Great job guys!

[David Trask]

Just a note to let you all know that I have been a bit busy with a
complete conversion of my school to Edubuntu.  I have so much "faith" I
even replaced all the remaining Windows desktops with Edubuntu
workstations.  So I have now completed 2 Edubuntu Classroom Servers
running dhcp/load-balance failover....an Ubuntu Server running Samba/LDAP
using smbldap-installer....and about 50 Edubuntu Workstations....(I simply
have to finish cloning them using my new Clonezilla/DRBL server running on
Edubuntu).  So...I've made the total switch from K12LTSP to Edubuntu. 
Phew!  Nothing against K12LTSP at all...I simply believe in where Edubuntu
is headed and what you guys are doing.  My school administration
(principal) is very pleased!  He wholeheartedly supporting the move to
Edubuntu workstations and moving away from those last Windows machines
(they were mostly teacher's machines).  I am running Windows in VMWare
Player on those machines for transition's sake, but I doubt many folks
will use it.  My experience is...whatever the machine boots as will be
what they use most of the time.  I have a whole bunch of little
thin-clients and bought a bunch more this summer.  If I keep going at this
rate we'll have more thin-clients than kids  ;-)

So...great work!  Special thanks to Oli and Scott for their work.....and
many thanks to all who work hard every day making this work for us.

Now that I'm totally converted....some feedback....

I've been perusing the K12OS list as well as the edubuntu-users
list....one very common gripe is the Thin-Client Manager.  The lists,
processes, and things like that are working fine, but the screen view,
demo and so forth are not.  We need to get this working well...especially
in situations where folks authenticate centrally rather than on the
Edubuntu server....most large installations will most certainly use some
other server for authentication.  K12LTSP has TeacherTool which works very
well....I've used it for years....I even helped convert it for K12LTSP in
the very beginning.  Nonetheless, it's things like this that the teachers
and admins really need which is why it keeps coming up.  So...if we can
troubleshoot this...that's be great.  I know Jim Kronebusch is having
issues with it...and am I and a bunch of others who are waiting to see
what we come up with.

Documentation:  The documentation for things like initial set up....fixing
LDM....those types of things is sorely lacking.  I intend to fix some of
that next week as I'll write up what I've done this past week.  We need to
focus on "newbie-speak"

Splash screen:  Not only is it pretty....it lends a feeling of
user-friendliness when thin-clients are booting, however there are
resolution issues and issues with some thin-clients being unable to use
it....(I had to turn it off)

That's it for the moment....once again....Bravo!  I'm looking forward to
the ride and the adventure!

David N. Trask
Technology Teacher/Director
Vassalboro Community School
dtrask at vcsvikings.org
(207)923-3100