[libreoffice-website] Re(2): Edubuntu LTSP (best with LXDE) However, LibreOffice RC1 problems still?)

"Jonathan Carter (highvoltage)" <jonathan@ubuntu.com>

Jonathan - per your comment - "Thanks for all the feedback! LXDE is indeed quite light, if you'd 
like to right up a howto we'll be glad to include it on our site".

Sure - but is it wise to post HOW-TO when LXDE and Lubuntu are not fully endorsed by Edubuntu (or 
Ubuntu yet) for use (otherwise, well, what do you think)?  

Maybe Edubuntu should be the part of Ubuntu that brings Lubuntu to the "supported status"?  LTSP 
server and LXDE are a perfect fit for each other, and if LTSP and LXDE are FULLY compatible for 
Edubuntu users, then any kind of stand alone PC use would benefit... then, Lubuntu can be 
supported, and we who use LTSP Edubuntu servers can REALLY BENEFIT from this:

http://www.phoronix.com/data/img/results/linux_desktop_vitals/2.png

Also no HOW-TO from here, at least NOT YET - because there are still some problems with LibreOffice 
and LXDE (Lubuntu), and Okular running on LTSP, and to some degree with a stand alone
 system I have been testing on.  It's not just LibreOffice (not completed at RC1).   But, even if 
LibreOffice is fully complete where it is lacking... - well, to be honest, OpenOffice also has some 
problems still with LXDE and the -->File-->Wizard-->Address Data Source feature of OpenOffice per 
my testing so far...

About lower priced monitors (1024x768) in some schools to save money?  The attached screen shot 
shows how to save screen realestate on 1024x768 monitors using LXDE desktop ( and lots of schools 
still have those 1024x768 today, and can't afford to buy new, or can buy 1024x768 screens for 
really cheap prices, or can get them donated easily)... 

FYI -  The screen shot also shows the BEST NETBOOK screen real estate saving setup that I have 
found.   Remember - the panel is set to auto-hide, so
 that it gets totally out of the way, and then allows the  application to get 100% of the screen on 
these smaller resolution screens  (I have read that some have LXDE with Compiz
Re: Compiz in Lubuntu?
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1576889
... running and obviously at less RAM than Gnome, Xfce, or KDE etc.

See:  
Power & Memory Usage Of GNOME, KDE, LXDE & Xfce

Published on March 08, 2010
Written by Michael Larabel
Page 1 of 2
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=linux_desktop_vitals&num=1

Would Love to do a write up on LTSP with LibreOffice and LXDE on LTSP server - however, some 
important parts, so far, are not working with LTSP like I would like...So, these need to be fixed 
first:
Again-
LibreOffice -  (see attached screenshot - png file of what it needs that OpenOffice has)
OpenOffice- (seems to have a little problem with Lubuntu Desktop that it does not have with Gnome 
or KDE desktops with the 
FIle-->Wizard--->Address Data Sources working properly so can not use Thunderbird Contact List with 
OpenOffice or LibreOffice (funny that on same machine that this works with Gnome and KDE)?

Also - 
Okular - PDF editor (crashes with LTSP server -
 could be due to ram, but might be other)?

You can see by the screen shot what we have working...

The OpenOffice and LibreOffice suite NEEDS TO WORK 100% on LibreOffice (LXDE) on LTSP
 to be used as a teaching tool.

See attached
 desktop (that HIDES the Panel) that can be used on both desktop and netbook both... VERY FAST and 
VERY LIGHTWEIGHT... most everything works... not everything works.

LXDE or Lubuntu folks really should be brought up to the Edubuntu team in order to move Lubuntu 
into the "Ubuntu" Mainstream and for Edubuntu LTSP there would be a huge benefit.  
Obvious is the word when you look at the needs of LTSP today and this:
http://www.phoronix.com/data/img/results/linux_desktop_vitals/2.png

Thanks,
C C Capers

--- On Sun, 12/19/10, Jonathan Carter (highvoltage) <jonathan@ubuntu.com> wrote:

From: Jonathan Carter (highvoltage) <jonathan@ubuntu.com>
Subject: Re: Edubuntu Server LTSP (best with LXDE and mixed feelings about  LibreOffice RC1)
To: cccapers@yahoo.com
Cc: contact@edubuntu.org
Date:
 Sunday, December 19, 2010, 10:01 PM

Hi

Thanks for all the feedback! LXDE is indeed quite light, if you'd like
to right up a howto we'll be glad to include it on our site.

It's indeed early days for LibreOffice, and some features from Oracle
OpenOffice (or StarOffice as it previously were) can't be included due
to licensing issues, so it basically has to be re-implemented.

If you'd like to share some stories about your implementation and your
users, we'll also gladly share it on our site if we can.

-Jonathan

On 16/12/10 11:40 AM, C. CatherineCapers wrote:
> Hi,
>
> We Love the new Edubuntu 10.10.... and it might be a choice that we can
> recommend for use at children's summer camps (like school lab use) and
> have been testing this application for use in an "Digital Photo Lab" as
> a educational tool to
 save money
 and keep using
 some really
 old
> computers with only 128 MB or RAM.  There  are lots' of PROS,and to our
> surprise with 10.10 there are very few CONS!   Still needs some
> attention in a few small places. 
>
> And the testing of LibreOffice on Edubuntu (only problems is that
> LibreOffice RC 1 is making same mistake that the Ubuntu used version of
> OpenOffice made with the File-->Wizards-->Address Data Sources being not
> comparable to the Sun OpenOffice's version of the same (more on that later).
>
> Just wanted to say that we finally like using LTSP on Edubuntu since the
> last version with the easier to use install.   However, to make it
> better we have loaded the Lubuntu (and/or LXDE) onto it and we get much
> faster performance (and it uses less RAM).  We also installed Gwenview
> (loads only the KDE parts we need resulting in a faster
 Gwenview than
> even on Kubuntu), we also use Thunderbird, and never us Evolution.  We
> are testing out LibreOffice on this Edubuntu LXDE server (more on that
> below).
>
> The LXDE folks that I have emailed with, are very interested in getting
> Lubuntu  as a "formerly adopted" distro within the Ubuntu family.   
>
> The only problem running LXDE so far on Edubuntu Client is that when we
> put a USB card from a camera or USB memory stick into the client's USB
> port that no prompt to open the USB card file listing  in file manager
> pops up like it does with Gnome running as the client desktop in
> Edubuntu.   AND - when we log in every time, there is a lack of memory
> of the ICON placement from the previous login session, and we have to
> fix that every time.
>
> But overall - WE LOVE LXDE on EDUBUNTU
 SERVER!!!!!   Using that, and
> installed the LUBUNTU CORE from synaptic install of these.    Very nice,
> much faster.
>
> Really, the Edubuntu team should look at adopting Lubuntu as it's
> default install due to the lower RAM use advantages.   It is easy to use
> the KDE educational apps from the LXDE or Lubuntu desktop (and much
> faster to load them too), AND uses less RAM over all.
>
> WE also use it to run RDP over the network via Rdesktop - from a
> MIcrosoft 2008 Server --> to the LTSP server in order to run a few
> Microsoft applications that we still need to run.   The only problem
> with this so far, is minor in that the CAPS LOCK key does not stay in
> either CAPS LOCK (or off CAPS lock) for the Rdesktop sessions... for
> some reason?   There are some notes about this in the reading I
 have
> done about Rdesktop... but, it seems that these fixes to CAPS LOCK
> problem (random for some reason) have not been included in the Edubuntu
> distro's version of Rdesktop?   Is Ubuntu using a much older version of
> Rdesktop for some special reason?
>
> In our testing of Edubuntu - using either the Ubuntu OpenOffice version
> or using LibreOffice RC1 -  we have found that  LibreOffice RC1 suffers
> from the same problem that the default Ubuntu used install of OpenOffice
> has... both do not list all the NEEDED list of mail clients under the
> File->Wizards->Address Data Sources - that the Sun version of
> OpenOffice.org listed.   This is a problem, as then we have to remove
> the Ubuntu's OpenOffice or LibreOffice in order to use the SUN version
> because of this Address Data Sources feature.   Using the SUN
 version of
> OpenOffice we can have the Thunderbird email contact list used as a data
> source for OpenOffice... This is impossible to do with the Ubuntu
> OpenOffice version and is also impossible to do with the LibreOffice RC1
> as well.
>
> It seems that the LibreOffice team is still the team that was working on
> the other fork of OpenOffice... and they ignored the
> File-->Wizards-->Address Data Sources list that OpenOffice used
> again...(maybe these are Novell folks).  With Ubuntu and Edubuntu using
> LibreOffice this next time, maybe Ubuntu or Edubuntu teams can notify
> the LibreOffice team of their forgetting to include a very important
> OpenOffice feature?
>
> Since the Novell folks on the other fork were putting in some MONO stuff
> as well, maybe the Ubuntu folks can tell them to forget the MONO in
> LibreOffice too.
 
> Otherwise, we are very pleased with the new Edubuntu. 10.10 (so far).  
>
> And will be looking forward to the LibreOffice being part of it in the
> next Edubuntu version (if they have fixed the File-->Wizards-->Address
> Data Sources lack of a list of various email clients contact lists as
> datadata sources omission mistake that they have been making.  If not
> fixed for the next release of Edubuntu that will use LibreOffice, then
> we will have to delete LibreOffice and install the SUN/Oracle OpenOffice
> instead.
>
> Best regards,
>
> C C Capers



      
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