Getting Sound to Work On Flash Applets and Local Devices on Edubuntu Thin Clients

After installing the server, I checked to see if everything worked. I played some test sounds and music…all good. Local devices didn’t work at first. After consulting ogra again on the Edubuntu irc channel, I found I had to allow the use of fuse filesystems in my user account and all other user accounts, guide here. In addition, when I wanted to show this video to Brian during a break, we discovered there was no sound. After asking ogra today, I discovered I had to install another package to get that working, instructions here. It works now! All we have left is to get user accounts set up in an easy manner with the same privileges and settings.

Edubuntu Feisty Server

Edubuntu completed installation during lunch, and I have begun configuring it…setting up a root password, installing packages such as Automatix, and updating the computer. Currently I am setting up everything from my laptop which serves as a thin client. This is what I love about Edubuntu– I popped in the disc, configured it like I did before, and just network booted my laptop, and the other computers connected to the switch, and it just worked. Plus, Feisty comes with a thin client manager which was interesting to play around with.

Linux Server Updates

I spoke with an LTSP developer yesterday who suggested moving to Feisty. To get local devices working on thin clients, we would need to do some intense reprogramming. Therefore, we first tried getting Ubuntu 7.04 server working on the other HP server. We decided today that we should stick with the trusted and true Edubuntu, and use the 7.04 version of that since LTSP support is better and it works out of the box. It is installing right now, and I’ll keep posting more updates.

Localdev Nonexistent in Dapper

After some googling, I found I had to add a file, lts.conf in /opt/ltsp/i386/etc. I added SOUND=TRUE, and LOCALDEV=TRUE. This was to enable sound on the thin clients, and the localdev to enable the use of flash drives and cds. However, the flash drives didn’t work, so I jumped back on the Edubuntu IRC channel. I found out that both sound and local devices are better in the newer versions of Ubuntu. In addition, LOCALDEV would not work with Dapper. Sound works, but it cannot be controlled through the volume control at the top.

Disable Hibernation in Ubuntu / Edubuntu

I just mentioned one of the big problems we discovered was that hibernating the client would cause the server to hibernate or sleep. To discover how to disable hibernation, I thought the quickest way would be to jump on the the freenode channel of Edubuntu, irc://freenode/edubuntu, then the much more active Ubuntu one, irc://freenode/edubuntu. On the Edubuntu one, I discovered that I had to change a hibernate setting in gnome-power-manager. The Ubuntu one helped me locate it; I had to enter gconf-editor in the terminal, find gnome-power-manager, and then uncheck can_hibernate. One problem solved thanks to the support from the community!

Potential Problems and Stuff to Still Work On

As mentioned in my last post, the thin clients and server work very well. In fact, I am writing this post from my laptop which is functioning as a thin client and also allows me to do administrative stuff without actually being at the server’s keyboard and monitor. However, Brian and I discussed some stuff we have to work on during lunch. One major thing we found accidentally was that selecting hibernate from a thin client actually hibernated the server……very bad. The other which should be a simple line of code in a config file is the use of cds and flash drives at the clients.  Some things we still have to work on is perfecting user accounts and doing performance tests making sure things work when multiple applications are being used at multiple stations.

DHCP and Internet with an Edubuntu LTSP Server

We received a network switch to allow us to have an ltsp server and thin clients, which worked fine. However, we were told to keep the switch off the network. We need the internet to update the server and so we added another NIC (network interface card) to the server, and changed the configuration so the new NIC was set to DHCP, and the old one maintained the static ip and was the DHCP server for the thin clients. However, this did not allow us to access the internet. In addition, every time we restarted, the new NIC would change between eth1 and eth2 in the network manager. I edited the interface file (sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces) through the terminal, and commented out every mention of eth2. This did not alleviate the problem, therefore, I turned to a guide I had read before, here. I just had to make one modification, instead of /etc/default/dhcp, which did not exist, I edited /etc/default/dhcp3-server like the guide said, making eth0 the default for serving DHCP requests. After this, the internet works fine and the thin clients work as well. Even better, the thin clients receive internet, and we manage to separate the switch from the network.

Thin Clients With Edubuntu

When we received our first server, we planned on creating an ltsp server with Ubuntu, and have 4-5 thin clients. We followed instructions that were on the internet, but we could not get it working on the first try. The second server came, and we had a chance to split up and see if we could get something to work. I did some more research and found Edubuntu came built-in with ltsp–all I had to do was install it and it would already be set up as a server. I set it up using these instructions. As soon as it finished installing, I decided to see if it worked without doing anything else. Using a network switch, I connected a computer without a hard drive but built-in network booting support, and my new server. I turned on the new thin client, and…it worked perfectly. I moved all the computers Mr.Birchall gave us to the other side of the lab, Rudder North. I was able to set up four thin clients and they are all on the switch, but not the internet, and they are all working perfectly it seems. My goal for tomorrow is to test to see if there are any problems, and then work on setting up users and all the packages we need. When looking at desktop Ubuntu flavors, I had dismissed Edubuntu because it was Ubuntu, just with childlike icons. However, I was impressed by its ease of use in setting up an ltsp server and thin clients, and the icons aren’t that bad. So I will also work on the icons, and see if I can get the more generic Ubuntu feel.     

Imation Pivot Flash Drive

Mr. Birchall came in yesterday and handed us a 1GB Imation Pivot flash drive to test. I liked the outside of the flash drive because the USB portion folds into the flash drive, and it has a nice rubber and texture feel. I also happen to have a Lexar Lightning which is a very shiny piece of metal, and I prefer using a flash drive like this one. It has the standard light telling you data is being written, and also a write protection switch. The switch is very small and somewhat more difficult to reach, making it harder to accidentally set it off. However, the greatest feature is the built-in 256 bit protection. It is very easy to set up, and fairly easy to use. It uses hidden wrapper files to encrypt and hide your data. Therefore, even if you just delete the application, the files would still be there (you would need to format to get rid of everything). In addition, if you delete an encrypted file, you have to tell the program to also reclaim the space that was used for the wrapper. Which leads in to its versatility; unlike the old Kingston DataTraveler Elite we have been using, you do not have to set up a dedicated partition. You use just much as you need. In addition, it is faster to access than the Kingston, where the logon and logout could take a while. The flash drive is dependable, the outside is durable and I tested the integrity by unsafely removing it, even while it was writing files, many times. Windows Vista recognizes that it was unsafely removed after I reinsert the drive, however, it finds no errors. One thing that the Kingston has on the Imation is speed, as published below using SiSoft Sandra XI. However, transferring Word documents is instantaneous in both, and large music files that are 30MB doesn’t take that much longer with the Imation. You may notice an increase when transferring a 900MB file, but a student would not really need to do that often, and even so, it will take a while with both drives. One other IT issue, using non-admin with the Kingston, is not present with the Imation. I like the Imation Pivot, even more than the Kingston, and can highly recommend this flash drive. Go to the jump for benchmarks and screenshots with explanations.

Printing Issues

Since laptops are not connected to the domain, printing wirelessly can be an issue. Both Brian and I are able to print using a method that could be considered complicated by some end users. Therefore, we have been researching some solutions. We tried software resolutions first. However, we cannot have a new server dedicated for printers and other solutions would lead back to doing what we do. Therefore, we have decided to find hardware solutions, namely a print server, maybe a wireless one. We are still researching, so I will write some more later.

Web 2.0 Office Alternatives

Another assignment I received from Mr. Birchall was to compile a list of Web 2.0 Office alternatives- Office like services available on the internet. I had made a list last year on my now defunct blog, however, things have changed and Google has made some acquisitions. I did some research on Techcrunch, found the major players to be pretty much the same as last year, and I played around with their services. I had tested gOffice last year, however it now costs $.99 a month, so I had to skip it. This is what I got:

Google Docs and Spreadsheets (soon to arrive Presentations)- To be able to access Google Docs, you have to have either a Gmail account, which no longer require invitations (www.gmail.com) or set up your current email address as a Google account when you go to Google Docs. Once you login, you can make a new document or spreadsheet. A PowerPoint-like slide show creator will be released this summer. The interface isn’t the same as Microsoft Office, but it is fairly easy to figure out. Before writing a document or creating a spreadsheet, you should spend a minute going over what the buttons do so you know how to change the font, or enter a formula in a cell. Another great thing is that you can save in any major format, including .doc (Word) and even the OpenOffice format. In addition, you can share a file between people by entering their email address, and have people editing and making changes to a document at the same time. You can save your documents on the Google servers, and you can also download them to your own computer. If used extensively, it serves as a backup in case your own hard drive fails. Your documents would still be available from any computer with an internet connection, which makes this and the other services great. There are limits to the file size and amount of files, though, here.

Thinkfree- Upon creating an account, you have access to a 1GB webtop, where you can store documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. When you want to create or edit a document, you have a choice of quick or power edit. Quick edit is very basic, but intuitive. Power edit takes some time to load the first time, but the java virtual machine will cache the application so it loads quickly the next time. There is no learning curve for power edit as long as the person has used Microsoft Office. The interface is exactly that of Office 2003. In addition, you can save as .doc and the other basic ones such as .rtf, .pdf, but also the new Office 2007 .docx. Although I tested the free online version, they have versions for servers and software so you can have Thinkfree on your desktop. However, with the desktop, you can run it in Windows, Mac, and also Linux.

Zoho- You choose what you want, Writer, Sheet, or Show when you access the site. When you register, your profile is good for all the services, though. Writer and Sheet are almost as intuitive as their Thinkfree counterparts. Show has a bit of a different interface, but it’s easy to figure out. One cool feature they offer is that you can download the plugin for Office so you can edit your documents online and offline. For some reason, I could not find the file size limits or how much space is allotted. So, I called the toll-free number I saw. I spoke with someone who said he was not part of the Zoho Office suite project, so he transferred me to someone who said the same thing. However, he gave me the number of someone named Ian. I called and asked him the file size limit, which he said there was none, and he said there was a 1GB total limit, although it was not enforced. He also said a paid service for a greater amount was in the works. I just looked him up, and realized he was Ian Wenig, the Director of Business Development.

All of the above services work well, and do pretty much the same thing. However, I felt Zoho and Thinkfree had an interface more similar to Microsoft Office (other than the Thinkfree quick edit option, and Zoho show). In addition, I liked that Zoho had integration with Office, which most people already have. However, Google will be releasing their presentation service, so I will be reviewing that when it comes out.

Ubuntu “Model” Machine

To show that everything on our Windows school computers has a Linux equivalent, I had compiled a list, here. Next, I began configuring a machine to use as a model with all the software. However, when I installed Audacity through Automatix, I realized it was also installing packages such as LAME, and others such as Quicktime encoders. There were too many obscure ones to delete individually, and removing Audacity would not get rid of them. Therefore, I reinstalled Ubuntu and the other packages with the exception of using RealPlayer instead of Rhythmbox, although Rhythmbox is still present- it’s just not the default. So I finished setting up a model machine with all the software. Now, we are playing around with user privileges some more, although it may be a bit different if we set up clients and a server.

RealPlayer with Ubuntu

I wanted to make sure there were no issues with using an mp3 codec. I looked up what Thompson, the owner of the mp3 patent had to say, and it seemed that they did not charge royalties unless there was some sort of money involved. The link to that, here. However, I also read LAME (an mp3 codec) was distributed as source code so it was legal, but then you would have to compile it. However, Thompson also said that a free client would be fine, and of course that would include the codec. So, I have been researching this for days now, and I asked Brian to help. While we were searching, Brian found a discussion on a college forum, here. It suggested something I had not thought of, RealPlayer. I found it in Synaptics, and it was already installed. I realized this was a computer on which I had installed multimedia codecs through Automatix. Therefore, I went on a computer without Automatix, and did not find it. I installed Automatix, and it updated the repository. I now found I could install RealPlayer, and that only, from Synaptics Package Manager. I made it the default music player, and it opens mp3 and works fine. This avoids any potential issues. I did not use it, but the bin install is at the RealPlayer site, http://www.real.com/linux/. Here is the Automatix2 install site again,

Dell Poweredge 500sc

Mr. Birchall came in yesterday with a Dell Poweredge 500sc server with a faulty motherboard. It was our job to see if a third party motherboard such as an Asus would work.  We took apart the computer and found it was a socket 370 mobo, an older standard. However, we also discovered that Dell uses a proprietary ribbon front panel connector, however, we were in luck. I found a chart of the pins here. Once we found that it was possible, we searched for 370 motherboards on Newegg first, and we came up with these  DFI ones. We also found an abit one on a site called Global computer, here. In addition, I found what seemed like the actual motherboard here, although the price is a bit steep at $595. So, we found it was possible to do a mobo transplant, but only a few socket 370 motherboards are still for sale, and the front panel pins would require some modifications.

Possible Ubuntu Server Specifications

Brian and I have been researching possible Ubuntu server specifications. We found a few interesting links, http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/linux_terminal_server?page=0%2C0, http://wiki.ltsp.org/twiki/bin/view/Ltsp/ServerSizing. Using these links we determine for 10 clients we would need at least a 1GHz processor. One modern processor (like a Pentium 4) would work fine, or perhaps two Pentium 3s to compensate for their lower bus speed. 1GB of RAM would be sufficent, but slightly more would be safer. For hard drive space, we allocate 20GB which will be more than enough for the operating system and packages, 5GB as swap, and if we would give 500 users 50MB, that would be another 25GB. Therefore, 50GB should be enough. We could be on the safe side and also implement a RAID array.

Tedious Work

I have started adding the final applications we have selected to the Ubuntu image machine. I will praise Automatix2 once again for its ease of use when doing this. I don’t have to add any suspicious repositories to access the packages we need, the official Ubuntu ones and Automatix include everything we need. By the end of today, the image machine will be almost completed. However, I want to look over the mp3 issue again and make sure it’s ok to include the codec for school computers. I will also make sure I haven’t missed anything in terms of useful or better applications.

Linux Alternatives to Windows Programs

Below is a chart of typical Windows programs installed on our school programs and their Linux alternatives. Many were available in Linux as well.

Quicktime with Ubuntu: Not a Great Pair

I played around some more with Wine. I was interested in seeing if I could get Quicktime player to work with Wine, and I was sure it could. I tried with the latest version, however it reported an error right at the end. I tried some other versions unsuccessfully, when I found a good guide from http://tsx.nl/index.php?p=qt4linux, actually found from Frank’s Corner at http://frankscorner.org/. It installed, but it wasn’t perfect. After the installation, the screen went black and portions returned after I moused over them. Quicktime seemed to work, however, the screen would become black. So even after everything, my attempts at implementing Quicktime were futile. We are better off using a similar Linux program instead.

WINE is Not an Emulator…but it is

The bulk of today’s work is finding the Windows programs people use and their Linux equivalents. Most of the programs in the list were easy to find, such as the Office suite. However, there were a few such as Geometer’s Sketchpad and Photoshop that are Windows only and some people may want the exact program. Therefore, we used Wine, and we downloaded a trial version of Geometer’s sketchpad. It worked wonderfully. Although the program doesn’t have much documentation on the Wine HQ site, there is some here http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iAppId=1549. Since we didn’t have Photoshop to play around with, I trusted the site on what it said. http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iAppId=17. It seems perhaps Photoshop 7 may work using Wine. Now, I will complete the list of programs and then work on the model computer.

End of the Day Update

After researching MP3 and DVD codecs, I have set up a machine with a new Ubuntu install that will be the model, the ideal machine that could be used at our school. After testing programs on the test machines, they will be added to the model machine and added to the log. I have also compiled a list of software that runs on a standard school machine, and will find versions that work in Linux or alternatives. In addition, I have installed Wine to play around with.

MP3s and DVDs in Linux

One thing I discovered was that DVD codecs would be illegal to install on our systems since we are in the United States. I also checked out MP3 codecs, which Ubuntu was not packaged with. I found one codec from a company that sells legal codecs called Fluendo. They offer all these codecs including Windows media codecs for a price and supposedly the legal issues are covered. They offer MP3 codecs for free, however, and so I downloaded it. I had to add it to a library of codecs to which only root has access, so I had to use the terminal and do a simple chown command. Even after I added the codec, Rhythmbox wouldn’t play MP3s. So I researched some more and found there were no issues for MP3 codecs for personal uses, so I dropped the Fluendo codec and added one from Automatix. I still have to research DVD codecs however, and see if there is some legal way to play DVDs in Linux.

EDIT: Due to the legal issues, it seems we will not be able to play DVDs on our Ubuntu machines.

Back to Ubuntu

I have been playing around some more with Ubuntu. I liked using Automatix2 to install basic programs such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. However, I occasionally had problems downloading Java JDK and the JRE, which is when I would install it through Synaptics. Firefox was good about downloading and installing Flash, although I could have done that though Automatix2. For learning bash commands, I found some handy reference guides, http://www.ss64.com/bash/ and http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/linux/cmd/. In addition I have been reading this guide http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/cli.html. Although distros such as Ubuntu use a gui that helps beginners and end users who only need basic functions, the terminal is still important to accomplish more advanced functions.

A Small Break from Ubuntu: Joost

Yes, I have had a lot of Ubuntu posts since it is part of my summer job to document my foray into Ubuntu. There will continue to be many more. However, I wanted to do a quick write up on something I found interesting, a service called Joost. I discovered it a while back browsing Techcrunch, and received an invite from the Techcrunch forums. It is an interesting concept; you can watch television shows from many networks that have signed up, and displays in a great picture quality. I have been using this service to watch one of my favorite shows, Fifth Gear which is actually British. I can watch any Fifth Gear episode starting from Season 6 till Season 9. Joost was created by the founders of Skype (and Kazaa) and is supported by sponsors who place two or three commercials per episode. The service still is in the beta phase and it’s obvious. Occasionally I will select an episode, it will be loading and then say the program is not available. A little while later, I can watch it. Nevertheless, I still think Joost is a great service and a great idea to capitalize on America’s love for television. As computers are moving into the living room, (maybe computer tables too), services such as these will become more popular.

The Final Selection: Ubuntu

After testing the various flavours of Ubuntu, we feel that Ubuntu is the best for our applications. The final competitor it faced was Kubuntu. One of the reasons we recommend Ubuntu is because of the interface. The interface is simpler in Ubuntu versus the clutter of Kubuntu. However, it is still fairly intuitive. In addition, there is a better method of managing the privileges of users. For instance, in Kubuntu, to add a user, you can go to the Users and Groups section. It is visible but grayed out, and you need to click a button saying administrator mode, enter the password, and then you can make changes. In Ubuntu, a person with restricted privileges would not even see the option of User Accounts in the menu. Although not a major issue, we appreciated the fact that Ubuntu came with almost everything we needed. Only a few more repositories and packages needed to be added. Therefore, with great confidence, we can recommend Ubuntu as the Linux distribution to consider in a school environment such as ours.

In addition to choosing the Ubuntu version both Brian and I liked best, I have been brushing up and learning more shell commands to fully understand Linux.

Desktop Managers

Since it is possible to add the desktop manager from Ubuntu to Xubuntu or Kubuntu or vice versa, I decided to see what would happen if I did. I decided to add the Ubuntu desktop to Xubuntu via Synaptics. Once it completed, I restarted and selected Gnome instead of Xfce for the window manager. Upon comparing the processes and everything to a standard Ubuntu install, we discovered it was the same. So we discovered that they all have the base components and we can add the different desktop managers as we like.