2007-06-13

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Meeting June 13, 2007

02:35   RichEd  right kicking off with TECHNICAL
02:36   ogra    we released tribe1 on last thursday
02:37   ogra    since then i have redone much of the ltsp architecture, it doesnt ues nfs anymre but nbd and uses a squashfs image instead of a plain failesystem over the network
02:37   ogra    all in all its booting about twice as fast now
02:37   RichEd  ogra: for all LTSP or just the classmate
02:37   highvoltage     ogra: that sounds weird (but extremely wonderful)
02:37   ogra    (boottime was our biggest concdern this release)
02:37   RichEd  good news on the half speed boot :)
02:37   RichEd  sorry double speed / half time :)
02:38   highvoltage     ogra: I never liked NFS
02:38   ogra    RichEd, thats ltsp only, but much of the code i write for this overlaps with the classmate
02:38   highvoltage     ogra: so tribe 1 already supports the nbd LTSP?
02:38   ogra    highvoltage, sbalneav measures 73sec vs 140sec yesterday with the first implementation
02:38   ogra    thats still not the end of speedups
02:39   ogra    we'll get to a minute or below
02:39   highvoltage     can you encrypt the filesystem?
02:39   ogra    yes
02:39   highvoltage     oh great
02:39   ogra    but thats not supported yet
02:39   ogra    needs initramfs support
02:39   highvoltage     well, just that it's technically possible is great
02:39   ogra    beyond that, we now support swapping over the network from initrmfs
02:40   ogra    it detects if you have less than 48M and automatically adds swapspace from the server
02:40   ogra    so its actually possible to boot 28M clients
02:40   highvoltage     geez. ltsp is maturing very fast.
02:40   ogra    as long as you make nbdswapd create the swapfiles in a tmpfs
02:40   ogra    i'll write a howto for that after or for the gutsy release
02:41   ogra    all the changes are *not* in tribe 1
02:41   ogra    they are my work of the past week ... started all right after tribe1 was out
02:41   highvoltage     aah. so best would be to update my sources.list to gutsy, install new ltsp-server, then do a ltsp-build-client?
02:41   ogra    so make sure to haave ltsp-server and ltsp-server-standalone 5.0.16 at least
02:41   highvoltage     righto
02:42   ogra    (.16 is just building, but i'd suggest to wait for it)
02:42   highvoltage     I'll test it and make some noise about it. this is fantastic progres indeed.
02:42   ogra    yeah
02:42   ogra    together with sbalneavs rewrite of ldm we'll have the best and fastets ltsp ever :)
02:43   ogra    did i mention that ldm can do unencrypted X transport now ?
02:43   highvoltage     and no one will ever have to use ltsp 4.2 any more
02:43   highvoltage     no you didn't
02:43   highvoltage     sbalneav mentioned that he was working on it before the summit
02:43   ogra    the password handling goes still through ssh, but all X traffic is unencrypted if you set LDM_DIRECTX=True
02:43   ogra    nah, thats from Gadi and a totally new idea
02:44   ogra    instead f calling ssh -X we set DISPLAY=clientip:dpy
02:44   ogra    so all features (localdev, sound) persist, and you have some password security bu the same speed for X as XDMCP had
02:45   ogra    so nobody can complain or has to use XDMCP anymore
02:45   highvoltage     uhm... what does that leave then?
02:45   ogra    anyway, thats it so far from tech
02:46   highvoltage     it seems that LTSP will be just about complete
02:46   ogra    highvoltage, yes, if we have the gui maintenance tools we can just lean back and tunr a screw here and there for a while
02:47   highvoltage     then the authentication team must just get going, so that we can have local apps too.
02:47   ogra    the nice thing is that the squashfs/unionfs/nbd setup opens a ton of new opportuities
02:47   ogra    starting from just using a liveCD squashfs instead of the client built one ... so you have a desktop kiosk ;)
02:47   highvoltage     yeah, you could mount over a set of applications on another nbd mount over a union based on machine
02:48   ogra    or instead of a tmpfs you can use a second ext2 writeable image on the server and have persistent workstations
02:48   ogra    there are millions of new options we can gnerate products on :)
02:49   ogra    i was eager to make that switch since ages but never had the balls :)
02:49   ogra    this time i did and t seems it turns out very well
02:49   ogra    so thats it about tech ... any questions ?
02:50   ogra    RichEd, btw, classmate is still waiting for the wlan driver from Ben
02:50   RichEd  ogra: has he got it working and waiting to get it to you, or still busy ?
02:50   ogra    i had some apology mails from him and he knows its urgent but didnt send me anything yet
02:51   ogra    i dont know to be honest
02:51   ogra    i hope to get something soon
02:51   RichEd  okay ... on a related note, willvdl and I met with some Intel people today in Cape Town ... they are here for the WEF
02:51   ogra    nice
02:51   RichEd  It was (Sir) John Davies who heads up the sales side of Willie's development.
02:52   ogra    ah, very cool
02:52   RichEd  He is also head of the Intel World Ahead programme that is looking at "the next billion PC users"
02:52   RichEd  So they do the Classmate, and some other low spec, low energy rugged devices
02:52   ogra    "canonical ... the company that does business with knights" :)
02:53   RichEd  Another link in the Intel chain, so they will introduce me to various people on the ground.
02:54   RichEd  Move on to Artwork then ...
02:54   ogra    do we have anything for art?
02:54   highvoltage     ogra: I'll ask you questions when I test, there's bound to be some then
02:54   ogra    highvoltage, right
02:56   RichEd  Pete is not around for art ... anyone else have anthing to raise / say ?
02:56   ogra    i also need to document the new stuff i guess :)
02:56   highvoltage     is aliasvegas still around? I haven't heard from her in a long time
02:56   ogra    nope, i dont think so
02:56   RichEd  cx33 is in and out ... not as much as usual
02:56   ogra    and pete wanted to cut his participation time a bit
02:56   RichEd  I'll clear up his and her commitment when I see him next time in #edubuntu
02:56   highvoltage     we didn't really have an artwork bof at the uds, did we? perhaps that is something we should re-visit at some stage.
02:56   highvoltage     RichEd: ok
02:56   ogra    well, we'Re supposed to get easy changeable artwork from ubuntu, dont we ?
02:56   RichEd  ken wimer has agreed to help out ...
02:56   RichEd  to take any suggestions or examples from us, and then make them professional for the product
02:56   ogra    so that would be the ubuntu art stuff with changed colors and different logo
02:56   ogra    i know ken is working on an easy procedure for derivatives here
02:57   RichEd  ogra: yes, we can vary it, but keep it within the general flavour theme
02:57   ogra    right
02:57   ogra    only ldm is a bit different, but i'll care for that and do a gdm ripoff for the art
02:57   RichEd  ogra: cool ... you can hack it if you want, and ken will polish the idea
02:58   ogra    right
02:58   Hobbsee ogra: edubuntu wouldnt have use for an edubuntu-restricted-extras as ubuntu & kubuntu has, would it?  (not the manager, just a metapackage of all the extra packages for codecs, etc).   If so, the ubuntu-restricted-manager is now done sanely for multiple flavours.
=== Hobbsee has only just remembered, sorry
02:58   ogra    Hobbsee, edubuntu uses ubuntu as a base ...
02:59   ogra    so an ubuntu-restricted-somethig will be used
02:59   ogra    we dont need extra packages for this
02:59   Hobbsee ogra: fair enough.  wasnt sure if there were specific needs for edubuntu.  <goes back to lurking>
02:59   ogra    Hobbsee, there is an edubuntu-kde metapackage planned ... that should indeed depend on the KDE variant ;)
03:00   Hobbsee that'd be cool
03:00   ogra    well i'm all for it, but am waiting for someone to take up the maintenance of that
03:00   ogra    we dont have many KDE peoplein edubuntu so it should be someone from the kubuntu crowd who maintais the seeds for it
03:01   RichEd  anything more in art then ?
03:02   ogra    doesnt look like
03:02   RichEd  Moving on to Documentation ...
03:02   RichEd  willvdl has some stuff to add here but he does not seem to be online atm ...
03:02   RichEd  ogra: has sbalneav done any more LTSP doc stuff ?
03:02   ogra    nope
03:03   RichEd  and anyone else with a doc topic ?
03:03   ogra    and i'm more happy having him coding on the new ldm than having him writing docs
03:03   RichEd  :)
03:03   ogra    docs are something we *can* fix out of sync ... code needs to be tested early in a release cycle
03:04   RichEd  okay ...
03:04   ogra    so dot drag him away from the code ;)
03:04   ogra    *dont
03:04   jsgotangco      +1
03:08   RichEd  Web Sites then ...
03:08   RichEd  again will has some updates ... but he is not here as above
03:08   ogra    pips1 and him discussed some website stuff last week iirc
03:08   ogra    but i wasnt following closely
03:08   RichEd  From my side, I am working with Gerry (the new PRO & marketing guy in Canonical) to put some generic edubuntu & ubuntu education stuff on the ubuntu.com web site
03:08   ogra    great
03:08   RichEd  Also, sort of related, I did an interview with THE Journal last week ... Technology in Higher Education
03:08   RichEd  Circulation of 90,000 in the US
03:08   RichEd  And an online version.
03:08   ogra    wow
03:08   RichEd  Also: Hello,
03:08   RichEd  We're reviewing Edubuntu in our next issue. So two things
03:08   highvoltage     there's some problem with the server atm, it needs a bit of a software update for drupal 5
03:08   RichEd  Kathy Ishizuka
03:08   RichEd  Technology Editor
03:08   RichEd  School Library Journal
03:08   highvoltage     I've been meaning to ping the sysadmins about that, will do so today/tomorrow
03:08   RichEd  and <quote>
03:08   RichEd  . Also, our reviewer is so enthusiastic about the product that we'd like to provide CDs at the American Association of School Librarians conference this October, where he will be featuring his top tech picks.
03:08   RichEd  <endquote>
03:08   RichEd  So edubuntu is making some nice waves in the US ...
=== ogra got a thank you mail tday from an ubuntustudio user who runs it over ltsp :)
03:09   ogra    "But WOW!! What a terrific system we now have, and what a terrific job
03:09   ogra    you guys have done!!  UbuntuStudio's desktop is what win vista should
03:09   ogra    have been - brilliant and elegant.
03:09   ogra    "
03:09   RichEd  cool :)
03:09   ogra    "UbuntuStudio running
03:09   ogra    on a dual-quad xeon (8 cpu's) Intel server motherboard with 6 gb ram, 6
03:09   ogra    removable SATA hard disks, as an ltsp server.  The ltsp software was
03:09   ogra    installed following the guidance in the UbuntuLTSP/LTSPQuickInstall. The
03:09   ogra    server is driving six high-res Neoware terminals, and I had the Rolling
03:09   ogra    Stones playing on the speakers at my terminal where I took the
03:09   ogra    screenshot. "
03:09   ogra    :)
03:09   RichEd  And this from a Canonical Partner:
03:09   RichEd  >>> Right now we are looking to place a server w/20 Edubuntu (for the
03:09   RichEd  >>> extras it provides) clients. The ultimate goal is to add 200 thin
03:09   RichEd  >>> clients thoughout the school.
03:10   ogra    wow
03:10   RichEd  So a good week for PRO
03:10   ogra    that will need a little server farm
03:10   RichEd  ogra: they do low spec devices specifically for Open Source, and want to put a sales bundle together for:
03:11   RichEd  It looks like we could set up a fairly standard package like this for
03:11   RichEd  schools, municipalities, internet cafes, etc.
03:11   RichEd  We should put a bundle together!
03:11   ogra    yeah
03:11   RichEd  http://projects.powerdeveloper.org/project/efika/338
03:11   ogra    well, it would be nice if i could get one of the devices in advance
03:11   RichEd  Okay ... Community
03:11   ogra    to find any possible drawbacks
03:11   RichEd  (ogra: I'll ask them for one)
03:11   ogra    great, thanks
03:12   RichEd  pips1 is busy with the community site, and has some people contributing (like David Trask)
03:12   ogra    or at least they should tell me the specs, i have a ton of thin clients around here, its likely i have the one or a similar one they want to use
03:12   RichEd  ogra: they build the devices ... you can see specs here:
03:12   ogra    oh, right, i still havent pulled off the pic of my camera
03:13   ogra    pics
03:13   RichEd  http://www.genesippc.com/openclient.php
03:13   ogra    urgh
03:13   RichEd  Specifications are as follows:
03:13   RichEd      * Freescale MPC5200B PowerPC SoC up to 400MHz
03:13   RichEd      * 128MB 266MHz DDR RAM
03:13   RichEd      * 10/100Mbit/s Ethernet
03:13   RichEd      * 2x USB ports
03:13   RichEd      * 1x RS232 Serial port
03:13   ogra    we dont support ppc anymore
03:13   RichEd      * Stereo Audio out, Microphone and Line-input
03:13   RichEd      * RoHS Compliant
03:13   RichEd  :(
03:13   ogra    since edgy
03:14   RichEd  they put projects together to achieve aims, so perhaps they can look at this with some partners
03:14   ogra    we still have a ppc build but no officially supported one
03:14   RichEd  well we can test their device and help them iron out kinks - hopefully
03:14   ogra    the specs look great though
03:14   ogra    would make a nice ltsp setup
03:15   ogra    but we wouldnt be able to officially support it
03:15   RichEd  indeed :) looks quite neat as well
03:15   ogra    unless our marketing strategy changes
03:15   RichEd  Well they are a partner ... so maybe we can bend over a bit
03:15   ogra    indeed
03:16   RichEd  Okay last topic, Management:
03:16   ogra    but we dont give support for the pcc packages
03:16   ogra    thats the main prob
03:16   RichEd  From my side: I must get some projects going to help build community, as soon as I have finished the planning exercise we are busy with.
03:16   RichEd  I've asked people to comment on the first draft of the objectives which are here:
03:16   RichEd  https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Education/Objectives
03:16   RichEd  Feel free to mail me comments / suggestions.
03:17   RichEd  Note that I will need to relate the objectives back to the company strategy (i.e. the ones that the paid people will commit to) ...
03:17   RichEd  But ideas for community goals are welcome ...
03:22   ogra    LaserJock old me he wanted to work on the addonCD enhancements over the weekend
03:22   ogra    he seemed to have some concrete ideas about grouping the app install entries
03:22   ogra    but he hasnt come back to me yet
03:23   RichEd  okay ... hopefully he will share them with us for comment
03:24   RichEd  anything else ?
03:24   ogra    nope
03:24   RichEd  okay ... lets wrap it up ... and let ogra make plans for sweden :)

Edubuntu/Meetings/Logs/2007-06-13 (last edited 2009-10-14 19:33:26 by 95)