EDUML, small footprints, and Kid's UIs (was Re: intranets)

[Doug Loss <dloss@csrlink.net>]

On Mon, 05 Jul 1999 13:33:55 +0200, Malonowa <malonowa@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
>
> Odile Bénassy wrote:
>
>> Malonowa wrote:
>> >
>> > Has anyone got any ideas for using intranets to deliver content? Java
>> > applets, tclets, HTML maybe with cgi. ?
>>
>> And, by the time you do it, why not make use of Bruno Vernier's EDUML,
>> and make sure your content will be re-usable for everybody everywhere ?
>>
>
> Could you tell me what EDUML is please?
>
EDUML is a document type definition (DTD) in XML expressly intended to 
represent educational data.  It has been almost entirely designed by Bruno 
Vernier, a long-time member of seul-edu.  Bruno tells me that he'll be doing 
some more work on it soon, after a period of "decompression" from the end of 
the school term.  The EDUML web pages can be accessed through the link at 
<http://www.seul.org/edu/projects.html>.

I'm very happy to see the discussion and ideas about small-footprint Linux 
installs.  That's clearly one of the areas that will be very important for 
educational success, especially in the US where many schools use whatever 
hand-me-down computers they can get.  There's a SEUL group that has developed 
its own distribution, Project Independence <http://www.independence.seul.org>.  
It might be interesting to see what Indy's application to this idea could be.  
I know there are some seul-edu subscribers who are also on the Indy mailing 
list; could someone mention this discussion over there?

As far as small-footprint X Window systems goes, has anyone else heard of 
nanoX <http://www.linuxhacker.org/pub/nanogui/NanoGUI-FAQ.txt>?  I know little 
more about it than the name, but it sounds as though it's aimed at just this 
problem.  I'll try to find out more about it.  OK, I've just done so.  I'm 
afraid it doesn't sound like it will work for this reason (from the FAQ):

Is it directly compatible with X then?

  No, the X protocols and libraries are large and complex, and hence not really
  appropriate for Nano-X. We will be porting Gtk+ and Gnome to NanoGUI however,
  to make it easier to port applications such as Mozilla.

Still, it probaby bears watching.

I was thinking about At Ease, big icons, big cursors, and a Kid's UI.  I 
recently set up a system for my parents (in their mid-70s) using Linux and 
WindowMaker.  The WM Dock has room for ~8-12 fairly large buttons along the 
right side of the screen (it depends on the screen resolution).  With proper 
selection of icons and a suitable lockdown of config files, this might be just 
the UI for kids.  I know it was simple enough for even someone not 
computer-literate or interested like my father to use (my mother is 
considerably more interested in these things).  Or we could consider AfterStep, 
which looks similar but has configurable roll-out submenus on various buttons 
on the Wharf (the Dock under a different name).  Both of these are generally 
enough used that support is easy to find, and may obviate the need to develop a 
special Kid's UI.  I don't know what the foot-print of either of them is, 
although I've heard WindowMaker called "slim."  If the big cursor in X can be 
used with either they'd probably be my first choice for a window manager.

Doug Loss            Democracy substitutes election by the
dloss@csrlink.net    incompetent many for appointment by
(570) 326-3987       the corrupt few.
                        George Bernard Shaw