Re: EDU How-Tos

[Bill Tihen <bill@tasis.ch>]

Hi Doug,

To address the Title Issue -- why don't we start the title of all of them
with EDU HowTo -- has a nice rhyme anyway.

I am not completely sure I see the differences between what you would write
and what I would write.  I'll outline what I could write about.
	1) Netatalk (Mac fileservice)
	2) Securing a Mac workstation
	2) Program Preferences on server
	3) Securing the browser on a workstation (with new browsers and
autolaunching I am starting to think that this should be done only from the
server) -- of course this could be fixed if Mac security could do a general
login from the server even before allowing someone to use the computer at all.
	4) Common difficulties.

What would you write about.

>I'll document my efforts to get Linux into a heretofore heavily
>Macintosh school district (my local one).  That will be as much advocacy
>as technical, I suspect.
>
>> I can write one for the Linux Server, Mac lab (but of course I would be
>> happy to let some else do or work with me).  I am currently working on
>> Linux Server, NT lab -- sorry some apps I need just don't exist on linux

As much as someone said that it is a terrible program it is not my place to
decide how the math department wants to teach.  I need the program Derive
(or a replacement).  The math department is also looking for a geometry
program -- you know the sketch pad thing.

For the English department I need an appropriate word processor.  Applix is
great (I personally use it) but the license fee is just too high for the
lab.  Maxwell if it was just a little more refined.  It has a few little
bugs that make it difficult to use.  StarOffice is good, but its very
resource hungry and many of our machines aren't up for StarOffice.  (I
could try a network version, but I haven't found any documentation on how
to do that -- I have just heard it is possible, but haven't figured it out
yet).  However, I have great hopes for the GNOME project, maxwell's slow
progress and also wait with baited breath for the new OpenSource
WordProcessor.  LyX works but it is a little odd, so I am trying to hold
out for something that works as expected.  KDE is a little too far out of
our reach for the same reasons as the StarOffice.  Many textbooks assume
that you are using MS Office or MW Works.  We would need some good
tutorials for these 2 programs to make up for the lack of text books.  It
would be a lot of work, but I suppose I could help with that.

Everything else does what we need.  But productivity software and edu math
software are lacking.  Our machines need to be used in as many ways as
possible.  
>
>Oh, Bill, you can't just leave it at that!  What NT-only apps are
>keeping you from removing it?  This may be a prime case of a need for
>developing a Linux program to address a need.