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Linux in my senior school

sisob · 2002-03-22 20:27:03

myself and a friend(Ferror on boards) have convinced our school librarian to replace windows on the 6 library computers with Linux. I'm planning on using mdk8.2 Just wondering if anyone has any experince on Linux in schools... also the pc's are duron 750's with the cheepest hd, mobo and ram on the market. They have 48mb…

22-03-2002 8:27pm

#1

sisob

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myself and a friend(Ferror on boards) have convinced our school librarian to replace windows on the 6 library computers with Linux.

I'm planning on using mdk8.2

Just wondering if anyone has any experince on Linux in schools...

also the pc's are duron 750's with the cheepest hd, mobo and ram on the market. They have 48mb ram each - and it's probably 66mhz. I think i can convince the school to get 64 mb more per machine. In my experience linux is even too slow with 128mb - but i'm more of a speed deamon than most.

Anyway, to get to the question: any tips on getting a fast but easy to use interface on these pittiful machines(i've have a 266 that uns better). I was thinking GNOME/NAUTILUS/<edit>GALEON</edit>

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#2 22-03-2002 8:51pm

SkepticOne

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Agree with the memory issue. Having only 48Mb does not make best use of a 750Mhz machine. Linux generally needs more memory than windows.

I presume you meant Gnome/Nautilus/Mozilla. I'm a fan of Gnome, but Nautilus is very slow at the moment.

Right now I would go with KDE/Konqueror which is the default desktop with Mandrake.

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#3 22-03-2002 10:11pm

sisob

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Originally posted by SkepticOne
Agree with the memory issue. Having only 48Mb does not make best use of a 750Mhz machine. Linux generally needs more memory than windows.

yeah I use 512MB in my 1Ghz - but i doubt i can get much out of my school

I presume you meant Gnome/Nautilus/Mozilla. I'm a fan of Gnome, but Nautilus is very slow at the moment.

yeah i ment Galeon. Nautilus is a lot faster if you turn off the pretty graphics and change all speed tradeoffs in the preferences to off. All the same I might use gmc.

Right now I would go with KDE/Konqueror which is the default desktop with Mandrake.

I'm gonna try both on a trial machine but I think that GNOME is easier than KDE to cut down.

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#4 23-03-2002 12:17am

daveirl

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This post has been deleted.

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#5 23-03-2002 2:51am

Gavin

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hehe good point. Why fix it if it ain't broken.

Anyway. Those WM's are very heavy.. far too much for low end machines like that. Go for as light as you can. WindowMaker is fairly slim as is Blackbox.

Netscape is crap for on the internet though.. as are just about all browsers for linux.

Gav

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#6 23-03-2002 3:04am

Frank Grimes

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Netscape is crap for on the internet though.. as are just about all browsers for linux.

Mozilla works great on this box, I installed Opera 6 the other day, ain't too bad either

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#7 23-03-2002 9:35am

sisob

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Originally posted by Verb
hehe good point. Why fix it if it ain't broken.

well for windows the school has to keep a perminant contract with some dude to reinstall windows every time some kid fecks them up. This is money better spent on ram IMHO

and this guy has set up an ISDN line shared between 40 computers and even when only one is active you can't get better speeds than a 14.4

Anyway. Those WM's are very heavy.. far too much for low end machines like that. Go for as light as you can. WindowMaker is fairly slim as is Blackbox.

yeah, i'd love to but none of the students have ever used linux so i think that blackbox would be a bit minimal - i'll take a look at WM thanks

Netscape is crap for on the internet though.. as are just about all browsers for linux.

I am not gonna get into an ANTI-IE flame flest - and yes netscape is bloated and sucky, mozilla is a lot better and galeon is THE best internet browser ever to exist - unless you've used it you can't say anything about linux browsers.

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#8 23-03-2002 9:57am

dahamsta

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Well done sisob. I'm probably stating the obvious, but the route I would take in your position is to consult with your local LUG, if you have one, or with ILUG if you don't. It should also be noted that ILUG have an education mailing list, which was set up specifically for this purpose. The list is low traffic, but I feel sure that if you post there, Kate and others will step up to the plate to help you.

Good luck!

adam

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#9 23-03-2002 11:00am

sisob

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Originally posted by dahamsta
Well done sisob. I'm probably stating the obvious, but the route I would take in your position is to consult with your local LUG, if you have one, or with ILUG if you don't. It should also be noted that ILUG have an education mailing list, which was set up specifically for this purpose. The list is low traffic, but I feel sure that if you post there, Kate and others will step up to the plate to help you.

thanks -yeah, I'm on both the lists already, the ILUG is great but they are more likely to respond to obscure vi questions :rolleyes: . there was a great thread about the ECDL on linux a while ago and I started working out how to do it with openoffice - but everyone got bored and didn't bother following it up. Maybe I might get some response if I try again.

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#10 27-03-2002 4:11pm

Crash

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Mark, one question; how long did it take you to convince the school to do that? I've been trying for ages, but eventually gave up when i realised how much extra work it would mean with questions like "wheres word?" and "whats a floppy drive?" (not kidding on that one)

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#11 27-03-2002 9:55pm

Gavin

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Originally posted by sisob

well for windows the school has to keep a perminant contract with some dude to reinstall windows every time some kid fecks them up. This is money better spent on ram IMHO

and this guy has set up an ISDN line shared between 40 computers and even when only one is active you can't get better speeds than a 14.4

yeah, i'd love to but none of the students have ever used linux so i think that blackbox would be a bit minimal - i'll take a look at WM thanks

I am not gonna get into an ANTI-IE flame flest - and yes netscape is bloated and sucky, mozilla is a lot better and galeon is THE best internet browser ever to exist - unless you've used it you can't say anything about linux browsers.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to rise you or anything. I setup linux in my old school as well, see the article on linux.ie about naas cbs. It is a good environment for it, but it does entail a lot of work.

Moreover when you go, who is going to look after the machines ? With the best will in the world, teachers just don't have the time to go learning how to operate new systems. They don't get the money and they don't get the support from the Government. I've come across this first hand..

Gav

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#12 27-03-2002 10:33pm

Crash

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Especially in his sisobs school, they have my old computers/business/history teacher who was terrible at all 3.

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#13 29-03-2002 2:54pm

SheroN

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why not install win2k and lock it down so's the kids can't feck the machines up?.

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#14 04-04-2002 5:26pm

sisob

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Originally posted by Verb

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to rise you or anything. I setup linux in my old school as well, see the article on linux.ie about naas cbs. It is a good environment for it, but it does entail a lot of work.

Moreover when you go, who is going to look after the machines ? With the best will in the world, teachers just don't have the time to go learning how to operate new systems. They don't get the money and they don't get the support from the Government. I've come across this first hand..

Gav

our school has a computer room which all the teachers and students use for class - the ones i thinking of converting are use for nothing but IE.

Thanks for the advice and i'll chack out the article but i think it's worth a try - and there will always be some young nerds to take over when i leave.

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