Thank you for your suggestion Diane.<div><br></div><div>It is an idea that I toyed with a while ago but o<span style="font-size:13.1999998092651px">f late I've been running into problems with incognito mode and some websites (most notably ones that rely on Flash). Incognito prevents sites from using local storage which also prevents some sites from operating properly :(.</span><div><div><br></div><div>There is a Google administrative tool that allows you to manage Chrome and Chrome accounts that does what I'd like but that requires $$$. And, my whole goal is to avoid spending $$$s, partly as proof-of-concept to show that it's possible to create somewhat functional computers for nothing (the problem is that they're not centrally managed which limits them to certain networks), partly because if $$$s are to be spent then it becomes cost effective to start buying Chromebooks.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat Jan 24 2015 at 7:48:26 PM Mrs. Leikvold <<a href="mailto:dleikvold@longmontchristian.org">dleikvold@longmontchristian.org</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(7,55,99)">For clearing Google Chrome information, you could set up the launch icon for Chrome to include a --incognito switch when launching. This will launch an incognito session and any information they use during the session will be lost after they exit Google Chrome. Just a thought...</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><font face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif">Diane Leikvold</font><div><font face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif">Longmont Christian School</font></div><div><font face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif">IT/Technology Coordinator</font></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra">
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Jan 24, 2015 at 4:37 PM, Benjamin Bach <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:benjamin@fairdanmark.dk" target="_blank">benjamin@fairdanmark.dk</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Hi Eric<small>,</small><br>
<br>
Turning back to your first email...<span><br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">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.</blockquote>
<br></span>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://github.com/benjaoming/fair-ubuntu-centre/tree/master/installscripts/postinstall/filesystem" target="_blank">https://github.com/benjaoming/fair-ubuntu-centre/tree/master/installscripts/postinstall/filesystem</a><br>
<br>
For instance, this can get you a bit of the way in terms of locking
down a Gnome session..<br>
<br>
<a href="https://github.com/benjaoming/fair-ubuntu-centre/blob/master/installscripts/postinstall/filesystem/student/.reset_gconf.sh" target="_blank">https://github.com/benjaoming/fair-ubuntu-centre/blob/master/installscripts/postinstall/filesystem/student/.reset_gconf.sh</a><br>
<br>
Putting this somewhere in your /etc/rc.local will make a certain
user have no password....<br>
<br>
# Make student the default login<br>
gpasswd -a student nopasswdlogin<br>
<br>
Good luck,<br>
Ben<div><div><br>
<br>
<div>On 01/24/2015 02:12 PM, Eric Dunbar
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">I found an intriguing guide on how to modify the guest
session:<br>
<br>
<div><a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CustomizeGuestSession" target="_blank">https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CustomizeGuestSession</a><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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 :( :(.</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sat Jan 24 2015 at 4:40:56 PM Eric
Dunbar <<a href="mailto:eric.dunbar@gmail.com" target="_blank">eric.dunbar@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">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.
<div><br>
<div>
<div><b>#1 Edubuntu:</b></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<span style="font-size:13.1999998092651px">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 :-) ].</span>
<div style="font-size:13.1999998092651px"><br>
</div>
<div>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 (?).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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 :).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.<br>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>#2 Ubermix</b></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>#3 Brian on this list mentioned <b>LXC
"privileged" containers</b>. 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?).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Maybe this could be combined with Edubuntu guest to
allow remote management every so often...?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><b>#4 Porteus </b>looks promising. Will have to
see whether it fits the bill. W<span style="font-size:13.1999998092651px">ould it run
Linux apps?</span></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div>FYI <span style="line-height:1.5;font-size:13.1999998092651px">It
does say it has auto update:</span>
<div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>From: <a href="http://porteus-kiosk.org/" target="_blank">http://porteus-kiosk.org/</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div>1. DOWNLOAD IT</div>
<div>Install the ISO to CD/DVD, USB device, hard
drive or any other type of bootable media.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div>2. CUSTOMIZE IT</div>
<div>The first time you boot, a friendly
wizard will guide you through the setup
process.</div>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div>3. FORGET IT</div>
<div>Our unique automatic update system can
take care of important required updates.</div>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks!</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sat Jan 24 2015 at 8:33:38
AM Joćo Silva <<a href="mailto:joao.silva2k9@gmail.com" target="_blank">joao.silva2k9@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<p dir="ltr">Hi Eric,</p>
<p dir="ltr">From the requirements you present seems
more like a task for a kiosk distribution.</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p dir="ltr">BR,</p>
<p dir="ltr">Joćo Silva</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">Em 24/01/2015 11:47, "Eric
Dunbar" <<a href="mailto:eric.dunbar@gmail.com" target="_blank">eric.dunbar@gmail.com</a>>
escreveu:</div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br type="attribution">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">Thank you for your reply Jesse.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>You've forced me to think more clearly
about my criteria:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>#1 Auto-update is a must</div>
<div>#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 :(</div>
<div>#3 Automatic clearing of cookies upon
exit so students don't remain logged in on
websites</div>
<div>#4 Automatic logging out of Google's
accounts upon exit.</div>
<div>#5 Easy reset of default user account to
fresh in the (inevitable) event of
vandalism/pranks</div>
<div>#6 Perhaps even an auto-reset of the user
account since that would pre-empt problems)</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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 :).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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 :(.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The search continues--if only I had the
time... this could be fun :).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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 :).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Take care, Eric.</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On 23 January 2015 at
21:35, Jesse Griffin <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jag3773@gmail.com" target="_blank">jag3773@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<p dir="ltr">You should consider Chrome
OS, <a href="http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os" target="_blank">http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os</a>.
You can get pre-built images from <a href="http://chromeos.hexxeh.net" target="_blank">http://chromeos.hexxeh.net</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Webconverger is another
option, a web kiosk based on Firefox.</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<div>On Jan 23, 2015 2:02 PM, "Eric
Dunbar" <<a href="mailto:eric.dunbar@gmail.com" target="_blank">eric.dunbar@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:<br type="attribution">
</div>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">Wow. It's been a
while since I've been on an
Ubuntu mailing list! (my
children are now a few years old
:).
<div><br>
</div>
<div>What I'm trying to do is
the following...</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Set up 20-40 HP E6400
laptops with Edubuntu/Ubuntu <b>without</b> 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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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..</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>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).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Any thoughts? Anyone aware
of a good place to begin (I've
searched the internet but come
up empty handed so far ;)?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Wow. it's been so long
since I played with Linux.
Children really chew up my own
play time :(.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks, Eric.</div>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
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</div></div><pre cols="72">--
Benjamin Bach
Software development, board member, 100% volunteer
FAIR Denmark // <a href="http://www.fairdanmark.dk" target="_blank">www.fairdanmark.dk</a>
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