[00:41] <igotnotime> I want Linux am I in the right place for it?
[00:42] <igotnotime> ok sorry for the sarcasm, I do have a few serious questions though....
[00:42] <igotnotime> I want to setup a server and have thin clients for my kids to use
[00:42] <igotnotime> I remember using this distro a few years ago and it seemed ideal for this type of setting
[00:43] <igotnotime> but there are a couple windows apps I need, and had questions on using virtualbox with edu... is is possible to do this?
[00:43] <igotnotime> is this***
[00:44] <igotnotime> should I try the ubuntu channel?
[00:45] <LaserJock> I think it is possible
[00:45] <igotnotime> ok good :)
[00:46] <LaserJock> not sure how fast it'd be though
[00:46] <igotnotime> being fairly new to the concept of thin clients, I am curious when going through the edubuntu install I seen the option for server and client both among the install options
[00:46] <igotnotime> is it really that simple?
[00:47] <igotnotime> just choose client for my kids' computers meanwhile choose server for the computer that sits in the closet as the server?
[00:47] <LaserJock> you saw "client" in the install options?
[00:47] <igotnotime> something to that effect Jock, I will have to look again but yes
[00:48] <igotnotime> there were 6-8 options and something phrased close enough that I assumed it was just a login script
[00:49] <LaserJock> hmm
[00:49] <LaserJock> actually there is nothing to do on the clients
[00:49] <igotnotime> I could have mis-interpreted it
[00:49] <igotnotime> just like a pcx or boot from the NIC?
[00:49] <LaserJock> yep, exactly
[00:49] <igotnotime> nice
[00:49] <igotnotime> with no OS even???
[00:50] <LaserJock> what happens is that when it pcx boots it transfers over a kernel and X
[00:50] <LaserJock> then connects to the server and sets up the X fowarding
[00:50] <igotnotime> does that kill your boot time vs. something embedded?
[00:50] <LaserJock> perhaps some
[00:50] <igotnotime> At my bank their boot time is like 4 seconds, I want that!
[00:50] <igotnotime> lol
[00:51] <LaserJock> well, it's probably gonna be slower than 4s
[00:51] <igotnotime> :)
[00:51] <igotnotime> would it be reasonably close to an installed system's time?
[00:51] <LaserJock> many thin clients have no hard drive
[00:51] <igotnotime> or in theory could we get it close?
[00:52] <LaserJock> you mean the time it takes a client to boot?
[00:52] <igotnotime> yes sir
[00:52] <igotnotime> I am sorry that this is so far out of the realm of the normal questions coming in here
[00:52] <LaserJock> well, it could be faster than a normal desktop
[00:52] <igotnotime> nice
[00:53] <LaserJock> if you have a fast network all it's doing is transferring the kernel and a minimal chroot
[00:53] <igotnotime> last question for now I think.... When I install to the server, are there any specific options I need to enable for this?
[00:53] <LaserJock> the actual booting is what takes longest I believe and that's just dependent on the hardware and kernel
[00:53] <LaserJock> what version are you wanting to install?
[00:54] <igotnotime> Well the actual boot would be the server booting right? I plan to never turn that off
[00:54] <LaserJock> igotnotime: no, it's actually booting a kernel on the thin client
[00:54] <igotnotime> I do not even know what kernel version Edu is at now
[00:54] <igotnotime> ok Jock I see, so it is not the way a MS server would operate with 'virtualization' then?
[00:55] <igotnotime> btw I really do appreciate you taking the time to help me Jock
[00:55] <igotnotime> saving me many hours of reading
[00:55] <LaserJock> no problem
[00:56] <LaserJock> the pxe boot transfers the kernel/chroot via tftp
[00:56] <LaserJock> then boots basically like a normal machine
[00:56] <LaserJock> except of course it's actually running the desktop and all that on the server :-)
[00:57] <LaserJock> you probably want to have a look at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardyClassroomServer
[00:57] <igotnotime> At my office for example, the MS server basically is always on and I merely login and instantly my desktop is there but it never really runs on my desktop it is fully powered by the ram, cpu and hard drives of the server itself
[00:57] <igotnotime> thank you very much will open now
[00:58] <LaserJock> well, it's similar
[00:58] <LaserJock> if you turn off the client it still takes time to start it back up I'm guessing
[00:58] <igotnotime> so in a sense the client itself is merely running a shell, the desktop is local and that is about it?
[00:59] <igotnotime> yes this is the same thing I want :D:D
[00:59] <igotnotime> thanks for the link
[00:59] <LaserJock> yeah, the client is just running the bits it needs to communicate with the server
[00:59] <LaserJock> things like X, ssh, and some filesystem stuff
[01:00] <igotnotime> have you ever seen this in action?
[01:00] <LaserJock> but the desktop and everything graphical basically, is running on the server
[01:00] <LaserJock> seen what?
[01:00] <igotnotime> a client running like this
[01:00] <igotnotime> is the response time fast enough that it 'feels' local?
[01:00] <igotnotime> the mouse pointer isn't laggy or anything I mean?
[01:01] <LaserJock> it really depends on the hardware
[01:01] <igotnotime> ok
[01:01] <LaserJock> but with most things it's just like being there
[01:02] <igotnotime> I am eager to go down to the basement and gather up as much as I can from my graveyard to see how many I can make now! LOL
[01:02] <LaserJock> heh
[01:02] <igotnotime> thank you very much
[01:02] <LaserJock> it's fun to experiment with
[01:02] <igotnotime> I can idle here?
[01:02] <LaserJock> I don't use it professionally or anything
[01:02] <LaserJock> of course, feel free to
[01:02] <LaserJock> but there are a number of people who use LTSP for largish school and business deployments
[01:03] <igotnotime> ya there is always that one or two app that is a must have that prevents me everytime from going fully to nix
[01:03] <LaserJock> it's rather amazing
[01:03] <igotnotime> between virtualbox and wine that gap is almost filled though
[01:03] <LaserJock> people can generally get at least 30 clients on one server with good hardware
[01:03] <igotnotime> plenty for my kids! :) just web browsers not encoding video or using CAD
[01:04] <igotnotime> ok I am off to read the link you gave me :) See you soon enough
[01:05] <LaserJock> ok, have fun
[03:33] <gre1> hello, is anyone around able to help me?
[15:02] <Nuba1> hi, is there a conflict when editting user settings from both the user-manager on the server and editting the passwd and shadow files directly?
[15:03] <Nuba1> I can only seem to get user settings changed when editting the passwd and shadow files directly
[15:06] <Nuba1> that and I have a dead package that I can't seem to get rid of no matter what I try:
[15:06] <Nuba1> E: The package googleearth-4.2-data needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it.
[15:07] <Nuba1> I took out the medibuntu archive because it kept trying to download the package and failed
[15:07] <Nuba1> how do I stop apt trying to look for it all the time