Re: [seul-edu] Basic System Wish List

[Dave Prentice <dprentice@uno.edu>]

Jeff,
    If you have a good machine available as a server (e.g. a 233 mhz with a
few hundred meg of RAM), you could use your 486s as Xterminals. I would
suggest that you put more than 8meg on each, though. I have some 486s that
run acceptably well with 32 meg of RAM. (I did upgrade the CPUs to 100mhz
Overdrives.) Mine have enough hard drive space to have their own OS
installed, but I'm sure there are seul members who could tell you how to set
up your 486s to boot from the hard drive then log in to a server as Xterms.
    Once you are in X, there are two very useful programs in gnome that
might meet your needs: the gnumeric spreadsheet and the gnuplot plotting
utility. The latter lets you plot either individual or simultaneous
equations. Cool for math class. You can also put one of the industry
standard word processors, Wordperfect, on your server for free and have the
terminals use it.
Dave Prentice
prentice@instruction.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff L. <tackweed@whidbey.net>
To: seul-edu@seul.org <seul-edu@seul.org>
Date: Friday, August 24, 2001 9:46 AM
Subject: [seul-edu] Basic System Wish List


>Most of the recent threads sealing with Linux in school appear to
>have turned into technical discussions which rapidly leave me far
>behind.  I have minimal experience with Linux (6.2 installed on a
>system with Win 98) but I have seen enough to make me want to
>pursue what is apparently a less popular path.
>
>I have a number of computers in my classroom - most are 486/early
>pentiums. Those with network cards are running Win95.  That
>accounts for 6 computers.  I still have about 8 which my district
>chooses to not support (i.e., no software) so I am looking for a
>version of linux to install which would allow a basic spreadsheet
>program with some graphing (similar to Lotus 123), some word
>processing, and a program which would allow programming
>exercises.
>
>Most of my "programming" has been in BASIC, VBasic, some Perl and
>some Javascript.  I have looked at Python and am "sort of"
>working with C++
>
>The problem is that the machines are 8 meg RAM 486 - smallish
>hardrives (40 megs?) and a 1.44 floppy.  Currently they have bare
>bones DOS.
>
>I assume that there is a Linux equivalent of a batch file which
>could be used to set up a simple menu to launch these programs.
>
>Any suggestions on what I need and how to get it (I can probably
>download - 26.4 max rate*) on floppies?
>
>*I do have a Win2000 network machine at school so I could
>download that way - assuming I could  switch the files to
>appropriate disks at home..
>
>Probably the main reason I bring this up is that most schools are
>probably not going to be anywhere near the technology level that
>is being pushed by the sales forces.
>
>Probably too many people are being left  on the wrong side of the
>digital divide because older technology - while sitting in scrap
>heaps - is not being actively supported - even though the
>computing power is still there.
>
>Maybe the Linux groups can actively do something about that - but
>it will require less - not more technology.  Hopefully "less" can
>also become "better"
>
>Thank You,
>
>Jeff LeMieux
>
>
>
>