the -i915 driver used by the -Packard Bell -EasyNote LV, Thinkpad X40 and many other laptops.
- -The problem can be worked around two ways. Either by adding -i915.invert_brightness=1 as a kernel option, or by adding a file in -/etc/modprobe.d/ to tell modprobe to add the invert_brightness=1 -option when it load the i915 kernel module. On Debian and Ubuntu, it -can be done by running these commands as root:
- --echo options i915 invert_brightness=1 | tee /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf -update-initramfs -u -k all -- -
Since March 2012 there is -a -mechanism in the Linux kernel to tell the i915 driver which -hardware have this problem, and get the driver to invert the -brightness setting automatically. To use it, one need to add a row in -the -intel_quirks array in the driver source -drivers/gpu/drm/i915/intel_display.c (look for "static -struct intel_quirk intel_quirks"), specifying the PCI device -number (vendor number 8086 is assumed) and subdevice vendor and device -number.
- -My Packard Bell EasyNote LV got this output from lspci --vvnn for the video card in question:
- --00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation \ - 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller [8086:0156] \ - (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller]) - Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:0688] - Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- \ - ParErr- Stepping- SE RR- FastB2B- DisINTx+ - Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- \ -- -SERR- [disabled] - Capabilities: - Kernel driver in use: i915 -
The resulting intel_quirks entry would then look like this:
- --struct intel_quirk intel_quirks[] = { - ... - /* Packard Bell EasyNote LV11HC needs invert brightness quirk */ - { 0x0156, 0x1025, 0x0688, quirk_invert_brightness }, - ... -} -- -
According to the kernel module instructions (as seen using -modinfo i915), information about hardware needing the -invert_brightness flag should be sent to the -dri-devel -(at) lists.freedesktop.org mailing list to reach the kernel -developers. But my email about the laptop sent 2013-06-03 have not -yet shown up in -the -web archive for the mailing list, so I suspect they do not accept -emails from non-subscribers. Because of this, I sent my patch also to -the Debian bug tracking system instead as -BTS report #710938, to make -sure the patch is not lost.
- -Unfortunately, it is not enough to fix the kernel to get Laptops -with this problem working properly with Linux. If you use Gnome, your -worries should be over at this point. But if you use KDE, there is -something in KDE ignoring the invert_brightness setting and turning on -the screen during login. I've reported it to Debian as -BTS report #711237, and -have no idea yet how to figure out exactly what subsystem is doing -this. Perhaps you can help? Perhaps you know what the Gnome -developers did to handle this, and this can give a clue to the KDE -developers? Or you know where in KDE the screen brightness is changed -during login? If so, please update the BTS report (or get in touch if -you do not know how to update BTS).
+ +A few hours ago, the announcement for the first stable release of +Debian Edu Wheezy went out from the Debian publicity team. The +complete announcement text can be found at +the Debian News +section, translated to several languages. Please check it out.
+ +There is one minor known problem that we will fix very soon. One +can not install a amd64 Thin Client Server using PXE, as the /var/ +partition is too small. A workaround is to extend the partition (use +lvresize + resize2fs in tty 2 while installing).
The third wheezy based alpha release of Debian Edu was wrapped up -today. This is the release announcement:
+ +The Freedombox +project have been going on for a while, and have presented the +vision, ideas and solution several places. Here is a little +collection of videos of talks and presentation of the project.
-New features for Debian Edu 7.0.0 alpha2 released -2013-06-10
+-
-
- FreedomBox - +2,5 minute marketing film (Youtube) -
- Eben Moglen +discusses the Freedombox on CBS news 2011 (Youtube) -
- Eben Moglen - +Freedom in the Cloud - Software Freedom, Privacy and and Security for +Web 2.0 and Cloud computing at ISOC-NY Public Meeting 2010 +(Youtube) -
- Fosdem 2011 +Keynote by Eben Moglen presenting the Freedombox (Youtube) -
- Presentation of +the Freedombox by James Vasile at Elevate in Gratz 2011 (Youtube) -
- Freedombox - +Discovery, Identity, and Trust by Nick Daly at Freedombox Hackfest New +York City in 2012 (Youtube) -
- Iceweasel was updated from 10 to 17. (DSA 2699-1) -
- Updated libxv (DSA-2674), libxvmc (DSA-2675), libxfixes (DSA-2676), libxrender (DSA-2677), mesa (DSA-2678), xserver-xorg-video-openchrome (DSA-2679), libxt (DSA-2680), libxcursor (DSA-2681), libxext (DSA-2682), libxi (DSA-2683), libxrandr (DSA-2684), libxp (DSA-2685), libxcb (DSA-2686), libfs (DSA-2687), libxres (DSA-2688), libxtst (DSA-2689), libxxf86dga (DSA-2690), libxinerama (DSA-2691), libxxf86vm (DSA-2692), libx11 (DSA-2693), chromium-browser (DSA-2695), gnutls26 (DSA-2697), wireshark (DSA-2700), krb5 (DSA-2701), telepathy-gabble (DSA-2702) and subversion (DSA-2703). -
- Switched xrdp on thin client servers to use tightvncserver instead of xvnc4. -
- Now install software oscilloscope xoscope by default. -
- Now install music tools gtick, lingot and pianobooster by default. +
- Introduction +to the Freedombox at Freedombox Hackfest New York City in 2012 +(Youtube) -
- Freedom, Out +of the Box! by Bdale Garbee at linux.conf.au Ballarat, 2012 (Youtube) -
- Freedombox +1.0 by Eben Moglen and Bdale Garbee at Fosdem 2013 (FOSDEM) -
- What is the +FreedomBox today by Bdale Garbee at Debconf13 in Vaumarcus +2013 (Youtube) -
- The subnet-change script is now able to change all files needing a change on the main-server when changing the IP network used. -
- Updated translation of the installation. -
- New Romanian translation. -
- Fix security problem causing root and first user password to no longer show up in /var/cache/debconf/templates.dat. -
- Fix roaming workstation setup (Closed in libpam-mklocaluser/0.8, libpam-mklocaluser/0.8~deb7u1: #706753: libpam-mklocaluser: Fail to create local user during first login). -
- Made roaming workstation setup more robust in non-Debian Edu environments. -
- New script debian-edu-bless to transform a Debian installation to a Debian Edu profile. -
- Adjust Iceweasel setup to improve performance when $HOME is on NFS. -
- More testsuite tests. -
- Make automatic proxy configuration more robust. -
- Adjust GOsa² GUI configuration. +
- Update thin client and diskless workstation setup to work with -LTSP in Wheezy. +
This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux 7.0.0 edu -alpha2, 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. 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 third test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically -this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the -Squeeze release.
+Software updates
+-
+
Other changes
+-
+
A larger list is available from +the +Freedombox Wiki.
+ +On other news, I am happy to report that Freedombox based on Debian +Jessie is coming along quite well, and soon both Owncloud and using +Tor should be available for testers of the Freedombox solution. :) In +a few weeks I hope everything needed to test it is included in Debian. +The withsqlite package is already in Debian, and the plinth package is +pending in NEW. The third and vital part of that puzzle is the +metapackage/setup framework, which is still pending an upload. Join +us on IRC +(#freedombox on irc.debian.org) and +the +mailing list if you want to help make this vision come true.
+The third wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today. This is the release announcement from Holger Levsen:
-+Hi,
-Update IMAP server setup. +it is my pleasure to announce the third beta release (beta 2 for +short) of Debian Edu / +Skolelinux based on Debian Wheezy!
-Fix login into Skolelinux Backup Tool (Closed in -slbackup-php/0.4.4-1: #700257: slbackup-php: Fails to submit correctly -entered password). +Please test these images extensivly, if no new problems are found +we plan to do this final Debian Edu Wheezy release this coming +weekend. We are not aware of any major problems or blockers in beta2, +if you find something, please notify us immediately!
- +(More about the remaining steps for the Edu Wheezy release in +another mail to the edu list tonight or tomorrow...)
-Known issues
+Noteworthy changes and software updates for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b2 +compared to beta1:
-
+ +- DVD binary and source images are not yet ready.
+- The KDE proxy setup has been adjusted to use the provided wpad.dat. This +also gets Chromium to use this proxy.
+- Install kdepim-groupware with KDE desktops to make sure korganizer +understand ical/dav sources.
+- Increased default maximum size of /var/spool/squid and /skole/backup on the +main server.
+- A source DVD image containing all source packages is now available as well.
+- Updates for chromium (29.0.1547.57-1~deb7u1), imagemagick +(6.7.7.10-5+deb7u2), php5 (5.4.4-14+deb7u4), libmodplug +(0.8.8.4-3+deb7u1+git20130828), tiff (4.0.2-6+deb7u2), linux-image +(3.2.0-4-486_3.2.46-1+deb7u1).
+ +Where to get it:
-No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) -available yet (Open in gosa/2.7.4-4: #698840: gosa-plugin-ldapmanager: -missing import feature). +To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use
-Missing artwork for the KDE desktop (and probably a few others). ++
-- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-CD.iso
+- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-CD.iso
+- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-CD.iso .
+KDE Debian submenu lacks icons (Closed: #502192: menu-xdg: invents -own icon names instead of using existing). This will remain -unfixed. +The SHA1SUM of this image is: 3a1c89f4666df80eebcd46c5bf5fedb866f9472f
+To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use +
+
-- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-USB.iso
+- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-USB.iso
+- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-USB.iso .
Where to get it
+The SHA1SUM of this image is: 702d1718548f401c74bfa6df9f032cc3ee16597e
-To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use
+The Source DVD image has the filename +debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b2-source-DVD.iso and the SHA1SUM +089eed8b3f962db47aae1f6a9685e9bb2fa30ca5 and is available the same way +as the other isos.
-+
+How to report bugs
-- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso
+For information how to report bugs please see +
-
http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso
-- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.0+edu0~a2-CD.iso .
+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. 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 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.
-The MD5SUM of this image is: 27bbcace407743382f3c42c08dbe8178 -
+
The SHA1SUM of this image is: e35f7d7908566cd3075375b3721fa10ee420d419This is the seventh test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically +this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the +Squeeze release.
-How to report bugs
+Notes for upgrades from Alpha Prereleases
-http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/HowTo/ReportBugs +
Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the +versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta +release. Both alpha and beta0 based installations should reinstall or +deal with gosa.conf manually; there are two options: (1) Keep +gosa.conf and edit this file as outlined on the mailing list. (2) +Accept the new version of gosa.conf and replace both contained admin +password placeholders with the password hashes found in the old one +(backup copy!). In both cases all users need to change their password +to make sure a password is set for CIFS access to their home +directory.
+ + +cheers, +
+
Holger