[SC.LUG] Re:[linux-users] Re:Infopoints

[Ben Higginbottom]

richard smedley wrote:

>This is a great idea, which could work well if enough volunteers
>can be found. An LTSP set-up would be ideal, enabling us to cope
>with whatever machines volunteers (or curious members of
>the public) bring along, and allowing us to present the
>possibilities of recycling old machines into use for
>school, charities and small businesses.

Regarding both yours and Jono's points for LTSP and schools, I have to say that neither 
LTSP or Nymph - a medium client package from fen systems is really suitable for uk schools,
certainly not for secondary schools anyway. Neither has a particularly suitable filing system 
such as unionfs and both require at the very least a good understanding of linux, which I can 
assure you is for the most part absent in school IT departments. Thin clients also require decent
networks, which are also quite rare and reminds me that I will soon have a _unmanaged_ layer 3 switch
available for some mu- err, lucky not for profit organisation. :)

Better solutions would be either shaolin aptus or win4lin terminal server, both of which are non free though.

 
>AFFS(1) should be happy to provide some information leaflets
>for this project, and we should perhaps produce some with a
>local slant. One point: you mention distributing Knoppix on your
>site. iirc Knoppix currently contains non-free software - perhaps
>we could look at the next release of Morphix, which should be OK.

I'd suggest the games varient of morphix for bowlers and ensure OOo is on the disc as well, which will cover
all common computer activities. Tim Fletcher and I also have plans of creating a manchester education varient 
of knoppix both for Trinity's switch to at least dual-boot systems this year and to send around manchester schools
currently trapped on win98.

Regards,

Ben