Linux Mint 10 setup for Spanish Educational Use

This is an old post:  See this post for my latest build notes see the following...
http://techtips-tom.blogspot.com/2012/06/xfce-desktop-for-spanish-education.html

I decided on Linux Mint 10 Gnome 64 bit for the base distribution to use in formatting better caliber used computers for donation to orphanages in Honduras and elsewhere. I chose computers with over 2 GHz processor, 1 Gig RAM, 128 Mb Video RAM and 40Gb Hard drive as the target of this compilation. For anything under these specs, I will install my LXDE compilation.

Installation:

Install using the 64 bit LM10 Gnome Install CD. Set the user to Maestra

Upgrade to the DVD edition by clicking on the link after setup is complete. Not all packages downloaded the first time and the upgrade failed, so needed to do this a second time after rebooting. Installed all updates.

Users:

Maestra is installed as the principal user with Admin privileges.

Listo will be used as the non privileged child user.

General Changes:

ScreenSaver = change screensaver options so it doesn't lock screen on screensaver

Auto Login = modify system so login happens automatically. From Administration - Login Screen choose to login automatically as the desired user. For setup the Admin user was used. This is changed to the child user after setup is complete.

Number of Desktops = change the number of destops as multiple desktops easily confuse novice linux users

• Open Administration - Simple CompizConfig Settings
• Set both Desktop columns and rows to 1

Tricky Programs Installed:

Childsplay: A current problem with Childsplay is loading it to run other language sounds. First step to download the Spanish Language sounds for Childsplay. Open Synaptic manager and select/install the the package "childsplay-alphabet-sounds-es". You need to modify the menu to run the command "LANGUAGE=es childsplay" (caps lock are important) or "childsplay --language=es" to run it with Spanish as the spoken language. Gnome menu items where command options must be run are a bit tricky to create and requires configuration file manipulation since the GUI does not enable this modification.

1. [sudo mkdir /usr/local/share/applications] creates this directory. This is needed to make shared non-standard menu items. The normal location for menu items is /user/share/applications (without the local). Changing the menu item in the default location does not work well.
2. [sudo cp /usr/share/applications/childsplay.desktop /usr/local/share/applications/childsplayes.desktop] This copies the menu item file to the local/share directory structure. "something.desktop" files are the configuration files used to launch menu items. The file was copied and renamed to keep the configuration files distinguished.
3. [sudo nano /usr/local/share/applications/childsplayes.desktop] This opens the new menu item. The following changes are made:
• Change the name and GenericName to ChildsplayES. This allows quick identification of the correct menu item.
• Change the Exec line to be one of the above examples. I used "Exec=childsplay --language=es".
• ctrl-O to write out (save) then ctrl-x to exit.
4. Logout and log back on for the menu changes to take effect.
5. Enter the Preferences/Main Menu program and deselect showing the original childsplay.

Dosbox: For playing old dos games and programs. For now, not installing any old DOS games, but am including this program for possible future inclusion of old DOS programs on older computers.

iTalc: classroom computer management software

For now I just installed iTalc client. To use it correctly I would need to setup public and private keys. I will do this for the next remaster. (can be done to each computer after installing as well, just takes more time :)

see my instructions in another blog for iTalc install including public and private key distribution.

Kiwix: I debated whether to include Kiwix or Okawix in this remaster, but decided on Kiwix based mostly on current stability. Both options show promise, but for now Kiwix is a great option for offline Spanish Wikipedia. See my other blog comparing the two.

http://www.kiwix.org/index.php/Main_Page

To Install:

• [sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kiwixteam/ppa]
• [sudo apt-get update]
• [sudo apt-get install kiwix]

Because of the size of the zim file, I am not including it in the remastered image, but will add it to the cloned image.

• login as itadmin
• download the Spanish Wikipedia zim from the kiwix web page.
• move to the /share/wiki directory
• set owner as follows [sudo chown -R itadmin.users /share/wiki/]
• give read permission at the group level
• log in as each user, open the Wikipedia zim file and choose to index it, which must be done for each user and takes some time. This way it will be ready to use on each computer.
• (from home I am transferring this file from one computer to another using the following command): sudo scp chenier@172.30.30.91:/home/chenier/share/wikipedia_es_all_09_2010_beta1.zim /share/wiki/
• then change permissions as above

Play on Linux: Installed this package to make it easier in case there are Windows programs that are seen as a must have without a good Linux counterpart. They can then be installed afterwards as needed.

Khelpcenter: Install this package so the KDE applications installed have access to their help files. Otherwise Klavaro, et all produce an error when clicking on help.

BibleTime: Need to download books and references after installing.

The first step is to create a shared directory for common media shared between users. See above to complete this.

• create shared directory as described above
• open BibleTime then open its book administrator
• click on the tool to edit installation directories and add /share/bible directories to the install directories
• Login as all users to add this directory to the installed directories
• Selected a few bibles from the CrossWire list and installed them to the /share/biblia directory. I did this as itadmin so I did not need to change user ownership rights and with the sticky bits only the itadmin would be able to delete these files.
• This was giving some trouble, so also logged in as maestra and listo and downloaded bibles and commentaries for each user separately into the default directory of each user.
• Included the GLOSSARY Ergane "Spanish to English Glossary" This give a quick translation from Spanish to English.

PROGRAMS

Accessorios

• installado mas
• furious ISO mount
• Filelight

Educational Programs Installed

• Atomix - game for constructing molecules
• BibleTime - see install notes above
• Childsplay - see install notes above
• El Pequeno Mago (little wizard) - introduction to programming using actions to move a clown... Great program with decent Spanish translation
• JFraction Lab -
• KAlgebra -
• KBruch - practice exercises with fractions
• KTurtle - introduction to programming using scripts to move a turtle
• Kalzium - periodic table of elements
• Kiwix - see install notes above
• Klavaro - typing tutorial with good Spanish support
• KmPlot - graphing program
• Marble - simple off line globe showing countries, capitals and major cities
• Setllarium - real time star chart
• Tux Paint - painting program for young chidren
• Tux Typing - fun typing practice game
• TuxMath -fun math practice game

Drawing Programs Installed

• GIMP Image Editor - advanced drawing program
• Inkscape - vector drawing
• OpenOffice.org Dibujos - OpenOffice drawing program
• Picasa -
• Scribus - Desktop publishing

System Tools / Internet

• Oracle VM Virtualbox -
• Chromium -

Multimedia Programs Installed

• Picasa - popular photo editing & viewing program
• Brasero -
• VLC -
• the default programs for the rest

Office Programs Installed

• Chromium - a fast Web browser
• FreeMind - mind mapping program
• OpenOffice - full open office suite

Internet Programs Installed

• included programs: chestnut Dialer
• Chromium web browser

Games Installed

• Aisleroit Solitaire - a group of solitaire card games under a common interface
• Atomix - educational puzzle creating molecules from elements
• BZFlag - Multiplayer Tank battle game works on somewhat older macines
• Berusky - Ladybug puzzle game
• BurgerSpace - classic arcade game
• Chess (glchess) - faster chess game for slower computer
• Childsplay (also under Educaton)
• Emulator DOSBox - see notes above - for running old DOS games
• Enigma - puzzle game controlling marble with the mouse
• FloboPuyo - clone of puyopuyo, similar to tetris
• Freeciv - Civilization game for Linux (installed gtk client)
• Frozen-Bubble - entertaining marble matching game
• Gamine - Game for VERY young children teaching mouse usage by sounds and colors
• gbrainy - logic game in English (prior version was translated) but very good game
• Gweled - like Diamond Mine
• glTron - Tron bike game
• gPlanarity - game of untangling lines
• LBreakout2 - breakout clone
• Maelstrom - arcade game like Asteroids
• Mahjongg (gnome-mahjongg) - classic
• Mastermind - similar to the classic logic testing board game
• Mines - just like Mines for other platforms
• Monsterz - arcade puzzle like Bejeweled
• Moon-lander - ship landing game
• Nibbles (gnibbles) - simple worm game my daughter loves
• OpenTTD - transport tycoon with good Spanish translation
• Pingus - game like lemmings but with penguins - great Spanish translation
• Play on Linux - see separate section
• Quadrapassel - falling block game like Tetris
• Ri-li - toy train simulator with fun game play and excellent translation
• Secret Maryo Chronicles (SMC) - platform Super Mario clone
• Sudoku (gnome-sudoku) - numbers & logic game
• Suite educativa GCompris - educational games for young children
• SuperTux-stable - Mario like platform (older version for older hardware)
• Tremulous - combination RTS & FPS with great reviews and works on older hardware
• Warzone 2100 - real time strategy with decent translation and works on somewhat dated hardware

• Wessnoth 1.8 - Turn based strategy (under La Batalla por Wesnoth) translated very nicely and great gameplay on older machines
• ZaZ - arcade marble game

Young Children - Games and Educational

• Gamine - a mouse interaction game for very young children
• gCompris - an educational suite for young children
• Tuxpaint - an child friendly painting program

Other Programs Installed - Educational & Office

• Atomix - game for constructing molecules
• Stellarium - a star viewing application
• Tuxmath - a child oriented math game
• Tuxtype - a child oriented typing game -- installed program, then opened program and changed the language option to Spanish

Other Programs Installed - Games

• Ballz - simple Indy platform game
• Frozen-Bubble - a fun to play matching marble game

Configure Netgear FSM7352S for VLAN

Reset Switch [Linux]
The switch I received had an unknown admin password so I needed to hard reset. I decided to upgrade the firmware at the same time.

• downloaded firmware file from website: fsm73xxs_7.3.1.7.stk
• plugged null modem cable into switch and computer serial port
  
• discover serial port information [dmesg | grep tty]

• install Minicom [sudo apt-get install minicom]
• configure Minicom [sudo minicom -s -c on], which opens a color minicom window
• Enter Serial port setup menu
  
• Change serial device (option A) to that discovered above
  
• Change option E to rate, parity and bits to match switch: 9600 8N1
  
  
• Save Minicom configuration by "save setup as dfl" on main menu
• Choose Exit from menu
• If you exit all the way out of Minicom, you can restart with [minicom -c on]
  
• Plug switch in, wait for it to autoboot, then choose option 2 for Utility menu
  
• Utility Menu for the switch:

• Choose "Erase Current Configuration" or "Erase Permanent Storage" depending on how drastic you want to be. I chose the latter after which the switch is missing its stack code for operation, so is dead till reloaded.
• To update the firmware, choose option 2 "Load stack code update package". Follow the prompts to select Zmodem.
• Start file upload *** tricky in Minicom *** need to press Ctrl-A then S in sequence which opens a file upload dialogue box from which you select the file you
• Help for Minicom special keys is found by pressing Ctrl-A then Z in sequence
• Quitting Minicom is via Ctrl-A then Q
  
• Firmware upload takes quite some time at that speed!
• When done and rebooted, I noticed the utility menu is different: (password recovery exists instead of erase permanent storage option)

• I'm also noticing that I could have changed serial speed and significantly reduced the time I had to wait for firmware upload!

Reset Switch [Windows]

• Install a terminal program. Following are a couple options.
  
• TeraTerm http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA002416/teraterm.html
  
• PuTTy
• Follow steps described for Linux above (with necessary modifications)

Configure Switch - Basic Config

• Enter switch console and allow the FSM73xxS Application to start
• enter User name "admin" and blank password
• Helpful commands:
• show hardware = displays hardware version and info
• show network = displays network info including existing IP address
• reload = reboots system
  
• logout = logs out current user
• ezconfig = starts ezconfig utility to set basic configuration
  
• Run [ezconfig]
• choose Y to change password
• choose N to assign IP address if you want DHCP assigned address
• Assign switch name and location as desired
• choose Y to save changes
• run [show network] to get IP address to connect to Http Interface

Configure Switch - VLAN Config

• Point browser at switch IP address and login
• to be continued
  

Zentyal phone config - Grandstream GXP285

Grandstream GXP285 telephone config for Zentyal server

(settings almost identical for Grandstream BT-200)

Connecting - for DHCP assigned addressing

Connect phone to network and find IP address on phone or server.

Connect to web interface using IP address. Default password is "admin"

Basic Settings

1. Change time zone settings

Advanced Settings

1. Change password as desired
2. Change "no key entry timeout" from 4 seconds to 2. Since these phones do not have good dial plan settings so you can have them dial immediately after a qualified extension is entered, this keeps the user from needing to wait 4 seconds after last number dialed before the call is sent.
3. Change time server to local if desired. Otherwise make sure Internet is open to us.pool.ntp.org for the phone to get correct time and date.

Account Settings

1. SIP Server: enter either "[server IP Address]:5060" or "[Server Name]" (if DNS server is configured properly)
2. SIP User ID: Enter Zentyal User (or extension if different from user)
3. Authenticate ID: Enter Zentyal User
4. Authenticate Password: Enter Zentyal User password
5. Name and Account name are not required. Name is used for displaying name of caller (versus number)
6. Use DNS server: check as appropriate based on SIP server addressing above
7. Unregister on reboot: check yes if you will be moving phones around to different subnets, otherwise IP addressing may be sticky.

Zentyal Phone config - Grandstream HT-502

Grandstream HT-502 dual FXS port telephone gateway

Network Setup - Basic Settings

Connect computer to LAN port, device will act as a DHCP server before being configured and will dish out IP address to your computer.

1. Change device Mode from "NAT Router" to "Bridge" (This allows you to connect Ethernet to either side, receive IP address from DHCP server and connect a computer or another device to the other)
2. Save settings & Reset box

FXS Port 1 settings

1. Primary SIP Server: [IPaddress]:5060
2. SIP User ID: Zentyal User name or extension
3. Authenticate ID: Zentyal User name
4. Password: Zentyal password
5. Unregister on Reboot: check yes (important when moving phones between subnets)
6. Transfer on conference hangup: check yes (keeps conference alive when caller hangs up)
7. No Key Entry Timeout: change to 2 seconds from 4 seconds. This is to keep the wait time between finishing marking the number to the actual connection down.
8. Call Plan: added entry for immediate dialing of our extensions. Added 2xxx as another or option.
9. 
   

eBox Installation Problems

OpenVPN

When setting up openVPN, the first problem was copying the VPN configuration files to my Windows machine, which I had on the WAN side. I had a Linux computer setup on the LAN side, but shares were not working properly yet. SOLUTION: email. After using cp command to change the .zip extension I was able to send to myself in Gmail.

More problems ensued: was getting error about the TAP-Win32 adaptors. The simplest fix was to download the latest version of OpenVPN, namely at this time openvpn-2.1_rc22-install.exe. Once this was installed, no more errors regarding the TAP-Win32 adaptors. Another solution would be to go to Start Menu - OpenVPN - Utilities. Right click and run as administrator, the 'Add new TAP adapter' option. I tried this first, but got the additional error of 'route addition failed using createipforwardentry'... SOLUTION: install OpenVPN 2.1 or later.

Remember, always need to run OpenVPN as administrator in Windows 7. Also, the VPN files go in the VPN directory: Program Files\OpenVPN\config

Linux Commands Most Useful

General

more = view text file. Most Linux configurations are done in text files, so viewing these files is requisite to knowing your OS settings.

cat = also used to display files text files. cat /etc/issue displays Linux version

sudo = super user do... execute a command as root. This must be used in front of many of the commands which follow. Anything that changes outside of personal directory must be done as root.

su = change to super user... change session to super user

nano = simple text editor... often need to use: sudo nano [path/file]

man = manual for commands. use with command name after. Can often use [command] -h

info = more information about commands

Configure

apt-get = aptitude get used to get and install .deb software packages.

extensions: update; clean; autoclean; upgrade; install

ls = list folder contents; dir = also works as ls; cp = copy files; rm = remove; cd = change directory; mv = move files;

pico = another simple text editor

ufw = uncomplicated firewall.... used in Ubuntu server

extensions: allow; deny; delete; status; status verbose; disable; enable; reset; default

poweroff = kill systems and shutdown

reboot = obvious

uname -a = displays kernel version

Server

SSH = secure shell to server/another linux machine ssh

SCP = secure shell copy from local to server or between servers

Linux Mint 9 LXDE setup for Spanish Child Use

Linux Mint 9 LXDE is a great distribution for older hardware. Very fast, more complete out of the box than other LXDE distros I've tried, and similar enough to XP to be easy for Linux newbies to be able to utilize. (Not that I consider XP the gold standard, just ubiquitous.)

Installing:

As this was a test install, I ran it inside VMWare Player. Installed in English, then added and changed to Spanish language using the Language Support application. Installed all updates. Of course I installed VMWare tools to make video resolution and switching between operating systems run smoother. Update: Installed a second time straight on a computer to create a distribution disk from.

Users:

Maestra is installed as the principal user with Admin privileges.

Listo will be used as the non privileged child user.

General Changes:

Auto Login = modify system so login happens automatically. LXDE doesn't have a GUI tool for this, so changing the configuration file as follows is needed. For setup the Admin user was used. This is changed to the child user after setup is complete.

• run command: sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxdm/lxdm.conf
• this opens the configuration file to edit
• delete the # and space before the autologin and session lines and change the autologin user to the desired user
• since you are there, you can set the numbers lock to on if desired by removing the # and set numlock=1
• ctrl-o to save (write out) and ctrl-x to exit

Number of Desktops = change the number of destops as multiple desktops easily confuse novice linux users

• Open Openbox Configuration Manager
• On the Desktops tab, set the number of desktops to 1

Uninstall Unneeded programs

• Chestnut dialer (multiple packets) - for dialup Internet connections
• Transmission (multiple packets) - bittorrent client

Add Other User Accounts and include into Existing Groups

The following users and groups are desired and added as described:

listo - general purpose and default user

maestra - instructor user already created and used as general purpose admin

itadmin - it administrator user as backup administrator and closely guarded password

• open Preferences/Users and Groups then
• add listo and itadmin as users
• add itadmin to the admin group

users - existing group

staff - existing group

admin - existing group which give administrative rights

• add all 3 users into users group
• add itadmin to admin group (maestra is already there)
• add itadmin and maestra to staff group

Add Directories for Shared Files

The goal here is to make shared locations that all users can access then to give appropriate permissions to these folders. First create the directories:

• [sudo mkdir /share] make share directory for the following sub-directories
• [sudo mkdir /share/musica] make directory for music
• [sudo mkdir /share/foto] make directory for fotos
• [sudo mkdir /share/wiki] make directory for wikipedia content
• [sudo mkdir /share/biblia] make directory for bible study content

Now modify rights.

• [sudo chown -R itadmin.users /share] This changes the ownership on all these directories to itadmin along with changing the associated group to users, which now includes everyone. Of course -R makes this recursive to all subdirectories.
• [sudo chmod -R a+rwx /share] this changes the rights for all (file owners, groups and other) to allow read, write and execute, basically opening up access to everyone.
• [sudo chmod -R +t /share] This puts the "sticky bit" on for these directories which disallows different users from deleting or renaming another user's files or directories. This will allow us to add content as itadmin or maestra user that the listo user will not be able to delete or corrupt. We can use this for adding wiki content to the wiki directory and bible content to the biblia directory. We will set the user to these files as itadmin, then only itadmin (or maestra as super user) will be able to delete these files. It will also allow the listo user to add and delete photos and music to the corresponding directories or additional wikis or bible content for that matter.
• [sudo ls -l /share] this shows the long form of the list of directories which allows us to verify correct configuration. Should look as follows:

drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... biblia

drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... foto

drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... musica

drwxrwxrwt 2 itadmin users ....... wiki

Tricky Programs & Those Requiring configuration:

Childsplay: A current problem with Childsplay is loading it to run other language sounds. First step to download the Spanish Language sounds for Childsplay. Open Synaptic manager and select/install the the package "childsplay-alphabet-sounds-es". You need to modify the menu to run the command "language=es childsplay" to run it with Spanish as the spoken language. In Gnome, this is as easy as entering the Menu program, then changing the command for opening Childsplay. In LXDE it is a bit more difficult to modify the menu.

1. Open a terminal session and enter "gksu pcmanfm" which opens PCMan File manager as super user.
2. Navigate to /usr/share/applications
3. Open childsplay.desktop with Leappad or another text editor
4. Change the Exec line to "Exec=LANGUAGE=es childsplay" or "Exec=childsplay --language=es" These are two command options used to open the program (Be careful to use all caps for "LANGUAGE" or this command will not work.

Dosbox: For playing old dos games and programs. For now, not installing any old DOS games, but am including this program for possible future inclusion of old DOS programs on older computers.

iTalc: classroom computer management software

For now I just installed iTalc client. To use it correctly I would need to setup public and private keys. I will do this for the next remaster. (can be done to each computer after installing as well, just takes more time :)

see my instructions in another blog for iTalc install including public and private key distribution.

Kiwix: I debated whether to include Kiwix or Okawix in this remaster, but decided on Kiwix based mostly on current stability. Both options show promise, but for now Kiwix is a great option for offline Spanish Wikipedia. See my other blog comparing the two.

http://www.kiwix.org/index.php/Main_Page

To Install:

• [sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kiwixteam/ppa]
• [sudo apt-get update]
• [sudo apt-get install kiwix]

Because of the size of the zim file, I am not including it in the remastered image, but will add it to the cloned image.

• login as itadmin
• download the Spanish Wikipedia zim from the kiwix web page.
• move to the /share/wiki directory
• set owner as follows [sudo chown -R itadmin.users /share/wiki/]
• give read permission at the group level
• log in as each user, open the Wikipedia zim file and choose to index it, which must be done for each user and takes some time. This way it will be ready to use on each computer.

Play on Linux: Installed this package to make it easier in case there are Windows programs that are seen as a must have without a good Linux counterpart. They can then be installed afterwards as needed.

Khelpcenter: Install this package so the KDE applications installed have access to their help files. Otherwise Klavaro, et all produce an error when clicking on help.

BibleTime: Need to download books and references after installing.

The first step is to create a shared directory for common media shared between users. See above to complete this.

• create shared directory as described above
• open BibleTime then open its book administrator
• click on the tool to edit installation directories and add /share/bible directories to the install directories
• Login as all users to add this directory to the installed directories
• Selected a few bibles from the CrossWire list and installed them to the /share/biblia directory. I did this as itadmin so I did not need to change user ownership rights and with the sticky bits only the itadmin would be able to delete these files.
• This was giving some trouble, so also logged in as maestra and listo and downloaded bibles and commentaries for each user separately into the default directory of each user.
• Included the GLOSSARY Ergane "Spanish to English Glossary" This give a quick translation from Spanish to English.

Educational Programs Installed

• Atomix - game for constructing molecules
• BibleTime - see install notes above
• Childsplay - see install notes above
• El Pequeno Mago (little wizard) - introduction to programming using actions to move a clown... Great program with decent Spanish translation
• KBruch - practice exercises with fractions
• KTurtle - introduction to programming using scripts to move a turtle
• Kalzium - periodic table of elements
• Kiwix - see install notes above
• Klavaro - typing tutorial with good Spanish support
• KmPlot - graphing program
• Marble - simple off line globe showing countries, capitals and major cities
• Setllarium - real time star chart
• Tux Paint - painting program for young chidren
• Tux Typing - fun typing practice game
• TuxMath -fun math practice game

Drawing Programs Installed

• GIMP Image Editor - advanced drawing program
• Inkscape - vector drawing
• OpenOffice.org Dibujos - OpenOffice drawing program
• Scribus - Desktop publishing

Multimedia Programs Installed

• Picasa - popular photo editing & viewing program
• the default programs for the rest

Office Programs Installed

• Chromium - a fast Web browser
• FreeMind - mind mapping program
• OpenOffice - full open office suite

Internet Programs Installed

• included programs: chestnut Dialer
• Chromium web browser
• Ballz - sim

Games Installed

• Aisleroit Solitaire - a group of solitaire card games under a common interface
• Atomix - educational puzzle creating molecules from elements
• Ballz - simple Indy platform game
• BZFlag - Multiplayer Tank battle game works on somewhat older macines
• Berusky - Ladybug puzzle game
• BurgerSpace - classic arcade game
• Chess (glchess) - faster chess game for slower computer
• Childsplay (also under Educaton)
• Emulator DOSBox - see notes above - for running old DOS games
• Enigma - puzzle game controlling marble with the mouse
• FloboPuyo - clone of puyopuyo, similar to tetris
• Freeciv - Civilization game for Linux (installed gtk client)
• Frozen-Bubble - entertaining marble matching game
• Gamine - Game for VERY young children teaching mouse usage by sounds and colors
• gbrainy - logic game in English (prior version was translated) but very good game
• Gweled - like Diamond Mine
• glTron - Tron bike game
• gPlanarity - game of untangling lines
• LBreakout2 - breakout clone
• Maelstrom - arcade game like Asteroids
• Mahjongg (gnome-mahjongg) - classic
• Mastermind - similar to the classic logic testing board game
• Mines - just like Mines for other platforms
• Monsterz - arcade puzzle like Bejeweled
• Moon-lander - ship landing game
• Nibbles (gnibbles) - simple worm game my daughter loves
• OpenTTD - transport tycoon with good Spanish translation
• Pingus - game like lemmings but with penguins - great Spanish translation
• Play on Linux - see separate section
• Quadrapassel - falling block game like Tetris
• Ri-li - toy train simulator with fun game play and excellent translation
• Secret Maryo Chronicles (SMC) - platform Super Mario clone
• Sudoku (gnome-sudoku) - numbers & logic game
• Suite educativa GCompris - educational games for young children
• SuperTux-stable - Mario like platform (older version for older hardware)
• Tremulous - combination RTS & FPS with great reviews and works on older hardware
• Warzone 2100 - real time strategy with decent translation and works on somewhat dated hardware

• Wessnoth 1.8 - Turn based strategy (under La Batalla por Wesnoth) translated very nicely and great gameplay on older machines
• ZaZ - arcade marble game

Last Minute Changes

Number of Desktops

• Follow directions above to change number of desktops for the "listo" user. Need to login to listo.

Auto-login

• Follow directions above to change auto-login to the "listo" user.
• De-select the box to pull up the Linux Mint Welcome panel on startup for the "listo" user.

SSH

• for future support reasons install openssh server
• login as itadmin
• [sudo apt-get install openssh-server]

Remastersys - making a remastered install disk

Install remastersys

• [sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list] This opens the apt sources to append the remastersys source
• Add the following lines to the file: the first line is a comment, the second the correct source
• #Remastersys
• deb http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/repository karmic/
• [sudo apt-get update]
• [sudo apt-get install remastersys]

Run remastersys - we will want to run as a full backup so that users, passwords and user data will be saved and transmitted to the new computers. This can either be run through the GUI front end found in Preferences/Remastersys backup or by the command [sudo remastersys backup] Here is a link to further information

http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/ubuntu.html

Create Disk and Test

• by default remastersys creates an iso file in the /home/remastersys/remastersys directory named custombackup.iso
• I copied this over to another machine to burn it using
• [scp /home/remastersys/remastersys/custombackup.iso maestra@[ipofmachine]:/home/maestra/Downloads]

Installing From DVD & followup steps

After burning the DVD, you can live boot another computer.  The menu option for directly installing from disk was not working.  Once the system is booted in live mode, you need to log off and log on as another user with admin privelages (auto boot set to boot into listo user with no privelages). 

• switch users to Maestra user
• open home folder
• double click on the Install shortcut
• language and time zone choices are not important as the system installs the options in the remastered image instead of what is chosen here.
• Reboot after installation, removing install disk when prompted
• Log off and back on as Maestra (need privelaged user)
• Install any updates
• Remove the following broken programs
• gltron
• gplanarity
• Add the following programs (last minute addition - games that work well on older computers)
• slingshot
• pyracerz (Py Racerz)
• tomatoes (I have no tomatoes)
• Copy Wikipedia image from other computer
• I saved this on a particular computer in directory /home/username/share
• sudo scp [user]@[ipaddres]:/home/[user]/share/wikipedia_es_all_09_2010_beta1.zim /share/wiki/  --this copies from other computer to correct directory
• sudo chown /share/wiki/wi.... itadmin

Most Useful Linux Programs & Configurations

My list of most useful Linux Programs

The Right Distro :) - Favorites are Linux Mint (Gnome and LXDE versions), Lubuntu, Ubuntu

Openoffice.org - specifically Go-OO, which Ubuntu and Ubuntu derivatives use by default

FreeMind - Mind mapping software, great for sketching out ideas

Chrome or Chromium Web browser - Speedy and I snyc my bookmarks between all my computers, Windows & Linux

Terminal Server Client - Allows me to RDP into my Windows machines on the server

Pidgin Internet Messenger - Chat over multiple protocals

Virtualbox - so I can setup my virtual Windows machines, etc

System Profiler & Benchmark - system info at your fingertips

Xfce4 Taskmanager - only if you want detailed system usage information similar to Windows Task Manager

AceToneISO - allows mounting of ISO and proprietary CD image files like mdf as virtual disks.

Etherape - graphical map of network traffic
Dolphin - Network and web browser. Allows me to easily see Samba and Linux shared drives. Works better than many alternatives and works with LXDE desktop.

Others of note:

Zimbra Desktop - as an email client

RealPlayer - media player

Google Earth -

Skype - phone

Exaile - music player with simple, easy interface

If desktop for new to Linux user:

Desktop - change to only 1 desktop

Adobe - Install reader and flash plugins if not included in distribution

File defaults - in OpenOffice, set defaults to XP2003 file formats for saving

Add trash can icon to desktop - for Ubuntu run gconf-editor

Wifi cards - check proprietary drivers are enabled for any cards

My Favorite Linux Games

My Favorite Simple & Classic Linux Games for older computers

(I tend toward puzzle games and those friendly for my kids versus the latest high graphic games)

These games all worked well on my old Dell laptop with 1.3 GHz processor and 748 Mb Ram

SuperTux & SuperTux2 - the game my 7 year old has played more than any other

Pengus - a Lemmings like game of saving the penguins

FreeCiv - based on the code from Civilization 2, a turn based strategy game. comes with 3 or more different front ends to suite your graphics tastes.

Frozen Bubble- A great little puzzle/arcade game my daughter loves to play and make custom levels.

TuxMath & TuxTyping - top of the line fun educational games in multiple languages

Secret Maryo Chronicles ----

Gnome Mastermind - Mimics the classic board game of the same name but you can play with one player. A favorite logic game of mine. Don't need Gnome installed (I'm using on LXDE Lubuntu).

Remote desktop to Linux from Windows

To open a remote desktop connection of a Linux machine from your Windows machine:

1. Enable remote desktop access in your Linux distribution or setup.
2. Download VNC Viewer free addition
3. Access using port 0 => [IP address]:0

Wireless bridge from DD-WRT on WRT54GL

Installing DD-WRT on a Linksys WRT54GL router and creating a wireless bridge

The Linksys WRT54GL router is not a bad router. It comes with a flexible Linux OS and is stable. I however need a feature not supported in the Linksys firmware, a wireless bridge. This functionality normally requires one to purchase much more expensive hardware. I purchased these Linksys routers for $65 each from Amazon.com. I selected these for several reasons. They are solid devices with a great hardware track record and they have detachable antennae which I can replace with directional antenna, which are already on location in Honduras where these are going once I configure them.

Downloaded both the mini firmware and the standard generic firmware from the DD-WRT site. http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database These were downloadable after selecting the router model number.

login to the router at http://192.168.1.1 using the default blank user and password = “admin”

Since I am not using a production model, I skip the normal step of returing to factory defalut as it already is. I then flash the router with the micro build (dd-wrt.v24_micro_generic.bin) as an intermediate step. This is because the Linksys firmware will produce an error if the new image is over 3MB. Proceed to reset the hardware by holding down the reset button for 30 sec, unpluging for 30 sec while reset still down, then keeping the reset button down for 30 sec more. It takes another 30 seconds for the lights to quit blinking at which point I plug into my laptop again. I cycle the power off and on again as instructed then log into the router with defaults: 192.168.1.1 user: root password: admin

Now I upgrade the firmware to the standard generic (dd-wrt.v24_std_generic.bin). Reset the hardware once more as above.

Primary router: setup as Wireless Access Point

The principal router in the pair will be setup as a wireless access point as it is not desired to route or NAT computers behind the router, but rather to connect them to the principal DHCP server, etc. This is the router that will send the wireless signal out to be picked up by the remote router.

Starting with factory defaults:

Setup/Advanced routing

*changed operating mode to Router

Wireless/Basic Setup

*change SSID to “myNewSSID”

*changed wireless channel to that desired (1 in my case)

*disable broadcasting (as I am wanting this to be used for linking only)

*kept sensativity range the same but unsure if I will need to adjust this later

Wireless/Wireless Security

*leave insecure for now, but will add security after confirmed working

Services/Services

*disable DNSMasq

*disable ttraff Daemon

Security/Firewall

*uncheck all boxes excpet Filter Multicast

*disable SPI firewall

Administration/Management

*disable Info Site Password Protection

*disable routing

Setup/Basic Setup

*disable WAN connection type

*change router name as desired

*change local IP address to a unique IP address out of the DHCP pool

*set Subnet Mask as appropriate

*set Gateway and Local DNS to the address of the primary server

*select assign WAN port to switch, which allows you to use the WAN port as another switched interface, otherwise it is disabled. This dummy proofs the box so someone cannot plug the cable into the WAN port and wonder why the access point does not work

*disable DHCP server and uncheck the DNSMasq options

Settings are saved on each page. When they are all saved, select apply settings and cycle power.

Tested by connecting network cable to back of router then testing wireless connectivity.

Second Router:

Install the DD-WRT system as before. Make the following modifications, saving after each page, then applying changes only when all changes are made.

Wireless/Basic Setings

*change wireless mode to Client Bridge

*change the network mode and SSID to match the primary router

*disable SSID broadcast as I do not intend anyone to pickup the signal

Wireless/Wireless Security

*leave insecure for now, but will add security after setup is working

Setup/Basic Setup

*disable WAN connection type

*change router name as desired

*change local IP address to a unique IP address out of the DHCP pool

*set Subnet Mask as appropriate

*set Gateway and Local DNS to the address of the primary server

*select assign WAN port to switch, which allows you to use the WAN port as another switched interface, otherwise it is disabled. This dummy proofs the box so someone cannot plug the cable into the WAN port and wonder why the access point does not work

Setup/Advanced Routing

*set Operating Mode to Router

Security/Firewall

*uncheck all boxes excpet Filter Multicast

*disable SPI firewall

Administration/Management

*select apply setting

*select reboot router

Tested the connection by hooking up my laptop to a wired port on the client bridge and connecting through the router connection. Everything works perfectly! Next added security to both routers as follows:

Wireless/Wireless Security

*change security mode to WPA Personal

*select TKIP algorithm and add the same key to both routers

Save and reset each router, starting with the one most distant from your computer.

Use the signal quality indicator on the Status/Wireless page to adjust antenna for maximum signal quality. On the Administration/Management page change the language to Spanish since these routers will be shipped to Honduras. A last minute change was to set the style to chromo on the Administration/Administration page since the Status pages were not showing up with the default "elegant" style.