[K12OSN] tentative roadmap, request for input

[R. Scott Belford]

Eric Harrison wrote:
> 
> Are their any other ideas, concerns, partnerships, or alternate
> strategies that we should address before mid-summer?
>

1. Edutainment.  With the integration of the LTSP into Ubuntu, and the
development of the Edubuntu project underway as Jim and Rob have pointed out

http://udu.wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu

I have concerns about the very precious edutainment menu and the
contents within.

We have become accustomed to KDE and Gnome applications being equally
available with the K12LTSP.  This is of course the benefit of Bluecurve
which neuters the distinctive qualities of KDE and Gnome.  With the new
changes underway, users may, for the first time, become confused by the
different look and feel of Edubuntu and the lack of specific apps.

With Ubuntu and Kubuntu, the edutainment menu requires adding universal
sources to your sources.list and apt-getting the kedu apps.  Ubuntu
integrates the edutainment folder in a rather bland manner; kubuntu
provides an icon for the menu.  It looks like the Edubuntu distro, in
keeping to the Gnome basis of Ubuntu, currently only includes the Gnome
education apps as part of the distro.  I fear new users will not
understand why ktouch and others are not included in the Gnome-centered
Ubuntu project.

Edutainment is the gravy our education-focused installations.  I am
extraordinarily thrilled by the vision and the will of the Ubuntu team,
Eric, Jim, and others.  I am hoping that the Edubuntu distro will borrow
the best from KDE and Gnome in making this the best possible distro for
education.

2. This is perhaps more a task for the Ubuntu team, but, I need some
help updating servers that do not have Internet connections.  We are
increasingly serving schools in Samoa and individuals in Hawaii that
have no broadband.  Apt-getting the latest updates or some cool package
is all but impossible.

It would be great if there were an offline mode to synaptic.  Packages
could be selected and dependencies resolved in the same yummy manner.
However, instead of downloading, a package list is created that can be
sent by email (if possible) or snail mail to snail.ubuntu.com.  A CD is
created and shipped to the appropriate school.

This would be nice.

> -Eric


--scott