[13:08] <Ronnie> i heard from mhall119, that edubuntu needs a google map of the current school deployments. Maybe i can help. I have some experience with google map API
[13:10] <mhall119> Ronnie: somebody has made http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=215531664534903206889.00048f483fea952f1eaf0&t=h&z=3
[13:10] <mhall119> dinda made that
[13:10] <mhall119> but I think your API might work better, as it can be dynamically generated
[13:11] <mhall119> highvoltage: ^^^
[13:12] <Ronnie> indeed, this is a manually list, which could be hard to handle if it grows
[13:39] <alkisg> And here's one with some greek schools: http://goo.gl/maps/nOoQ - any hints for improvement would be appreciated :)
[13:41] <stgraber> having something that uses the google api and works as a drupal module would certainly be useful for edubuntu.org
[13:42] <Ronnie> stgraber: im totally not into drupal....
[13:43] <highvoltage> hey
[13:43] <Ronnie> the information the maps at least  need is: a latitude and longitude of the markers
[13:43] <Ronnie> preferable in json format
[13:43] <Ronnie> adding extra information is possible
[13:45] <Ronnie> stgraber: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-django-foundations/map#locations
[13:46] <Ronnie> highvoltage: hey too
[13:47] <mhall119> Ronnie: most of the API is in Javascript right?
[13:47] <Ronnie> mhall119: yes
[13:47] <mhall119> so it shouldn't be too hard to add something to drupal to feed it
[13:48] <Ronnie> if drupal can create a form with a latidude and longitude field and optionally a country/city/adress fields the plugin handles the map, marker
[13:48] <mhall119> I do believe that's possible
[13:49]  * mhall119 tried to remember what it was like working with Drupal
[13:49] <Ronnie> also the server needs to supply a list (in JSON) of markers to show on the map
[13:49] <mhall119> that may be the harder part
[13:49] <mhall119> but it's all PHP
[13:49] <mhall119> so, technically anything is possible
[13:50] <Ronnie> yes, a PHP array of lattitudes an longitudes can easily be parsed to JSON
[13:51] <Ronnie> and there sould also be a HTML response to clicking on a marker (also this can be predefined too, if i know which kind of text there should be in the baloons
[13:51] <Ronnie> where can i find the current drupal site?
[13:53] <stgraber> I'm currently implemeting JSON support in vmmanager (Edubuntu weblive), it's really quite easy to write a drupal module containing a few forms and exporting data over JSON
[13:54] <stgraber> the current drupal website (www.edubuntu.org) is running a regular drupal + some popular modules and one extra module (vmmanager) for edubuntu weblive, so nothing really fancy there
[13:58] <highvoltage> yep, nothing really weird about the edubuntu site
[15:36] <masai471> I am not sure if this is the best channel or #ltsp.  I have just gotten a request from a small school in Botswana on what computers they should buy.  I am interested in setting it up as something that can be easily managed by someone without advanced IT skill (and installed by someone with only a marginal level of experience with desktop ubuntu)  Does  anyone have some general suggestions
[15:43] <masai47> How difficult is it to manage a LTSP set up, and if the computers are newer does it make sense for them to be fat clients?
[16:05] <masai47> I keep timing out (on a very spotty connection in rural Botswana) not sure if I have missed a response
[16:17] <stgraber> masai47: for just a few computers, it's really quite easy.
[16:17] <stgraber> masai47: if you install Edubuntu 10.10, LTSP is part of the installer, so it's just an option to tick
[16:18] <masai47> installed on each computer?
[16:18] <stgraber> nope, just get two network cards on the server, a switch and connect your clients to that switch. The other card being connected to "internet"
[16:18] <masai47> or for the computer acting as the server (and how powerful a machine does this need to be)
[16:18] <stgraber> then install LTSP on the server
[16:19] <stgraber> and run the rest as thin clients
[16:19] <stgraber> you can then switch some apps as local apps
[16:19] <stgraber> like firefox and some other memory/cpu hungry software
[16:19] <stgraber> fat client is also a possibility for fast thin clients, though it's not as easy to manage
[16:19] <masai47> ok
[16:19] <stgraber> as you'll need to add new software in the chroot, update it and reboot all the computers everytime
[16:20] <masai47> ahh
[16:20] <stgraber> with regular LTSP, you just need to have the software installed through the software center on the server as you'd on a regular machine
[16:20] <stgraber> and it'll appear instantly for everyone
[16:20] <masai47> ok
[16:20] <masai47> so how powerful does the server have to be/
[16:20] <stgraber> how many clients do you have ?
[16:21] <masai47> ?
[16:21] <stgraber> how many computers are you planning on having in the lab ?
[16:21] <masai47> 8-10?
[16:21] <stgraber> ok
[16:22] <stgraber> so in this case, you should try to get something like a quadcore i5 with something between 4GB and 8GB of RAM for the server. The rest of the computers could be Atom based desktops.
[16:23] <stgraber> I don't know what's available in your area, but in north america, that kind of server should cost something like 900$ (with everything) and desktops could cost as low as 300$ (everything included)
[16:23] <masai47> I think the cheap computers that the school is looking at are celeron 430
[16:24] <masai47> I have no idea on the server
[16:24] <stgraber> ok, based on what I see on the internet, the celeron 430 should be comparable to a first generation Atom CPU, so that should be fine for the clients
[16:24] <stgraber> just try to get at least 1GB of RAM in them so you can run firefox locally
[16:25] <masai47> this is kind of an awkward game of telephone where I am far from the person buying computers
[16:25] <masai47> yeah they will each have 1gb
[16:26] <stgraber> ok, so the only thing you'll really need to worry about is the server. Making sure it's got a fast cpu (quadcore being clearly preferred), a lot of RAM and two network cards
[16:27] <masai47> so will the thin clients use the local hard drives?
[16:28] <masai47> also, is it possible to have the clients be dual boot
[16:32] <masai47> how much control would a teacher have from the server?  (and can the server be used while it is acting as a server?)
[16:37] <stgraber> sorry, on the phone with a customer, be right back
[16:38] <masai47> no worries
[16:38] <masai47> thanks for taking the time
[16:47] <stgraber> alright, I'm back
[16:48] <stgraber> thin clients won't need a local hard drive, all they need is a network card and a BIOS that's capable of doing PXE boot
[16:48] <stgraber> the server can be used while acting as a server
[16:48] <stgraber> whoever needs to add new software to the server will need the admin account
[16:49] <masai47> ok
[16:49] <stgraber> if you want to let the teacher watch what the kids are doing, you may want to install iTalc (there's info about it on the wiki)
[16:49] <masai47> how can i check that the bios is capable of doing PXE boot
[16:49] <masai47> ok
[16:50] <stgraber> well, usually you don't really know until you actually have access to the hardware. Once you do, in the boot sequence you should be able to select PXE or Network as a boot device
[16:50] <stgraber> if the BIOS doesn't support it, you'll need to burn boot CDs with gpxe
[16:51] <masai47> but there is no way I can look up the hardware specs?
[16:51] <stgraber> maybe they mention it but it's usually quite rare for that to be written in the specs
[16:52] <masai47> should the store selling the machines be able to answer?
[16:52] <stgraber> they might, or at least they should be able to just quickly try it
[16:53] <masai47> so, dual booting?
[16:54] <stgraber> they'd just need to reboot the machine, enter the BIOS, go in the boot sequence section
[16:54] <stgraber> and check if they have something called PXE or Network in there
[16:54] <stgraber> if they do, then you'll be able to have them boot without a CD
[16:55] <masai47> there is a chance that school might still want windows on some of the machines (which would require a local disk I guess)
[16:56] <stgraber> sure, so then having them boot using gpxe might be better for you
[16:56] <stgraber> if the CD is in the cdrom driver they'll boot using LTSP
[16:56] <stgraber> if it's not, they'll boot from the harddisk on Windows
[16:58] <masai47> ok
[17:05] <masai47> thanks for all the advice, I am always so impressed with ubuntu and IRC help
[17:07] <stgraber> you're welcome
[17:15] <masai47> what kind of hard drive(s) should the server have?
[18:20] <stgraber> masai47: for harddrives it's not really important, you may want two big ones with RAID to avoid data loss in case one of them dies
[18:22] <masai47> if some of the clients have hard drives can they be used for that (revealing ignorance here)
[18:22] <stgraber> nope, they can't
[18:22] <masai47> ok
[18:27] <masai47> 2x 500gb? (its not a big school)
[18:27] <masai47> how hard is it to set them up with RAID?
[18:31] <stgraber> installing from the DVD, I honestly don't really know, though I guess you'll find the information you need by looking up RAID 1 on the wiki
[18:31] <stgraber> 2x 500GB will be plenty enough
[20:16] <lemio_> Is ther a alternative to Cabri3D-plug-in