startubuntu team mailing list archive

[Pierre van Male <vmalep@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Alberto for your feedbacks.

I would like to share 2 comments:

Sometimes the reason why software is presented in an unified format is not
because its ease to use, but in the interest of making it to look more
featured [...]


I do not agree. Most of the cyber café are managed by people who have no
idea about GNU/Linux and FLOSS and if you come up with a solutions that
needs a lot of triggering, they will simply not adopt it. They needs the
FLOSS alternative to offer at least all the features they already have and
it must be as easy to managed than Windows.

This is for Windows updates and installations, which are big. But
installations and updates for Ubuntu are so minimal it makes unnecessary to
have a dedicated repository for that, specially if you aren't using a large
amount of computers as in a corporation.


Cyber café are especially important in less developed countries where the
internet network is also less developed. Even for me that play with about 3
Ubuntu box, the volume of the update matters (and I used to copy the
content of /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb from one computer to another,
which is not a very clean solution. For a cybercafé or a school in Addis,
to have 10 computers downloading the same updates each one (and they are
not so minimal, you easy download 60Mb per week) is an issue.

I believe the use of GNU/Linux for the cyber café deserve a dedicated
distribution that would be quite close to Edubuntu. If this project needs
some funds to start, I am willing to contribute. But I would prefer to see
this being centralized and shared rather than paying someone for myself
that would develop a particular and difficult to replicate solution.

To be continued... ;-)

Pierre

Le lundi 11 août 2014, Alberto Salvia Novella <es20490446e@xxxxxxxxx> a
écrit :

>  Pierre van Male:
>
>
>    - To unblock a desktop with a code generated from the server or
>    manually form the server and calculate the time of use + billing.
>    - To restore the original state of the system (i.e. guest session).
>
>
> This is the basic functionality of the software; which could be
> implemented with shell utilities
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_utilities> and Notify OSD
> <https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NotificationDevelopmentGuidelines>, commanded
> through short python <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_programming>
> scripts <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_%28computing%29> using the OS
> library <http://www.pythonforbeginners.com/os/pythons-os-module>, and a
> minimal GTK <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gtk> graphical user interface
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface> which has a list
> of users and the time when the the session has to be finished.
>
> You can hire a programmer who knows how Linux works, and it could be made
> in less than a day; so also with little money. Think it like going to the
> store for buying the software, but with the difference that the developer
> designs it specially for you.
>
>
> Pierre van Male:
>
>
>    - To charge the use of the printer.
>
>
> Since printing is a very unpredictable operation, and prone to errors;
> better to charge this person to person.
>
>
>
> Pierre van Male:
>
>
>    - We could imagine one step further with an ldap server that also
>    calculate the login time for a client, but keep its file on the server to
>    be recovered the next time he comes.
>
>
> Adds no value and substrates flexibility compared to having an interface
> where you could simply specify when the session will go down.
>
>
>
> Pierre van Male wrote:
>
>
>    - To have a proxy server (to limit the bandwidth).
>
>
> This is ClearOS <http://www.clearfoundation.com/>! Install it and that's
> all!
>
>
>
> Pierre van Male:
>
>
>    - To have a local repository (idem for the updates).
>
>
> This is for Windows updates and installations, which are big. But
> installations and updates for Ubuntu are so minimal it makes unnecessary to
> have a dedicated repository for that, specially if you aren't using a large
> amount of computers as in a corporation.
>
>
>
> Pierre van Male:
>
>
>    - To have a centralize management of the software and the system
>    config (to ease the management of the machines).
>
>
> Sometimes the reason why software is presented in an unified format is not
> because its ease to use, but in the interest of making it to look more
> featured; as people usually confound having more options with having more
> flexibility, instead of less clarity in what adds value. What is the
> opposite to what the KISS <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_principle>,
> Lean <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing>, Unix
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_unix_philosophy#Mike_Gancarz:_The_UNIX_Philosophy>,
> Signal VS Noise <http://37signals.com/rework/>, Kaizen
> <http://www.amazon.com/Small-Step-Change-Your-Life/dp/0761129235>,
> Essentialism
> <http://gregmckeown.com/essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less/>
> and "be water my friend <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGFf3SRP1bE>"
> philosophies stand for.
>
>
>
> Less is more.
>
> --
> Alberto <https://www.google.com/+AlbertoSalviaNovella/about>
>