Re: [school-discuss] Portable applications & VPN services

[Chris Gregan <cgregan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lee,
I do not know much about Simdesk, but from what I gather from their 
site, it is remote access to tools from anywhere, over secure https 
connection. There are certainly advantages. I do not know of any service 
from the FOSS community like it. Anybody else? The closest match to a 
full featured desktop, available from any PC, that does not affect the 
existing software on that PC, is a Live CD. Throw in a secure VPN client 
to a school hosted server, and you have everything Simdesk offers.

I see your point about damage. The upside of Live CDs is that an iso 
image of the cd could also be posted, so when a student destroyed their 
school supplied disk, they could burn another copy for themselves using 
their own media. All of the apps listed on the Wiki page are supported 
by current distros. It would require a custom CD, but that has become 
exceedingly easy.

As far as security, most distros can mount a USB stick as an encrypted 
FS. Without the student passphrase, data would be useless.



Chris Gregan
cgregan@xxxxxxxxxxx
Open Source Migration Specialist/Founder
Aptenix LLC-Desktop Solutions
New Market, MD
(240)422-9224

"Open source, open minds."

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lee wrote:
> Right, well the advantages / disadvantages of each technology... I was 
> thinking in line of SimDesk & if its features held any advantages, what 
> would a OSS method would be to get the same functional result.
>
> R/W CD-ROM multisession drives (ala Puppy or Damn Small Linux) are more 
> prone to getting damaged by kids than a USB stick. I can believe a 
> college student can take good care of a R/W CD-ROM, but not inside your 
> typical highschooler's backpack...
>
> OTOH, there are a good number of portable OSS apps ported to work with 
> most pre-installed OSs... This might be a plus for some, a minus for 
> others. Students however could save the data on their local machine, as 
> well as the VPN drive and access any local applications already 
> installed as well. (this as opposed to the Linux-bootable CD that might 
> not work well with Windows 2K/XP file system or the *next* Microsoft 
> file system....).
>
> The downside, for the time being, is the cost of USB sticks & 
> security... but the cost of USB sticks should come way down (like the 
> 32MB CF disks have - $5.00). Security issues could be addressed w/ 
> on-stick thumbprint biometrics (again prices will come down....) and 
> roaming user / VPN security features.
>
> Another technology that has caught my attention is Shinkuro. It's a 
> secure file-sharing relay system similar in function to gnutella (or a 
> truly distributed file system). It also has a secure whiteboard 
> function. Shinkuro is not OSS but - AFAICT - is "free" -- for now. 
> http://www.shinkuro.com/products.php
>
> What I'm looking at is ubiquity & appliance utility.
>
> /lee
>
> */Justin Riddiough <jriddiough@xxxxxxxxx>/* wrote:
>
>     I like the original idea of using a USB stick.  If someone couldn't
>     connect to the VPN folder from some location (firewall rules, no
>     access, etc,) there could possibly be a sync / temporary working
>     file space set up on the USB stick. Which would mean users could
>     still use the portable apps without having to rely on a local drive
>     to save information, and when possible, the benefits of the VPN
>     drive.   
>
>     On 10/11/06, *Chris Gregan* <cgregan@xxxxxxxxxxx
>     <mailto:cgregan@xxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>
>         I guess since it would start out as a live cd, it could stay a
>         cd. Then
>         you could have a tool where students would get an iso image or
>         CD that
>         would log on from any PC with just a reboot. Save the cost of a
>         USB stick.
>
>
>
>
> ======
> /lee
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