Comments on: Linux distros useful in the classroom http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/ Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:07:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Open Source Classroom » Blog Archive » On the verge of ditching Linux for Windows http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-312 Open Source Classroom » Blog Archive » On the verge of ditching Linux for Windows Sun, 01 Oct 2006 23:46:57 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-312 [...] I have recently been given ten computers that range from 550 Mhz to 750 Mhz. They are all Dell and they were headed for the surplus heap to be sold for pennies on the dollar. I headed them off at the pass and directed them towards my classroom to be resurrected. I set about resurrecting them and was successful using a variety of Linux distros. I have posted on this before. I thought I had a great solution lined up in that Edubuntu works wonderfully on most of the machines, Xubuntu works on the ones that Edubuntu won’t load on, and I even have a few thinner client distros like Puppy Linux and Darn Small Linux for the oldest of machines. [...] [...] I have recently been given ten computers that range from 550 Mhz to 750 Mhz. They are all Dell and they were headed for the surplus heap to be sold for pennies on the dollar. I headed them off at the pass and directed them towards my classroom to be resurrected. I set about resurrecting them and was successful using a variety of Linux distros. I have posted on this before. I thought I had a great solution lined up in that Edubuntu works wonderfully on most of the machines, Xubuntu works on the ones that Edubuntu won’t load on, and I even have a few thinner client distros like Puppy Linux and Darn Small Linux for the oldest of machines. [...]

]]> By: JimMc http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-192 JimMc Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:33:27 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-192 Thanks for sharing. I'm not a teacher or network admin, just a school parent who's an avid Linux user, who also happens to like tinkering with old computers. I have an old laptop that I wanted to setup for my kids and toyed around with a bunch of so-called lightweight distros and ended up with exactly what you have: Edubuntu/Xubuntu. One of the main problems I discovered with old hardware is you're also dealing with old BIOS, which in my case would not boot from an external CD-ROM. Not all of the distros for "old hardware" can actually deal with this issue. D*mn Small Linux handled it perfectly and Ubuntu - with some search help - did too. Anyhow, thanks again. Thanks for sharing. I’m not a teacher or network admin, just a school parent who’s an avid Linux user, who also happens to like tinkering with old computers. I have an old laptop that I wanted to setup for my kids and toyed around with a bunch of so-called lightweight distros and ended up with exactly what you have: Edubuntu/Xubuntu. One of the main problems I discovered with old hardware is you’re also dealing with old BIOS, which in my case would not boot from an external CD-ROM. Not all of the distros for “old hardware” can actually deal with this issue. D*mn Small Linux handled it perfectly and Ubuntu – with some search help – did too.

Anyhow, thanks again.

]]> By: Doug Belshaw http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-175 Doug Belshaw Sun, 24 Sep 2006 11:51:39 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-175 Nice post. I used the K12LTSP features of Fedora Core last year running off 600mhz/128MB thin clients with an 800mhz/512MB server. There were only 5 machines in the network, but it ran well. Like you, I wasn't allowed to connect it to the school's network, but for word processing, keyboard skills, etc. it was great! :) Nice post. I used the K12LTSP features of Fedora Core last year running off 600mhz/128MB thin clients with an 800mhz/512MB server. There were only 5 machines in the network, but it ran well. Like you, I wasn’t allowed to connect it to the school’s network, but for word processing, keyboard skills, etc. it was great! :)

]]> By: edbloggernews http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-158 edbloggernews Fri, 22 Sep 2006 19:46:58 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-158 <strong>Linux distros useful in the classroom</strong> The author explores different Linux distributions that are useful for classroom use, especially on older machines that can now be resurrected. Linux distros useful in the classroom

The author explores different Linux distributions that are useful for classroom use, especially on older machines that can now be resurrected.

]]> By: khorjak http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-142 khorjak Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:16:08 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-142 Give <a href="http://www.puppylinux.org" rel="nofollow">Puppy Linux</a> a try. It's a small and fast distro like DSL but with a kid-friendly name. Give Puppy Linux a try. It’s a small and fast distro like DSL but with a kid-friendly name.

]]> By: crafty184 http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-136 crafty184 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:07:35 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-136 So does this cause a setup similar to X Grid? Or the way the OLPC laptops are supposed to harness spare system resources? Thanks for the comment! I will look into this!! So does this cause a setup similar to X Grid? Or the way the OLPC laptops are supposed to harness spare system resources? Thanks for the comment! I will look into this!!

]]> By: beowulf http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-135 beowulf Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:07:27 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-135 try freeduc; http://www.ofset.org/freeduc-cd; not the most modern of distros, but aims at primary schools try freeduc; http://www.ofset.org/freeduc-cd; not the most modern of distros, but aims at primary schools

]]> By: pmouse http://www.crucialthought.com/2006/09/20/linux-distros-useful-in-the-classroom/comment-page-1/#comment-133 pmouse Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:44:20 +0000 http://opensource.christophercraft.com/?p=42#comment-133 Hook all of these machines up in their private LAN and use distcc to compile gentoo. Use xfce/fluxbox as desktops. These machines can still be very fast and responsive. To compare, I have a laptop from the 98's, Thinkpad with P-MMX 166 and 96M of ram. Most of the softwares run fine. But it requires a network of computers to help the setup process. Hook all of these machines up in their private LAN and use distcc to compile gentoo.

Use xfce/fluxbox as desktops. These machines can still be very fast and responsive.

To compare, I have a laptop from the 98′s, Thinkpad with P-MMX 166 and 96M of ram. Most of the softwares run fine. But it requires a network of computers to help the setup process.

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