[school-discuss] K12Linux Release Candidate 1 Now Available!

[Peter Scheie <peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All,

It is with great delight that we announce that K12Linux Release Candidate 1 is
now available for download.  K12Linux is LTSP 5 built on Fedora 9, and is slated
to become the successor to the highly acclaimed K12LTSP.  K12Linux comes as a
live image which can be used to create a LiveUSB or LiveDVD with the client
chroot already installed & configured.   Install the image onto a USB key, boot
from the key, follow the simple README, and you have a running LTSP5 server from
which you can boot clients.  Like what you see?  Just click on the install icon
and K12Linux is installed to the hard drive.  Get it at
http://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/ltsp/rc1/i686/

RC1 includes
* Fedora 9 & Updates as of October 12, 2008
* LTSP-5.1.26
* ldm-2.0.13
* ltspfs-0.5.5
* many bug fixes
* New K12Linux-themed artwork for the login screen

Thanks go out to all who contributed to making this release possible.  In
particular, we'd like to recognize:
* Warren Togami for doing the lion's share of the work to get LTSP 5 working on
Fedora 9, and for making the LiveUSB system work.
* Maureen Duffy for creating the artwork used at the login screen and elsewhere.
* All those who tested the previous Beta and reported & fixed bugs.

LTSP 5 on Fedora 9 with Updates is currently considered to be production ready,
and development of improved features continues rapidly.  Check out our homepage
at http://k12linux.org for the latest news and updated instructions.

How to Use LiveUSB
===================
* From Windows: Get LiveUSB Creator at https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator
and use it to make a bootable USB stick containing this Live image.
* From Linux: Download the livecd-iso-to-disk script from the same URL as the
Live image and use it to make a bootable USB stick.  Alternatively, the
livecd-iso-to-disk script is included in the live image file.

From either platform, it is highly recommended that you use a persistent
overlay file of at least 800MB because this reduces the amount of memory needed
for your demo.  For this reason you should have at least 2GB free on your USB
stick (~920MB image + 800MB overlay).
* LiveDVD works, but is not recommended unless you have at least 2GB RAM
for your demo.
* You should install to your hard drive if you want to do more than just a quick
demo.


    FAQ
===========
1) Why is this not called K12LTSP?
It is the plan for K12Linux technology to be the successor of Eric Harrison's
highly successful K12LTSP distribution.  However, we had planned on changing the
name to "K12Linux" to be friendlier sounding and easier to pronounce when people
explain it at educator conferences.

2) Is this the only way to install a K12Linux server?
This Live LTSP Server image is only a convenient way for new users to get
started with K12Linux.  Note that it is always possible to enable LTSP5 on any
existing Fedora 9 server by following the instructions on the above homepage.

3) Why not LiveCD?
LiveCD was not possible because we simply cannot fit Server, Client and apps
onto a single disc.  If all you have is a CD drive then your hardware is
unlikely powerful enough to serve as a LTSP server.  In any case you should be
able to install from the LiveUSB without dealing with discs at all, and the
performance is much more impressive.


Please send questions or comments to the k12linux-devel-list.
https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12linux-devel-list

Peter Scheie