Step 1
Locate the file /usr/share/firefox/greprefs/all.js and open. In the terminal you can type:
sudo gedit /usr/share/firefox/greprefs/all.js
This will open the firefox preferences file in the terminal.
Step 2
Locate the string "proxy.type" using the find function (CTRL+F) and change the following appropreately:
pref("network.proxy.type", 1);
pref("network.proxy.ftp", "YourIPAddressToProxy");
pref("network.proxy.ftp_port", 8080);
pref("network.proxy.gopher", "YourIPAddressToProxy");
pref("network.proxy.gopher_port", 8080);
pref("network.proxy.http", "YourIPAddressToProxy");
pref("network.proxy.http_port", 0);
pref("network.proxy.ssl", "YourIPAddressToProxy");
pref("network.proxy.ssl_port", 0);
pref("network.proxy.socks", "YourIPAddressToSocks");
pref("network.proxy.socks_port", 0);
pref("network.proxy.socks_version", 5);
pref("network.proxy.socks_remote_dns", false);
pref("network.proxy.no_proxies_on", "localhost, 127.0.0.1, .yourlocal.domains");
Step 3
It's also possible to setup the global default homepage*, this time we edit /etc/firefox/pref/firefox.js. In the terminal type:
sudo gedit /etc/firefox/pref/firefox.js
Add the following lines:
//Setup Home...
pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://www.google.com");
pref("browser.startup.homepage_reset", "http://www.google.com");
Changing the urls appropreately. Save the file(s) and reboot.
*This step might not work as expected in Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon (7.10) It's a known bug: Bug Report
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For a while now I've been working on an anoying problem. I've been trying to get the sound to work using flash on a thin client. The sound would play on the server instead of sounding on the thin client. Flash is so important to us that a sollution needed to be found otherwise LTSP would'nt have been a solution for us. I thought an upgrade to Edubuntu would solve all our problems, it didn't and in a final ditched effort I managed to find the following fix:
Step 1
bring up the terminal and type:
wget http://pulseaudio.vdbonline.net/libflashsupport/libflashsupport_1.0~2219-1_i386.deb
Step 2
sudo dpkg -i libflashsupport_1.0~2219-1_i386.deb
Step 3
Close the terminal and reboot the server
There we have it, a 3 month problem put to bed in 2 lines of code! This silly problem just suddenly disappeared. This is one of those things in Ubuntu that should just work!
I've recently been made aware (thanks to Tom!) that this fix does not work on 64bit versions of Ubuntu. This is tried and tested on 7.10 32bit.
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'Becta, the government's education technology agency,
recently made a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for
alleged anti-competitive practices by Microsoft in the schools
software marketplace and in relation to Microsoft's approach to
document interoperability. Becta's advice to schools in relation to
the deployment of Office 2007 remains that schools and colleges
should only deploy Office 2007 when its interoperability with
alternative products is satisfactory. That would necessarily imply
effective support by Microsoft of the internationally approved ODF
file format.Becta's final report, on Microsoft's Academic Licensing
Programmes, which was scheduled for January 2008, will now be
deferred until after the outcome of our complaint to the Office of
Fair Trading is known. Becta's final report on Vista and Office 2007
is scheduled for publication in January 2008.'
Could this mean that BECTA is likely to (deservedly) push
open source office applications and new web 2.0 office apps? In a bid
to steer the majority of educational establishments away from a once
popular, clever but now unnecessarily costly package?
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Developing an interactive whiteboard common file format
2 comments Posted by Stephen Walder at 13:40There are plans to develop a common file format for interactive whiteboards, in consultation with industry, to allow resources to be easily shared. The lack of a common file format remains a major barrier to sharing interactive whiteboard resources. There has not been an open format available to allow a user to develop content on one platform and present it on another.Another good example of vendors creating a standard for interoperabilty! This move will no doubt aid the sharing of resources on various learning platforms.
With a common file format, resources can be developed once, then immediately distributed, without conversion, for presentation on any interactive whiteboard configuration. Institutions will no longer be locked into buying hardware from a particular vendor to support content developed on their existing systems. They will be free to purchase hardware and software from any supplier, or from a range of suppliers, assured that their files will be supported.
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A big thanks to Joseph Hartman, San Diego, California for making me aware of his blog. He's trying hard to accomplish a similar project to myself using Ubuntu and LTSP. Just like me he's coming across many obstacles and one by one he's managed to overcome them.
He recently posted a great metaphor for his reasoning in using FOSS:
Understanding Operating Systems through the metaphor of automobiles
His full blog can be found here:
Hartman's Blogtastic Blog
I'd sure like to hear from anybody else who's doing a similar thing to our two primary schools, as they say - many hands make lighter work!
Here are a few photos of NABB's library, before and after. Before the conversion, the room was mainly used for storage and eventually became a dumping ground for all the items the teachers no longer required in the classrooms.
Space is at a premium in Holmfirth J I & N School, it was therefore essential that whatever furniture was fitted accommodated as much as possible.
Before
This was the NABB's library back in April 2007.
After
In August 2007 it was complete.
There are 17 thin clients housed in the room. The Promethean ActivBoard is connected to a Windows XP machine in a server cabinet 15m away. The USB leads use repeaters so no data is lost. A standard USB connection can be no longer that 7-10m before a repeater is required.
Each HP 5725 thin client is mounted to the bottom of the furniture using HP's quick release bracket. This provides quick and easy access to all the cables & means that a client is very quick to swap.
It's been almost a year now since Promethean revealed that they're working on Linux drivers for their range of ActivBoards and still no news of when and if it's to be released to the public.
Through piecing together information I've googled, it seems that Promethean advertised for a Linux/Mac software tester back in March, it's unclear if they managed to recruit anyone for the position. Now they're again recruiting for a similar position :
Software Tester: "You will be responsible for testing the full range of software & hardware products on Windows, Mac & Linux platforms. You will assist with maintaining the issue database & will liaise with other departments to qualify issues raised from internal & external users."
This is becoming quite a problem for us because as I've mentioned before it's the school's intention to make the transition to FOSS. There is certainly more demand for Linux support from Promethean, especially this year, but the exact numbers are unclear. I would therefore urge Promethean to adopt a platform-agnostic approach within a reasonable time frame to satisfy this increasing demand.