Friday, June 29, 2012

Nino Mint - XFCE Desktop for Spanish Education

Nino Mint Project     Learn - Play - Do - Build - Grow

Linux for Install on Older Computers for Educational use in Central America and Carribian

(work in progress)  
Based on the success of my last build (see this link) plus enhancements like locking down some settings (aka partial Kiosk mode) and including a reset script.

I decided for my current build to utilize Linux Mint Debian (LMDE) 32 bit with XFCE windows manager.  This will hopefully allow me in months and years ahead to update the build without starting from scratch.  XFCE will also allow some nice features like Kiosk Mode.  I am planning to implement some of Kiosk mode features combined with a RESET script to restore desktop areas which I do not lock.  Another idea is to setup a pre-configured server with PXE boot support and Clonezilla loaded with an original image, so they can completely reformat the computers when needed.

Without further ado, below are the steps I took to create a full featured, ready to use system for distribution on refurbished computers.

Tale of Contents
OS Install
Programs Installed - Basic
Users and Groups
Directories for Shared Files
Additional Program Setup Steps
System Tweaks - only once
System Tweaks - each user
Hide and Uninstall Programs
Kiosk Mode and Reset Script


OS Install
Installed LMDE XFCE 32 bit with 1 gig swap, otherwise remaining disk partitioned with ext4, no LVM.  Install all updates.


Programs Installed
The easiest way to install these is in terminal using command "sudo apt-get install" followed by a list of the programs listed below separated by a space (first letter of program is not normally capitalized and capitalization matters).

Accessories
  • Guake - nice f12 terminal application - I will use this if no one else (favorite)
  • Xournal - note taking program for mixing drawn and typed notes
  • Programs included with Linux Mint: (will hide or delete those in Red for listo user)
    • This list is too long to type here, so I will only include those we desire to hide or delete
    • Terminal de Root
Graphics
  • Darktable - professional quality photo program
  • Dia - Diagram editor
  • Inkscape - vector graphics program
    • ink-generator - to make pdfs and more
  • LibreCAD - CAD program
  • Picasa - Photo program
  • Pinta - simple, but flexible image editor
  • Gimp (Programa de maipulacion de imagenes de GNU)- powerfull and complicated image editor
    • abr2gbr - photoshop brush converter for importing custom brushes
    • gimp-data-extras - extra brushes, palates, etc for Gimp (installed by default)
    • gimp-gap - adds video editing to Gimp
    • gimp-help-es - help files for Gimp (installed by default)
    • gimp-plugin-registry - various add on tools
    • gimp-resynthesizer - makes large textures from small samples (add on)
  • Scribus - desktop publishing program
    • Scribus-doc - documentation (documentation English only)
    • scribus-ng-doc - additional documentation
    • scribus-template - more templates
  • Programs included with Linux Mint: (will hide or delete those in Red for listo user)
    • gThumb - photo thumbnail viewer
    • LibreOffice Draw - drawing program
    • Simple Scan - scanner interface
    • Visor de documentos - pdf viewer
    • Visor de imagenes - image viewer
Internet
  • Chromium-browser - fully opensource browser
    • chromium-browser-l10n - language packs
    • chromium-inspector - page inspector (lmde edition only)
    • chromium-codecs-ffmpeg and chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra (LM13 only)
  • Filezilla - gui FTP client
  • Programs included with Linux Mint: (will hide or delete those in Red for listo user)
    • client Thunderbird - email client
    • Client Pidgin - instant message client
    • GNOME PPP - dial up  modem configuration tool
    • Darktable - professional quality photo programNavegador web Firefox - web browser
    • Transmission - download manager
    • XChat IRC - instant message client
Education
  • Basic256 - for learning basic programming language
  • BibleTime - Bible Study Program
  • Childsplay - education program for small children
    • childsplay-alphabet-sounds-es
  • El Pequeno Mago (littlewizard) - Learn basics of programing
  • GChemPaint - Chemistry Molecule Builder
  • GeoGebra - Geometry learning application
  • GNU Solfege (Solfege) - music education program
    • solfege-doc
  • GPeriodic - simple periodic table
  • JFractionLab - learning fractions
  • Kalzium - Periodic table of elements
    • KHelpCenter4 - Help center used for this and other KDE designed applications
  • Kbruch -- fraction learning application    (not yet in Spanish language)
  • Kiwix - (see below how to install)
  • Klavaro - Typing tutor
  • KmPlot - Plotting program
  • KStars - Star map program
    • kstars-data-extra-tycho2 -- extra starmap info
  • KTurtle - Programming learning program   (not yet in Spanish language)
  • Marble - Globe and map program
    • marble-plugins -- enables the shared libraries
    • libmarblewidget13 - shared libraries for Marble
  • MathWar - a math memorization game
  • Suite educativa GCompris (GCompris) - educational program for small kids
    • gcompris-sound-es  -- Spanish language for gcompris
    • gnucap - electrical circuit plugin for gcompris
  • TuxMath - Math game
  • TuxPaint - painting program for very young kids (80Mb)
  • TuxType - Typing game
Games
  • Glchess (ajedrez) - faster chess game (3 Mb) 
    • stockfish - computer AI player
  • Atomix - puzzle chemistry game
  • Biloba - strategy board game
  • Bovo - 5 in a row strategy game
  • Ceferino - platform (2Mb disk space)
  • Chromium-bsu - arcade style space shooter
  • ColorCode - like mastermind (1 Mb)
  • Enigma - marble puzzle
  • ExtremeTuxRacer - downhill ski game with penguin
  • Flobopuyo - color matching tetris like game
  • FreeCiv-GTK (freeciv-client-gtk) - turn based strategy game
  • Frogatto - classic platform game
  • Frozen-bubble - bubble matching game
  • gBrainy - puzzle game (automatically installs in Spanish language)
  • GRhino - Go clone (2 Mb)
  • Wesnoth (la batalla por) - turn based strategy game
  • lBreakout2 - like classic breakout
  • lMarbles - game like atomix
  • Mahjongg - classic tile game
  • Minas (gnomine) - clone of Minesweep
  • Neverball - tilting floor marble game
  • Neverputt - mini golf game
  • OpenArena - FPS like Doom
  • Pingus - like lemmings
  • PyRacerz - top down toy car racing game
  • Quadrapassel - tetris clone
  • Ri-li - train game for younger kids
  • Slingshot - physics based space battle
  • Sudoku (gnome-sudoku) - math puzzle game
  • Solitario AisleRoit (aisleroit)- Solitare game with many games in one
  • Suite ecucativa GCompris (gcompris) - also in Education
  • Supertux - Mario clone
  • Tuxfootball - Soccer game
  • Warmux - multiplayer war game
Multimedia
  • AcetoneISO - disk emulator to mount CD/DVD images
  • Audacity - multi-track audio editor
  • Bombono DVD (bombono-dvd) - DVD authoring program
  • GNU Solfege (solfege) (also above in education)
  • Imagination - Slide show maker
  • Openshot - create and edit videos
    • openshot-doc - documentation files
  • Programs included with Linux Mint: (will hide or delete those in Red for listo user)
    • Brasero - cd burning
    • Gnome MPlayer - media player
    • Grabadora de sonidos - simple sound recorder
    • Mezclador - volume conrol
    • Reproductgor de peliculas
    • VLC - media player (was included)
Office
  • Freemind - mind mapping program
    • freemind-doc  - help files
    • freemind-browser  - for viewing in web browser
    • freemind-plugins-svg
    • freemind-plugins-script
    • freemind-plugins-help
  • LibreOffice - all programs
    • libreoffice-help-es  -- Spanish help files for LibreOffice
    • libreoffice-l10n-es -- Spanish language
    • openclipart-libreoffice -- clip art files
    • libreoffice-pdfimport -- pdf import filter
    • libreoffice-evolution  - email plugin
    • libreoffice-filter-binfilter  - legacy file filters
    • docvert-libreoffice  - publish to pdf and other formats
    • Programs included with Linux Mint: (will hide or delete those in Red for listo user)
      • Diccionario - dictionary which requires online access
      • LibreOffice Base, Calc, Draw, Impress, Math, and Writer
    System
    • Aptoncd - program to create backups, transfer packages to non-connected machines, etc  I use this for burning a DVD of my full build for installing directly on another computer.
    • Virtualbox-nonfree - virtualization program
    Other
    • OpenSSH-server - used for connecting to computer via SSH (for remote maintenance)
      • openssh-blacklist  - know bad openssh keys
      • openssh-blacklist-extra
    • numlockx - turns numlock on automatically at startup
    • gnome-system-tools (LM13 only was missing users and groups plus other apps)


    Users and Groups
    • Setup the following users via system/users and groups/add user
      • maestra: Installed with this user, will be utilized by instructors
      • listo: User for general use by students
      • itadmin: Reserved for IT admins only
      • adelante: Rarely used by students or staff with laptops
        (change password for each separate machine)
    • Advanced User Settings
      • Under system/users and groups, then advanced settings/user privileges 
      • All users should have all priveleges checked 
      • EXCEPT listo user should NOT have "administer the system", "monitor system registries", or "configure printers" checked
    • Groups - Select Manage groups (from the users Settings app) and make the following changes
      • adm - select all users EXCEPT listo
      • admin - create and select select all users EXCEPT listo
      • sambashare - select all users EXCEPT listo
      • ssh - select itadmin only
      • staff - select maestra and itadmin only
      • sudo group - select all users EXCEPT listo
      • users group - select all users
      • vboxuser - select all users
        • must be done after installation of virtualbox
    Directories for Shared Files
    Make the following directories for shared file location
    • /share  -- used to hold shared information via the following subdirectories
      • sudo mkdir /share
    • /share/basic
      • sudo mkdir /share/basic
    • /share/biblia
      • sudo mkdir /share/biblia
    • /share/foto
      • sudo mkdir /share/foto
    • /share/musica
      • sudo mkdir /share/musica
    • /share/wiki
      • sudo mkdir /share/wiki
    • /share/admin
      • sudo mkdir /share/admin
    Now modify rights on these directories
    • /share rights - I want itadmin as owner with associated group as users (-R command makes it recursive to all subdirectories)
      • sudo chown -R itadmin.users /share
    • change rights so all users can read, write and execute files in these directories
      • sudo chmod -R a+rwx /share
    • Add sticky bit on these directories which disallows different users from renaming or deleting another users's files or directories.  That way we can add content as itadmin or maestra that all users can access, but cannot delete or modify (e.g. bible and wiki files).
      • sudo chmod -R +t /share
    • Verify the directory structure... should be as follows
      • sudo ls -l /share
    • change rights on /admin directory .....
    drwxr-xr-x  2  itadmin itadmin..... admin
    drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... basic
    drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... biblia
    drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... foto
    drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... musica
    drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... wiki


    Additional Program Setup Steps 
    Programs that need additional setup to work perfectly

    • Basic256 - help files not fully included by default, plus add examples to share directory
      • go to basic256.org and download the latest program file
      • unpack download file into Descargas/basic directoy
      • Copy the 'help' folder to /usr/share/basic256/ and check correct ownership and permissions... after first removing the broken help files
        • sudo rm -R /usr/share/basic256/help
        • cd ~/Descargas/basic
        • sudo cp -R ./help /usr/share/basic256/  
          (this may not work in later version of the program)
        • ls -l /usr/share/basic
      • Copy the Examples directory into /share/basic/examples
        • sudo cp -R ./Examples /share/basic/
      • Copy the program icons
        • sudo cp ./resources/images/basic256.png /usr/share/basic256/
        • sudo cp ./resources/images/basic256.ico /usr/share/basic256/
      • Change menu to use the icon
        • gksudo gedit /usr/share/applications/basic256.desktop
          • change Icon= line to read
          • Icon=/usr/share/basic256/basic256.ico
        • save file
    • Kiwix - the latest Kiwix does not readily install, here are the steps I needed to take
      • log in as itadmin 
      • Download Latest GNU/Linux version if Kiwix program from here: http://www.kiwix.org/index.php/Main_Page/en
      • From the same site, also download the Spanish language zim file (10Gb for March 2012 build)
        • test file with md5:
        • md5sum /home/itadmin/Descargas/wikipedia_es_all_03_2012.zim
        • checks out equal to sum listed on web site
      • move to share directory (in terminal)
        • mv /home/itadmin/Descargas/kiwix[.....] /share/wiki
      • move zim file to share directory
        • mv /home/itadmin/Descargas/wiki[...] /share/wiki
      • unpack program
        • tar xvjf /share/wiki/kiwix[...].tar.bz2 -C /share/wiki
      • remove original tar file
        • rm /share/wiki/kiwix[...].tar.bz2
      • tested kiwix program by navigating to /share/wiki/kiwix/kiwix and double clicking on it (it is executable)... success
      • Add a menu item for kiwix for all users
        • in terminal go to /usr/share/applications directory
          • cd /usr/share/applications
        • copy klavaro.desktop as kiwix.desktop
          • sudo cp klavaro.desktop kiwix.desktop
        • edit file
          • sudo nano kiwix.desktop
          • change the following lines
            • Name=Wikipedia_Kiwix
            • Comment=Offline Encycolpedia Browser
            • Comment(es)=Encyclopedia Wikipedia Local
            • Exec=/share/wiki/kiwix/kiwix
            • Icon=/share/wiki/kiwix/xulrunner/chrome/icons/default/default16.png
          • ctrl-o to save, then ctrl-x to exit
        • Try running program from menu.... Fails with permission issue (also icon did not show up
          • look at directory permissions... 
          • cd /share/wiki
          • ls -l
            • shows kiwix owned by itadmin with owner permissions, but no permissions for group or other users....
            • of course this is because of sticky bit.... tricky
        • Correct permission issues by applying different permissions
          • sudo chmod a+rx -R /share/wiki/kiwix
          • Check permissions with ls -l on this directory
          • Shows read and execute permissions for all users
        • Try to launch from menu again -- success
        • Log out and try to launch from menu as listo user -- success
      • Build the index for listo user
    User Specific Changes
    Do each of the following steps while logged on as Listo user, and maybe other users as desired.

    Program Changes (user specific)
    • Set language to Spanish for the following programs
      • TuxTyping
      • Scribus -- via File/Preferences/General/Language
      • LibreCAD -- via startup dialog
    • GlChess
      • select stockfish as the computer user
    • Marble educational program - install extra maps
      • Open application and install a couple of additional maps
      • Natural Earth III, Historical 1570, Historical 1786, all other Historical maps, climate zones, one of each planet
    • Libreoffice
      • After installed add Spanish Language for Spell check, and other extensions
        Extensions:  Espanol, PDF Import, Export as Images, 
        • Tools/Extensions...
        • click on link to download more extensions
        • in web site click on Extensions sections, then type in Spanish and search
        • Download Spanish Dictionary from LibreOffice 
        • Go back to Extension tool and add Dictionary from Descargas folder
      • Add the other Writer extensions in the same manner
    • Chromium preferences
      • select settings under the lined "customize and control" icon in upper right of browser app
      • Basics
        • Click on "Make Chromium My default browser"
      • Advanced settings
        • Passwords and forms
          • deselect "enable autofill"
          • deselect "offer to save passwords"
      • Privacy - Content settings
        • Cookies
          • select "keep local data only until I quit my browser"
        • Location
          • select "do not allow any site to track physical location"
        • Notifications
          • select "Do not allow any site to show desktop notifications"
    • Firefox preferences
      • Edit/Preferences/Privacy
        • Tracking
          • select "tell websites I do not want to be tracked"
        • History
          • Select "Use custom setting for History" then 
          • deselect "remember search and form history"
          • Keep cookies until "I close Firefox"
          • select "clear history when Firefox closes"
      • Security
        • deselect "remember passwords for sites
    System Tweaks (user specific)
    • Add "Places" to panel (start bar)
      • right click on bottom panel and open panel preferences
      • on items tab, click add a new item, then select "Places" and close
      • in item list move places up to right after first separator then close
    • Audio Controls - add those needed
      • click on speaker icon on lower right
      • Select audio card "Playback: internal audio.."
      • Click on "select controls" button and add master control
      • now un-mute audio... and can adjust level as needed
    • "share" directory Link
      • Open file manager and navigate to the root directory
      • drag the /share directory onto the bottom of the left side of the file manager to create a permanent link  (could have used symlink, but this works well)
    • Application AutoStart - remove unwanted program auto starts 
      • settings/session and startup/Application Autostart (each user except adelante - may be often used on laptops for college students)
      • deselect the following
        • Blueman Applet
        • Guake (keep on for ITadmin)
        • mintUPdate (keep on for ITadmin)
        • mintUPload
        • mintWelcome (keep on for ITadmin)
    • Number of desktops = 1 (multiple desktops is confusing to windows users, maybe this will change over time, but too often someone tells me; "all my stuff suddenly disappeared")
      • Settings/Workspaces
      • Set # down to 1 (2 for itadmin)

    System Tweaks  - Which only need to be done once
    • Auto log-in for principle user
      • system/login window/security
        • check "Enable automatic login"
        • select listo user
        • check "Enable Timed Login"
        • select listo user
        • select 15 second pause
    • No font changes for login window
      • system/login window/accessibility
        • deselect "allow users to change...."
    • Turn numbers lock on automatically (seems to be no way to select it in a menu, so install a little program to run at start) - only done once
      • in terminal
        • sudo apt-get install numlockx (or use software manager)
    • Remove Unnecessary Grub Boot Menu Options - after several kernel options propogate in the boot menu, it may get busy.  The easiest way to clean this up is to remove the older, associated packages linux-header-[kernel version & architecture] and linux-image-[kernel version & arc.].  This removes the older kernels and grub, stops listing them as boot options.
      • open synaptic package manager
      • search for older linux-image and linux-header packages (3 for each kernel version)
      • mark for complete removal

    Move or Hide Menu Items for Programs
    Hide the following programs as shown below:


    Hide these by copying the .desktop file into local directory, then changing this file so it doesn't show the program in the menu.  This does not remove the program, just hides it.  Alternately, the program can be disallowed.



    Add Kiosk Mode and Reset Script Functionality
    Add functionality so it is hard to modify desktop beyond point of usable... and ability to reset for listo user.  Possibly make desktop reset automatic on start-up (would be very useful in classroom setting).  Also hide some menu items for some users.

    Regarding a startup script which would reset the panel and other desktop settings, there seem to be a couple good suggestions (see additional resources below).  Namely Cron jobs and a special start-up script.  Since Cron jobs are ubiquitous across just about all Linux distros, this seems like a good method.  Also, one can create a script which can be potentially run at another time and from a directory that itadmin user has rights to making it easy for modifying or replacing the script or adding other maintenance scripts with different functionality.

    Scripts desired

    - desktopsave -- will be used to save desktop configuration for user listo
    • Will need to be run as itadmin user, otherwise will not be able to write to config backup directory
    - desktopreset -- will be used to reset desktop configuration for user listo
    • Should be allowed to run as any user
    Script Setup Steps
    • Create Directory (from terminal as itadmin user)
      • sudo mkdir /share/admin
      • cd /share
      • ls -l  (to see what it looks like)
      • sudo chown itadmin:itadmin /share/admin
      • ls -l (gives output like this which is good)
        • drwxr-xr-x 2 itadmin  itadmin  4096 date time admin
    • Create save to directory (as itadmin user)
      • cd /share/admin
      • mkdir homesave
    • Create desktopsave script file
      • cd /share/admin
      • touch desktopsave
      • ls -l
      • chmod u+x desktopsave
      • ls -l
        • this gives... -rwxr--r-- l itadmin itadmin date time desktopsave
        • file is writable and executable by itadmin user only but readable by all.  This way other users cannot execute this program and save a bad configuration.
    • desktopsave script... edit in your favorite browser and add the following lines
      • #!/bin/bash
      • # desktop save script, used to save listo user configuration
        • this first line is standard for scritps, second line is a comment
      • cd /share/admin/homesave
      • # delete the previous backup
      • rm -r /share/admin/homesave/listobak
      • # make a copy of the current backup
      • cp -r /share/admin/homesave/listo /share/admin/homesave/listobak
      • # delete the current backup
      • rm -r /share/admin/homesave/listo
      • # copy listo home directory (.config and .local only for now)
      • mkdir /share/admin/homesave/listo
      • cp -r /home/listo/.config /share/admin/homesave/
      • cp -r /home/listo/.local /share/admin/homesave/
      • # make readable to all users
      • chmod -R a+r /share/admin/homesave/listo
        • this is not really necessary based on permissions on the homesave directory, but I include it in case these permissions get changed
    • Create desktopfix script file
      • cd /share/admin
      • touch desktopfix
      • chmod a+x desktopfix
      • ls -l
        • this shows file is readable and executable by anyone, but only itadmin can write to it, so any user has the rights to run this script to reset the listo user desktop
    • desktopfix script... edit in your favorite browser and add the following lines
      • #! /bin/bash
      • # desktop reset script
      • # just copy configuration and local directories (for now) other files can be manually copied if needed
      • rsync -r --delete /share/admin/homesave/listo/.config /home/listo/
      • rsync -r --delete /share/admin/homesave/listo/.local /home/listo/
      • # the following restarts the bottom panel if it was closed
      • #xfce4-panel         commented out - doesn't work well in script
      • # the following only applies to older xfce 4.2, starts taskbar if stoppped
      • #xftaskbar4           commented out - for older xfce
      • # the following only for xfce 4.4 lus, reloads windows manager (if borders missing on programs)
      • xfdesktop
    • desktopfixlistomenu script... edit in your favorite browser and add the following lines
      • similar to the above script, except rsync lines are commented out and the xfce4-panel is not
    Create Menu items for desktopfix and desktopsave scripts  
    The following menu items are desired:
    For listo user - REPARAR DESKTOP

    For itadmin user - REPARAR DESKTOP
                               - GUARDAR DESKTOP


    • Copy .desktop programs to appropriate users to use as templates and change ownership of files
      • sudo cp /usr/share/applications/gparted.desktop /home/listo/.local/share/applications/reparar.desktop
      • sudo nano /home/listo/.local/share/aplications/reparar.desktop
        • change the following lines
          • Name=FIX DESKTOP
          • Name[es]=REPARAR DESKTOP
          • Name[fr]=FIXER BUREAU
          • GenericName=FIX DESKTOP
          • GenericName[es]=REPARAR DESKTOP
          • GenericName[fr]=FIXER BUREAU
          • X-GNOME-FulName=FIX DESKTOP
          • Comment=FIX LISTO'S DESKTOP
          • Comment[es]=REPARAR DESKTOP DE LISTO
          • Comment[fr]=FIXER BUREAU LISTO
          • Exec=/share/admin/desktopfixlistomenu
          • Icon=gparted
          • Terminal=true
          • Type=Application
          • ....
        • save file
      • sudo chown listo.listo /home/listo/.local/share/applications/reparar.desktop
      • sudo cp /home/listo/.local/share/applications/reparar.desktop /home/itadmin/.local/share/applications/reparar.desktop
      • sudo cp /home/listo/.local/share/applications/reparar.desktop /home/itadmin/.local/share/applications/guardar.desktop
      • sudo nano /home/itadmin/.local/share/applications/reparar.desktop
        • change the following lines
          • Exec=sudo /share/admin/desktopfix
        • save file
      • sudo nano /home/itadmin/.local/shaore/applications/guardar.desktop
        • change the following lines
          • Name=SAVE DESKTOP
          • Name[es]=GUARDAR DESKTOP
          • Name[fr]=SAUVEGARDER BUREAU
          • ...
          • Exec=sudo /share/admin/desktopsave
        • save file
      • sudo chown itadmin.itadmin /home/itadmin/.local/share/applications/guardar.desktop
      • sudo chown itadmin.itadmin /home/itadmin/.local/share/applications/reparar.desktop
      • ls -l /home/itadmin/.local/share/applications
        • shows itadmin as owner on all .desktop files here


    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Problem Resolution - common


    • Disappearing [start] panel, desktop or windows borders
      Because Xfce is modular, each of these can be inadvertently stopped, removed or crashed.  Type the following command into terminal (Alt-F2), depending on the missing item.  You may need to choose "Save session for furue logins when shutting down to make changes permanent.
      • Panel (start bar) missing --> xfce4-panel
      • Taskbar missing --> xftaskbar4  (xfce4.2 only)
      • Windows Manager missing (no borders on programs) -->xfdesktop (xfce 4.4 only)
    • Video not working smoothly - may need to change video drivers

    ____________________________________________________________________________
    TO DO: For future Releases

    • Local update repository... for updating all computer without using Internet bandwidth.  Probably should be added to the Zentyal server, maybe using virtual server
      • found this tip:  install apt-proxy or approx on a server... maybe directly on Zentyal server, then can either configure each computer to point to Zentyal or maybe even configure the Zentyal server to send all update requests to it!  
      • This caches all updates on the apt-proxy or approx server and keeps individual computers from downloading updates from the Internet.
    • Deployment/reinstall system
      • Clonezilla server.. side by side with Zentyal or as a VM under Zentyal (most secure)?
      • Clonezilla on DVD or USB boot?
      • remastersys?  limited to 4GB, I believe
    • Configuration management program on server options include:
      • Puppet - or another auto configuration management program. Need to research and test first
    • Monitoring server program, e.g. Nagios?
    • Other Games Possibilities from http://beebom.com/2015/02/best-linux-games
      • Xonotic (was Nexuiz) -best in breed free fps
      • Voxelands - minecraft clone
      • The Dark Mod - like theif
      • Tales of Maj'Eyal (ToME) - a roguelike RPG
      • 0 A.D. - like Age of Empires II
      • Supertuxcart
      • Hedgewars - like worms
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Additional Resources

    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Programs to try

    • iTalc
    • DVDstyler, tremulus
    • WorldofGoo


    Stuff Tried, but not Kept
    Games and Programs which were tried, but did not work with either this configuration or the age of computers I am using.
    • Play on Linux: ... There are too many good games being ported to Linux, this is no longer critical to include.
    • Educational: Stellarium (did not open), Celestia (slow), Pysycache (slow kids program)
    • FPShooters: Hedgewars, Nexuiz, Sauerbraten, Alien arena, AssaultCube
    • Board Games: BrutalChess, DreamChess, LondonLaw, Mah-jong (complicated), Pychess, Quarry (complicated), 
    • Strategy Games: rott-Rise of the Triad (fails to start), Warzone 2100, pioneers (complicated), stroq (hard to understand), Widelands (slow),  
    • Archade Games: Blockout II (3d tetris, doesn't load), Zaz (doesn't load), 
    • Platform Games: SMC (campy mario nock off), 
    • Other: Flightgear (very large), Supertuxkart (slow), Titanion (fails to load), Frets on Fire (crashed), Oolite (hangs), Wormux (nice game, but hangs when quitting), rrotage (couldn't figure out how to play)
    • Those which would be worth trying on better hardware:
      • Widelands
      • Liquidwar
    • Dosbox... not installing this program which allows playing of old DOS games since this is no longer relevant, especially for better quality hardware
    • TuxGuitar - unable to figur out midi backend... tried installing Timidity, qmidiarp, qjackctl as options, then selecting in TuxGuitar... hmmm, I don't really understand this midi stuff, giving up for now.
    • Chemestry... Chemtool, EasyChem, GDIS Molecule modeler, ghemical, PyMol, and Viewmol (GChemPaint was chosen instead)
    • Games that were good or decent, but just had too many already
      • Berusky - lazy bug puzzle game
      • Konquest - complex strategy game
      • lTris - tetris clone, but I liked quadrapazzel better
      • Xmoto - 2d motorcross game - still needs just a bit of development work, was missing some levels
    Obsolete Instructions from Previous version - now fixed or not aplicable

    • Childsplay - To get Childsplay to use Spanish alphabet sounds, need to specify at launch by changing the menu launcher as follows.
      • program needs to launch with the following command (caps important)
      • LANGUAGE=es childsplay
      • tested from command line... honestly the Spanish tract is not that great, hmm maybe I should keep it in English... learning English numbers not so bad ?
    • BibleTime
      • Bibletime is crashing when installing bibles and references... 
      • This is a bug in the Sword module... easiest solution may be waiting for bug fix, then installing it
      • currently on libsword8 1.6.2 + dfsg-1 and bibletime 2.8.1-2


    Tuesday, June 5, 2012

    Fedora 16 lxde Laptop

    Installing Fedora 16 for the first time on one of my Laptops... after years of using Ubuntu, Linux Mint and other Debian based distros.

    New Program Installs.

    • Google Chrome:  one of the first things I do with a new install is pull out Google Chrome.  
    • Java Runtime Environment
    • Try to install packagekit to aid in installing new software
      • Open Yum Extender
      • search for packagekit
      • select the following packages for install: PackageKit, PackageKit-glib, PackageKit-yum, PackageKit-command-not-found, PackageKit-docs, PackageKit-browser-plugin
      • select gnome-packagekit and apply changes.  This installs one dependency 
      • NOW, I can see Add/Remove Programs in System Tools
    • crypto-utils
    • dolfin???? gigolo used to connect to network storage, but this only opens file system up in web browser.
    • virt-manager 0.9.1
      • This version has configuration of bridges built into it for KVM virtualized machines
      • Not sure if this would work for ubuntu servers or just Fedora/Red-hat types
    • Programs I had installed:
      • filezilla
      • google chrome
      • pitivi - video editor
      • add/remove software --see above -- packagekit
      • Gigolo - for remote file system access
      • virtual machine filesystem browser
      • virt-manager 0.9.1
      • EasyLife - for added media support/configuration