Any thoughts on managing multiple computers in an education setting
Benjamin Bach
benjamin at fairdanmark.dk
Sat Jan 24 23:37:59 UTC 2015
Hi Eric,
Turning back to your first email...
> The only purpose for these machines will be to act as computers with
> internet access (Chrome) and the ability to run selected pieces of
> software.
I don't see that Edubuntu would be the right place to start. Choose the
point of departure that's closest to your destination in terms of
features. Stripping off features is often a lot more problematic than
adding features in my experience.
You might find some inspiration here because the scripts are quite
"straight to the point" about configuring stuff in Edubuntu... if that's
really the distribution you want.
https://github.com/benjaoming/fair-ubuntu-centre/tree/master/installscripts/postinstall/filesystem
For instance, this can get you a bit of the way in terms of locking down
a Gnome session..
https://github.com/benjaoming/fair-ubuntu-centre/blob/master/installscripts/postinstall/filesystem/student/.reset_gconf.sh
Putting this somewhere in your /etc/rc.local will make a certain user
have no password....
# Make student the default login
gpasswd -a student nopasswdlogin
Good luck,
Ben
On 01/24/2015 02:12 PM, Eric Dunbar wrote:
> I found an intriguing guide on how to modify the guest session:
>
> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CustomizeGuestSession
>
> It's apparently possible to have a prepared "user" that gets loaded
> each time the guest session is activated. This would allow me to
> customize things like home page in Chrome, desktop background (which
> could include some basic reminders to never save files to the
> computer), icons for various apps, etc.
>
> Though, the launcher bar for Edubuntu is pretty bad (more like
> absolutely awful) so I'm not sure how I'd overcome that pretty
> terrible limitation :( :(.
>
> On Sat Jan 24 2015 at 4:40:56 PM Eric Dunbar <eric.dunbar at gmail.com
> <mailto:eric.dunbar at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Hi, first of all I want to say, "thank you" to everyone who's
> chimed in. It's been too long since I've been on an Ubuntu-F/LOSS
> list with all the naturally helpful people that are drawn to the
> open source world.
>
> *#1 Edubuntu:*
>
> I've been trying Edubuntu and it doesn't quite seem to fit the
> bill--though, I'm not ready to give up on it yet [used Ubuntu from
> 4.10 through 10.10... just before my eldest son was born :-) ].
>
> The Edubuntu Guest account may solve some of the problems I'm
> envisioning. It says it'll delete all local files after a logout
> which likely means it'll delete all Chrome preferences as well (?).
>
> This is a concern of mine since students will log into Chrome
> using their school account and if they forget to log out
> (inevitable) it'll then leave their Google Drive and mail
> vulnerable to vandalism by the next user until Google requires
> another authentication. And, since there won't be the same level
> of school-level tracking of users as on official school computers
> it will be next to impossible to determine who did what. I'd
> rather head such problems off proactively than act reactively
> after someone's been hurt.
>
> I also just noticed (when I went to install Chrome) that a Chrome
> repository is added to the package manager so it'll stay
> up-to-date. Hmm. Things are looking up for Edubuntu :).
>
> Next step will be to install it onto one of the laptops and then
> create a diskimage of the install and clone it onto the others.
>
> I'm not too worried about conflicts because these laptops will not
> exist on a network where they can see each other. These Edubuntu
> laptops will be automagically sandboxed by the network because
> these devices have to go through a login process that ONLY gives
> them internet access and no LAN access.
>
> *#2 Ubermix*
>
> There's Ubermix (based on Ubuntu 14.04) that shows some promise
> that I'll be experimenting with as well if Edubuntu doesn't quite
> fit the bill.
>
> #3 Brian on this list mentioned *LXC "privileged" containers*.
> I'll have to look that up too but I suspect it requires too much
> on-going maintenance. I really want the machines to be set up
> once, auto-update and then wipe the cookies/history/files every so
> often (every login, daily or weekly?).
>
> Maybe this could be combined with Edubuntu guest to allow remote
> management every so often...?
>
> *#4 Porteus *looks promising. Will have to see whether it fits the
> bill. Would it run Linux apps?
>
> FYI It does say it has auto update:
>
> From: http://porteus-kiosk.org/
>
> 1. DOWNLOAD IT
> Install the ISO to CD/DVD, USB device, hard drive or any other
> type of bootable media.
>
> 2. CUSTOMIZE IT
> The first time you boot, a friendly wizard will guide you through
> the setup process.
>
> 3. FORGET IT
> Our unique automatic update system can take care of important
> required updates.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> On Sat Jan 24 2015 at 8:33:38 AM João Silva
> <joao.silva2k9 at gmail.com <mailto:joao.silva2k9 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Hi Eric,
>
> From the requirements you present seems more like a task for a
> kiosk distribution.
>
> I tried recently the porteus kiosk and I was very impressed
> with the level of costumization that it offered. Just not sure
> about the auto update feature.
>
> BR,
>
> João Silva
>
> Em 24/01/2015 11:47, "Eric Dunbar" <eric.dunbar at gmail.com
> <mailto:eric.dunbar at gmail.com>> escreveu:
>
> Thank you for your reply Jesse.
>
> You've forced me to think more clearly about my criteria:
>
> #1 Auto-update is a must
> #2 Flash is a must and the ability to play common closed
> codecs is desirable (thus the need for Chrome or a
> Chromium that can be linked to an auto-update of Flash :(
> #3 Automatic clearing of cookies upon exit so students
> don't remain logged in on websites
> #4 Automatic logging out of Google's accounts upon exit.
> #5 Easy reset of default user account to fresh in the
> (inevitable) event of vandalism/pranks
> #6 Perhaps even an auto-reset of the user account since
> that would pre-empt problems)
>
> The appeal of Linux is that it would allow us to continue
> using binaries on a batch of laptops that are at the end
> of their service support period and have become
> excrutiatingly slow under Windows 7 (they're 7 years old
> and have only 2 GB of RAM :).
>
> Chromium OS, in theory, is a good solution but the
> difficulty is that auto-update is a work-in-progress
> (pretty much non-existent). What I need is install once,
> autoupdate and leave alone.
>
> Webconverger is intriguing but when I look at the
> description (and complaints) for Webconverger I see
> concerns over nagware (which would be inappropriate in a
> school setting) and the Webconverger website itself says
> its not possible to customize the "free" vesion. Spending
> the thousands of $$$s required to get Webconverger
> up-and-running would be pointless--If I were to spend
> actual money on this project I'd simply get ChromeBooks.
>
> From experience I know that what I'm looking for is
> possible and that, with enough time, I could configure
> this but I lack that time! I was hoping that Linux had
> evolved to the point where the likes of Edubuntu had
> progressed to this stage of one-stop-shop but I'm not
> feeling the love yet :(.
>
> The search continues--if only I had the time... this could
> be fun :).
>
> PS It does feel good to be booting into a Linux
> environment again... brings back memories... and, I'm a
> little sad because the overall progress has slowed. I
> don't see a profound difference in usability between my
> first experiences with Ubuntu in 2005 (I cut my teeth on
> YellowDogLinux... which itself wasn't too troublesome) and
> my brief foray into Edubuntu 14.04. It still feels more
> like a tinkerer's OS, but, I guess that reflects on who
> drives the creation of this software :).
>
> Take care, Eric.
>
> On 23 January 2015 at 21:35, Jesse Griffin
> <jag3773 at gmail.com <mailto:jag3773 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> You should consider Chrome OS,
> http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os. You can get
> pre-built images from http://chromeos.hexxeh.net.
>
> Webconverger is another option, a web kiosk based on
> Firefox.
>
> On Jan 23, 2015 2:02 PM, "Eric Dunbar"
> <eric.dunbar at gmail.com <mailto:eric.dunbar at gmail.com>>
> wrote:
>
> Wow. It's been a while since I've been on an
> Ubuntu mailing list! (my children are now a few
> years old :).
>
> What I'm trying to do is the following...
>
> Set up 20-40 HP E6400 laptops with Edubuntu/Ubuntu
> *without* having users login. It will not be
> possible to access our network's authentication
> servers so there's no point to going through the
> hassle of setting up users.
>
> Users will have to authenticate anyway to be able
> to access the internet so there's the same
> accountability as if they were logging in with a
> personal electronic device..
>
> The only purpose for these machines will be to act
> as computers with internet access (Chrome) and the
> ability to run selected pieces of software. I do
> not want (or need) authentication.
>
> I'd like these machines to be able to auto-update,
> and, ideally, I'd also be able to have apps
> installed and configuration files copied to these
> machines automagically, perhaps from a central
> server but that's not necessarily crucial.
>
> I'd also like to be able to reset the default user
> account to a fresh account after each login.
> Alternately, if it's possible to use a Google
> account to login to Edubuntu that would be a great
> solution (our school now provides students with
> Google accounts).
>
> Any thoughts? Anyone aware of a good place to
> begin (I've searched the internet but come up
> empty handed so far ;)?
>
> Wow. it's been so long since I played with Linux.
> Children really chew up my own play time :(.
>
> Thanks, Eric.
>
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>
--
Benjamin Bach
Software development, board member, 100% volunteer
FAIR Denmark // www.fairdanmark.dk
Ensuring digital longevity and development through free, open knowledge and software
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