[K12OSN] tentative roadmap, request for input

[David Trask]

I agree....I think your goal is a good one.  Here's how I see it from the
trenches.  I will upgrade this summer to the latest version based on FC4
probably.  I will run that and any immediate upgrades for the coming
school year.  Next fall/winter will be the time I see many of us working
to make the Ubuntu K12LTSP release a workable solution (should be rock
solid stable when we're done).  I love Ubuntu and currently run Kubuntu on
my own new laptop along with the PPC version on an older Apple "Pismo"
Powerbook.  I too am starting to delve into the world of Debian and as I
progress further into it....the more I like the way it's set up.   Matt
Oquist and talked at length the other day about updating the
smbldap-installer prior to the Northeast Linux Conference.  Minor updates
to include the latest packages.  On top of that we also talked about
writing it for Ubuntu.  Matt was all ready to rewrite everything
(including a new set of tools) from the ground up to adhere to "Debian"
rules when I pointed out to him that smbldap-tools are part of/packaged
with Samba.  We found them part of Ubuntu's repository.  Phew!  Taking
that into consideration it should be a relatively straightforward
"rewrite" of the script.  We need to study the paths and so forth to see
where packages live and where things go, but that should be easy enough
once I have this "Debian" thing figured out.  We'll get the chance to talk
for 3 days straight at the NE Linux conference.  ;-)  So....while we have
our FC4 servers in production we can work the kinks out of Ubuntu and hit
the ground running next summer with our shiny new Ubuntu rollout complete
with smbldap-installer....a TeacherTool that works with Debian....and
hopefully RunSpy and/or vnc-reflector or the new X.org possibility for
sharing your screen that I heard about at Linux World in Boston (Eric
Tyack of LTSP was pretty pumped about it.)  So....your plan is good....go
forth and conquer!


"Support list for opensource software in schools." <k12osn at redhat.com> on
Thursday, May 5, 2005 at 6:35 PM +0000 wrote:
>
>First and foremost, I really enjoyed the Ubuntu Down Under conference.
>It is clear that the developers are working hard on making Ubuntu the
>ideal base for projects such as K12LTSP. All of the bits and pieces of
>K12LTSP are expected to be included in the next release of Ubuntu (due
>in October).
>
>If everything pans out as I expect, Ubuntu version 5.10 will make the
>current version of K12LTSP largely irrelevant. If this wish comes true,
>we can devote more resources to the next stage of world domination ;-)
>
>But October is a long ways away.
>
>Here is my tentative plan-of-attack for the next two months:
>
>1) Build the current K12LTSP packages for RHEL 4. I'll also make
>available ISOs of the same packages built into Centos 4, since we can
>re-distribute that.
>
>2) FC4 is due the first week of June. I'll incorporate the current
>K12LTSP packages.
>
>3) Development of the next generation of LTSP will continue with Ubuntu
>as the base.
>
>
>
>
>I'm pretty happy with the current K12LTSP release. Porting it to
>RHEL4/Centos4 will be a good base for those who want to maintain the
>status-quo for the coming year (or years ;-)
>
>A new release built on FC4 will be for those who want to continue
>charging forward with the bleeding-edge.
>
>Doing R&D work on an Ubuntu base will help me get my feet wet in the
>Debian-based world and start figuring out how we can deal with
>supporting significantly different base systems.
>
>
>
>What do you all think of this plan? I'm not too worried about spreading
>myself too thin, but I do worry about creating excessive confusion.
>Offering two versions at the same time while spending much time
>discussing a third version may be a bit much for most people ;-)
>
>Are their any other ideas, concerns, partnerships, or alternate
>strategies that we should address before mid-summer?


David N. Trask
Technology Teacher/Coordinator
Vassalboro Community School
dtrask at vcs.u52.k12.me.us
(207)923-3100