/srv/irclogs.ubuntu.com/2010/02/09/#edubuntu.txt

stgraberalkisg: ping14:24
alkisgHi stgraber14:25
alkisgThat tftpd thing is a pain :)14:25
stgraberwell, currently I'm debugging some iTalc as it seems the launcher in Karmic is broken with ltsp ;)14:25
alkisgOuch. I think I'll move away from iTalc, as I couldn't make it work in my newest lab. It crashed every few seconds...14:26
alkisgAlso the developer isn't really responsive when one sends patches or questions... :-/14:27
* alkisg wishes there were more upstream italc developers14:27
* alkisg just noticed "Karmic" there. stgraber, in which case, exactly?14:29
stgraberwhen iTalc runs locally on the thin client14:30
stgraberI just found what was wrong and fixed it14:30
stgraberthe code to determine isd_host was inside the except determining isd_port14:31
alkisgAh. Yeah I think Gadi said something about that a week ago... I don't know, I've never used it this way14:31
stgraberso basically, if isd_port is set as xprop, it would never look for isd_host14:31
stgraberanyway, fixed and uploaded to lucid14:31
alkisgMaybe we should set all the info in the xprop14:31
alkisgNot just the port, but the ip as well.14:31
alkisgAh, ok14:31
alkisgWere the shutdown/reboot patches included?14:32
stgraberI don't think so, I'm a bit backlogged on iTalc work.14:32
stgraberwould you be able to propose a branch on LP with everything that you proposed to be included ?14:33
alkisghttps://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/italc/+bug/36796014:33
ubottuUbuntu bug 367960 in italc ""power down" request fails on 9.04; logout instead" [Medium,Incomplete]14:33
alkisgHmmm does that have to be done before FF?14:33
alkisgI could have a look at it later on this month, but not right now...14:33
stgraberno, that's packaging work, I can still upload after FF14:34
alkisgok14:34
ograstgraber, i'd discuss the tftp issue on ubuntu-devel btw ... the path change was long ago already we just didnt sync it anymore in karmic14:35
alkisgogra, so is apache also going to use /srv?14:35
ograprobably, not sure14:35
ograbut i know the changes have been discussed in debian a lot back then14:36
ograso DDs will know about it and comment if you start a thread on u-devel14:36
alkisgAh. If this has been given a fair amount of thought, then maybe the best thing would be to change ltsp to use the new defaults.14:36
ograwell, lets hear people that participated in the debian discussion :)14:37
* alkisg wonders if ltsp-preinst can preseed tftpd..14:37
ogranot sure thats policy compliant14:37
ograsince you cant be sure tftpd isnt already installed14:38
* alkisg asked in ubuntu-devel this morning, but didn't get any answers... so waits for stgraber to make the next move :)14:38
ograso you would change an existing setup14:38
alkisgWhy?14:38
ograi was talking about the ML :)14:38
alkisgWe could check all the debconf selections and conffiles...14:38
ograalkisg, imagine you ahve a server you run since several releases and picked to go with one or the other option ...14:38
ogranow you install ltsp and the setup is silently changed14:39
alkisgIt'll be stored in debconf, then14:39
alkisgNo need to change his setup14:39
alkisgI was talking about preseeding for new setups only...14:39
ograno need to preseed then14:39
alkisgFor the cd installer, preseeding is needed, we don't want to prompt the user about the path14:40
alkisgAnd I wouldn't prompt for new ltsp installations either...14:40
alkisg(if tftp is installed as part of ltsp-server, then we assume we know where we want tftpdir to be)14:41
stgraberalkisg: so you sent an e-mail to ubuntu-devel ?14:41
alkisgstgraber: no - just the irc channell :)14:42
alkisgI'm not subscribed to the ML14:42
sbalneavMorning all14:42
stgraberok, I'll send an e-mail to ubuntu-devel then14:47
sbalneavDid I read a bug report email correctly today?14:47
sbalneavThat edubuntu's live dvd *only* and no alternative install dvd?14:47
sbalneavi.e. the text based one?14:47
alkisgAccording to cjwatson, we're now completely graphical :) No more text-based edubuntu...14:48
stgraberogra, alkisg: I'll pastebin it for both of you to read14:48
alkisgThanks14:49
sbalneavI don't like that at all.14:49
alkisgsbalneav, there's still the live dvd for text based installations...14:50
sbalneavBut the alternative dvd had all the actual packages on them, and could be easily used for ltsp chroot building.14:50
alkisgI think Edubuntu is more targeted to teachers, who don't really like text... they get too much of it for their lessons already :P14:50
alkisg(or students, etc etc)14:51
sbalneavWas this discussed somewhere?14:51
ograyou take away the tasksel option with that14:51
alkisgIn the last few meetings?14:51
ograwhich has no graphical equivalent14:51
alkisgCan't one use the live dvd to install ubuntu, and then tasksel install edubuntu-desktop-gnome on top of that?14:52
* alkisg wasn't the one that put the "no text installer" idea, but supports it...14:52
ograyes, but you cant install a plain server that gives you a LAMP and mail machine for example14:52
ograso you exclude all advanced school admins14:52
ograthe kind of people that dont want a gui on their server14:53
ograbefore you could do both from the same DVD14:53
alkisg? why would advanced school admins that want to install a LAMP / mail server use the edubuntu dvd and not the server one?14:53
ograbecause its already on there and they only need to do one download14:53
stgrabersbalneav: LTSP will be moved in the Live environment. Classroom server wasn't used and had a lot of issues so we chose to drop it for this time and potentially add it back later.14:53
ograyou simply force edubuntu into that GIU only side now14:54
alkisgogra: yes, and save 2 Gb downloads for all teachers/students...14:54
ograwhich excludes university adimns advanced shool admins etc14:54
ogra??14:54
alkisgI mean, if a student wants to download edubuntu, why would he have to download 2 gb more just to support an admin who can use the server cd?14:55
alkisg(and I believe there will be more students using edubuntu than admins...)14:56
ograwell, all i'm saying is that you exclude a lot of people and opportunities that were covered before14:56
ograwhat you actually want is a liveCD apparently14:56
ogranot an edubuntu DVD with all its benefits14:56
alkisgA live edubuntu dvd, yes...14:56
ograbut thats up to you guys14:56
alkisgNot a CD - edu apps don't fit to a single cd14:56
ograi'm just pointing out ...14:56
ograi think its a big mistake, but your choice14:57
alkisgDoesn't the ubuntu live cd cover all those cases?14:57
alkisg(i.e. the admin that wants to install a lamp server etc?)14:57
* ogra somehow thinks he understood that "its own special edu distro again" wrongly 14:58
stgraberogra, sbalneav, alkisg: http://pastebin.com/m2a29411e14:58
ograand specifically all the fuss that went on recently in this channel about a perfect ldap setup, web driven user maintenance etc etc14:58
ograstgraber, wow, i wasnt aware of that version jump :)14:59
alkisgstgraber: syntax error there? "especially has it's very likely to break"14:59
stgraberalkisg: indeed, fixed.14:59
alkisgI think I'd also ask about apache - I think those changes should be synchronized...15:00
ograstgraber, looks good (apart from the typo)15:00
alkisgI.e. they should both move to /srv at the same time, or not at all...15:01
alkisg(i.e. maybe we should leave tftp as it is for now, and change it later, when apache in ubuntu is ready for the change)15:01
ograalkisg, well, follow up on stephanes mail then with that concern15:01
ograsounds valid to me15:02
ograbut should be seen by more eyes15:02
stgraberogra: well, experience showed that university and other cases where you want the server side of Edubuntu currently don't use our DVD as using netboot (mini.iso) is a lot faster. I'm clearly not against shipping a well designed and working Edubuntu server and we'll have that included as soon as we have someone working on it (but I'd avoid shipping the whole desktop twice though)15:02
alkisgMhmok, /me subscribes to the the ML...15:02
ograstgraber, well, but that means if you got it in L+1 you have to reverse all you do in L15:03
alkisgThis one? (it isn't in launchpad?) https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel15:03
ograseems a waste of work to me15:03
ograalkisg, the core lists are mostly in mailman :)15:03
alkisgk, ty15:03
ograand yes, that one15:03
stgraberogra: for Lucid, the main focus is to have the desktop updated, good looking, having a possibility to get the netbook interface and LTSP in a more user friendly way. Then I'm fine with improving the server side in the upcoming releases assuming we have people commiting to work on that.15:04
ograwell, the most discussions i have seen in the channel over the last weeks were by people intrested in contributing to a slick server solution15:04
stgraberogra: well, not really, I wouldn't revert the LTSP change or that repository change. We'd just add what's needed for a server install to the seed and for LTSP, use the chroot that's already included on the DVD15:04
stgraberogra: the LDAP stuff is sbalneav's plan for 12.04 IIRC15:05
ograi'm not talking LTSP here :)15:05
ograand i didnt mean sbalneav who is swamped in other work15:05
ograall persons that expressed interest in joining the team newly seemed to have some server based interests15:05
alkisgAny names?15:06
ograjoerg_ for example15:06
ograi saw at least three other guys in hot discussions here15:06
alkisgI think joerg_ wanted a web-based frontend15:06
ograimho the change you plan simply excludes that part of the community15:06
alkisgThat can even be included in the live dvd... you don't need a text based installer for that..15:07
ograalkisg, how would he get that without the ability to install a webserver ?15:07
alkisgWhy wouldn't he be able to install a web server?15:07
ograwell, as i said its beyond me to discuss that15:07
ograi'm totally swamped in other stuff and surely dont contribute much but my opinion to edubuntu anymore ...15:07
alkisgYour opinion is always welcome15:08
ograi just expressed that opinion ... seems the decision happened anyway :)15:08
ograi just think its a failure15:08
alkisg...but personally I don't understand why those things can't be done from a graphical installer...15:08
ograand wanted to mention that with no offense to anyone or even that decision15:08
ograbecause it doesnt have that ability15:08
ograits a live image installer15:08
* alkisg didn't take part on that decision. He just thinks it was a good decision...15:09
ograand it wont grow that ability15:09
stgraberogra: I guess we'll see how it works. I don't think it's a bad choice for Lucid and everyone seemed happy with it (both at UDS and during meetings). I personaly always had in mind that the Content server or whatever we call it will come back in the near future.15:09
alkisgogra, can't a live cd install a web server if it uses the cd as a package source?15:09
ograalkisg, no, not as its designed atm, it has to be in the live image so everyomne (even desktop installs) gets it15:10
stgraberalkisg: it could and we'll do something like that for the netbook interface and LTSP, though I guess in most case you don't want the whole UI for a web server.15:10
ograthe live installer copies the live image 1:1 and then removes the unneeded bits15:10
ograyou will need to redesign ubiquity for such additional features15:11
ograor have multiple live images15:11
alkisgBut afaik there *are* some packages in the live ubuntu cd... which doesn't have a text based installer... or did I get that wrong?15:11
ograall duplicating themselves15:11
sbalneavSo, basically, for people in countries with poor internet access, if they get someone to mail them an Edubuntu dvd, they can't use it to build the ltsp image.15:11
sbalneavthis is a huge loss.15:11
ograalkisg, you have a /pool directory on the live CD from which you can apt-get install packages manually for non networked systems15:12
joerg_poor countries like germany :)15:12
joerg_with 64kbit isdn internet connections :D15:12
ograjoerg_, ++15:12
ogra:)15:12
stgraberogra: that's true though we'll hack a bit around that (lacking the time to properly patch ubiquity) so the user gets prompted to install the netbook interface and/or LTSP.15:12
stgraberafter ubiquity is done15:12
ograyou are aware that netboot and desktop dont work well together15:12
stgrabersbalneav: that's not true, a generated ltsp.img will be on the DVD and will be unpacked if the user choses to install LTSP15:12
ograat least in a switchable way15:12
ogra?15:12
stgraberogra: yes, that's why it will only be installed if the user choses to after the install, the packages won't be installed otherwise15:13
ogranot sure if the desktop team fixed that but we had to remove the ability to switch completely because it broke all sorts of things15:13
sbalneavstgraber: and if the user then wants to install something like Firefox in the chroot for localapps?15:13
ogra(in karmic that is)15:13
ograsbalneav, he would have to do that post install from an online archive ...15:14
stgrabersbalneav: indeed, that's the case where we'll have a bit less functionality than we used to have. He'll have to download firefox and its dependencies in this csae.15:14
ograbut definately not from the DVD15:14
alkisgsbalneav: he can do all that with the live ubuntu dvd, can't he? Shouldn't edubuntu target different needs than the live ubuntu dvd?15:14
ograalkisg, he cant15:15
sbalneavogra: right, but with the alt dvd, s/he could just grab the package from there.15:15
ograalkisg, you dont have packages on a live image (unless you explicitly put them into /pool, which you guys just disabled)15:15
ograsbalneav, exactly my point :)15:15
alkisgogra, I said the *ubuntu* dvd, not the edubuntu one..15:15
stgraberogra: he said "ubuntu" not "edubuntu" :) and yes the Ubuntu DVD covers that15:15
alkisgDoesn't that have all the packages?15:15
ograalkisg, sure, if he wants to download another 4G15:16
sbalneavI personally, in my travels to Brazil, know of, and have worked with, people who are setting up LTSP labs in areas where there is NO internet access.  They have to truck everything in on a CD/DVD15:16
ograso you already excluded the parts of the world that had the most edubuntu users by switching to DVD ... now you exclude even more ...15:16
sbalneavRight, I was about to say, the move to dvd was probably jarring enough for these people.15:17
ograyeah15:17
sbalneavThey may be able to borrow dvd players, but you just can't get internet in the Amazon interior15:18
ograor africa15:18
alkisgSo what did edubuntu offer to these countries that the live ubuntu dvd didn't ?15:18
sbalneavA proper package archive with all the packages that they could add with apt-cd15:18
sbalneavthe live filesystem doesn't have those packages.15:18
alkisgThat's on the ubuntu dvd, and has more packages than edubuntu.15:18
alkisgAnything else?15:19
sbalneavNow they need two dvds15:19
alkisgNo, just one15:19
ograalkisg, back then they could get it from shipit ... it was a CD for which they rather easily could find something to isntall the media from15:19
alkisgThe ubuntu dvd...15:19
ogranow you need internet for two DVDs, a DVD writer and player15:19
alkisgWhy two dvds? Why isn't the ubuntu dvd enough?15:19
sbalneavSo we're telling people they need two dvds?  One to install Edubuntu from, and then one Ubuntu dvd for the packages?15:19
ograheh15:20
ograanyway, i need to go back to work ... FF approaching quickly ... i expressed my concerns15:20
ogradecision is yours :)15:20
sbalneavI mean, before, we could just tell these people: you need the alternative install dvd.  You don't get the graphical installer, but you DO get everything you need to setup a full lab WITHOUT an internet connection.15:21
alkisgAnd they can still do that with JUST the ubuntu live dvd.15:21
ograand how do they get their edubuntu desktop ?15:22
sbalneavThen we're driving them away from Edubuntu15:22
=== joerg_ is now known as joerg
alkisg(btw, that's what teachers here are doing in places with 64kbps connections - they're using the ubuntu dvd)15:23
sbalneavright, so if we generated the edubuntu alternate dvd, they wouldn't have to.15:24
alkisgsbalneav: also, that was not true. There was no language support in the alternate cd. That was only true for english speaking countries..15:24
alkisgThey'd still need internet access or an additional media.15:24
ograon the dvd ??15:24
sbalneavRight, which is why I've ALSO been arguing that we should be using the space on the dvd NOT FOR SILLY PRE-PACKAGED LTSP CHROOTS!!!!11one, but for mor langpacks15:25
sbalneavsince you can GENERATE the ltsp chroot from the dvd15:25
alkisgI think stgraber has put all the langpacks now.15:25
sbalneavGreat.  As it should be.15:25
sbalneavThat was the greatest failing of the cd.15:25
stgraberyeah, I spent a week fixing the langpacks15:26
ograhas anyone tested the ltsp-live setup with more than one client ?15:27
stgrabersbalneav: do you think people installing things in the chroot is really that much of an issue ? Do they have people powerful enough for localapps in country where they don't have fast internet ?15:27
stgrabersbalneav: if it's really an issue, I don't have any problem putting a fat-client image on the DVD instead with the fat-client mode turned off, that way they'll have everything in it and can enable these localapps when they want15:28
sbalneavThey probably don't, but why should we limit that case.15:28
sbalneavHere's my opinion, FWIW:15:28
stgraberogra: that's on highvoltage's todo list15:28
ograstgraber, i tried something like that back in the days and it was unusable ...15:28
ograbut probably CD roms are more speedy nowadays15:28
alkisgogra: ltsp in a live dvd? I tried it 2 months ago, it worked fine.15:29
sbalneav1) I won't argue with a live boot.  Personally, I don't use it.  I'd rather install text mode.  However, text mode SHOULD be available as a last resort for people with broken video.15:29
stgraberogra: I'd also expect that the machine used for that has more RAM (at least 2GB), so caching will make it a lot faster. But that's still to be tested.15:29
sbalneav2) The DVD should have a proper APT archive, so that ALL packages that we ship can be installed from the DVD, regardless of internet connection status.15:30
ograalkisg, with more than one person using it15:30
sbalneav3) ALL langpacks should be there *by default*.15:30
alkisgogra, my squashfs was 1 Gb, it could easily be loaded in RAM, all of it..15:31
alkisg(the casper one)15:31
alkisgI can't imagine any ltsp servers with less than 2 gb15:31
ograthe point is that it isnt by default, what did you add to casper to achieve that ?15:31
ograits mounted only from the CD15:32
sbalneavIf we have to sacrifice a live boot, or live ltsp chroot to obtain 2 and 3, then, In My Humble Opinion, thats what should happen, because 2 and 3 ensure that we can bring Edubuntu to *the widest possible audience*.  I don't care about bling and first impressions.  I care about making sure it's available to everyone.15:32
ograif you start FF or OOo it will just be darn slow15:32
XuzhouJimHi all, new here. Still wrestling with that audio feedback thing. "Solved" it by unplugging the mic, but I want students to be able to use the mic. I'm a little confused as to how to edit the lts.conf. I know there are two, one requiring an image remake. Found that one at: /opt/ltsp/i386/etc and it referred me to: var/lib/tfftp/ltsp/i386/lts.conf15:32
sbalneavBut that's just me.15:32
ograsbalneav, and me :)15:32
alkisgogra, nothing. I just told the teachers/testers not to take into account the speed on the first 15 minutes of using the dvd, but only after that...15:33
ograheh15:33
ogragreat if you have a 20min presentation15:33
ograwhich i thought was the only purpose of the live-ltsp15:33
alkisgI don't :) I have teachers that want to test if their labs are suitable for ltsp.15:33
XuzhouJimHowever, no lts.conf there but pxelinux.cfg/default15:33
* stgraber has to run to a meeting, was great hearing everyone's opinion and we'll have to consider some options to take that into account. Would have been better to know that at UDS time though ;)15:34
ograstgraber, i wasnt aware of that plan, sorry15:34
alkisgBye stgraber15:34
ograXuzhouJim, you can create the file if you need it15:34
alkisgsbalneav: I think the plan is to have all of the 3 things you mentioned15:35
alkisg(except for the last resort == text mode :D)15:35
XuzhouJimdo I need section headings or just MIC_VOLUME=10 and VOLUME=50?15:36
alkisgYou need a [Default] section heading15:36
XuzhouJimindent section headings or just options?15:37
alkisg[Default]15:37
alkisgMIC_VOLUME=1015:37
alkisgVOLUME=5015:37
alkisgPut that in /var/lib/tftpboot/ltsp/i386/lts.conf.15:37
XuzhouJimOK, BRB15:38
XuzhouJimOK, that did something but now I can't get the mic to record. Can I get the mic to work WITHOUT the feedback squeel?16:04
=== XuzhouJim is now known as XuzhouJijm
sbalneavXuzhouJijm: is it just a case that the volume's too low?16:12
sbalneavIf you're using a mic, you really should be using headphones.16:12
XuzhouJijmI adjusted the input volume. Then I can hear background noise but no voice. Am using a headphone/mic combo16:13
ogragreat ... stgraber has support from the server team on the tftp issue ... good sign16:13
sbalneavYou're getting feedback.... with headphones?! Wow.16:14
XuzhouJijmSorry, didn't explain well.16:14
Ahmuckping16:14
XuzhouJijmThe mic is being routed through the speaker/headphone. With headphones no feedback but stiil get too much noise. When I set mic_volume=10, don't get the background noise but can't record either.16:15
XuzhouJijmIs it just a matter of playing with the mic_volume and volume settings till  I get a good balance?16:17
sbalneavI'd say, yes.16:19
sbalneavGo up by 5's I'd say, so try 15, 20, etc.16:19
alkisgXuzhouJijm: afaik there's a problem with sound initialization - it has to be low to get rid of the feedback, but after the initialization it should be high again, and it isn't.16:29
alkisgXuzhouJijm: if you use the mixer while recording your voice, and raise the mic volume, doesn't it work ok?16:29
alkisgOr do you get feedback then as well?16:29
XuzhouJijmraising the mic volume in the mixer just records a background buzz, no voice.16:34
XuzhouJijmCan you point me to the section I should read up on in the LTSPManual?16:36
lns_stgraber: ping? you remember https://bugs.launchpad.net/ltsp-cluster/+bug/178895/comments/29 ?18:24
ubottuUbuntu bug 178895 in audacity "Audacity does not mesh with PulseAudio" [Low,Fix released]18:24
lns_sbalneav: ping?19:12
sbalneavlns_: pong19:12
lns_sbalneav: hey - did you get my msg last night re: session time limits in gnome?19:15
sbalneavNo, I didn't19:17
sbalneavlns_: Can you repaste?19:33
lns_sbalneav: well basically I was wondering if something such as a "user session time limit", whether it be per day/week/month/etc, is something that might want to go into Gnome itself, or a separate utility that could be developed19:34
alkisglns_, have you looked at gnome nanny?19:38
lns_alkisg: yep, I haven't used it at all though - are you using it?19:39
alkisglns_, no, (I've installed it once but didn't get to use it), but it does have session time limit support...19:39
lns_It seems to be kind of geared toward a very specific audience (small children who need access restrictions)19:39
alkisgAnd even for specific hours per day, if one needs it19:39
lns_It would seem strange to install something like that in a high school19:39
alkisgSo I guess code could be taken from there (under a different UI, of course...)19:40
alkisglns_: why? I don't think it's necessary for the UI to be shown to the students19:40
lns_alkisg: not just students but staff perception...19:40
alkisgAnyway, I didn't use it so I can't express any opinions - just thought I'd give the link :)19:41
lns_alkisg: thx =) Yeah I looked a bit at it but it seems like something like user session time limits could be something real easy to implement (maybe?) outside of this big program19:41
sbalneavyeah, I was going to say, nanny's already there.19:43
lns_sbalneav: have you used it?19:44
lns_looks like you can only install via source - no packaging/integration...this is something that i've had many requests for in the past19:50
lns_with a dist. like edubuntu it would be really neat to have that kind of functionality ootb19:51
sbalneavI beleive they have a ppa, if not, I'll look at packaging it.19:51
sbalneavI haven't had time to play with it, but I know it does time restrictions.19:52
lns_yeah i saw a screenie on their site, it looks neat19:52
lns_nice little graph with green/red bars to show when someone can log in and when they can't19:52
lns_i was thinking "hmm, pessulus integration"... ;)19:53
alkisgIt does have ubuntu packages, I installed it from their ppa19:53
* lns_ googles19:54
lns_goes down to jaunty, not bad19:55
* lns_ is starting to mentally ditch the idea that anyone wants to do anything for hardy anymore ;)19:55
lns_https://launchpad.net/~guadalinex-members/+archive/ppa/+packages19:55

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