COMP 3000 2011 Report: UberStudent - Revision history

Akwiatko: report 3

2011-12-20T02:27:47Z

report 3

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:27, 20 December 2011
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	As shown by the large amount of Internet-related resources and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing cloud]-based tools in the distro, UberStudent cares about the web a lot. The developers confirm this by leaving easy to access links in the main menu that take the user to [http://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/definition/device-driver driver] and [http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/multimedia/f/codec.htm codec] download sites.		As shown by the large amount of Internet-related resources and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing cloud]-based tools in the distro, UberStudent cares about the web a lot. The developers confirm this by leaving easy to access links in the main menu that take the user to [http://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/definition/device-driver driver] and [http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/multimedia/f/codec.htm codec] download sites.

	The bottom line seems to be quite positive when looking at the distro from a non-user's point of view; programs are organized and useful, the OS is light in hard drive space, and the Ubuntu/Debian base will be very comfortable for many users. The system should also be simple to maintain, since the integration of both APT and the Synaptic Package Manager make finding updated software simple.		The bottom line seems to be quite positive when looking at the distro from a non-user's point of view; programs are organized and useful, the OS is light in hard drive space, and the Ubuntu/Debian base will be very comfortable for many users. The system should also be simple to maintain, since the integration of both [http://wiki.debian.org/Apt APT] and the [http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/ Synaptic Package Manager] make finding updated software simple.

	==Summary==		==Summary==
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	==Software Packaging==		==Software Packaging==

	UberStudent users can get software in a variety of ways. Of course packages can be manually installed from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deb_(file_format) DEB file], [http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-rpm-file.htm RPM file], or source code from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_(file_format) tar ball]. In addition, the included ~~[http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/~~ Synaptic Package Manager] offers a simple graphical approach to searching for and managing software. The distro also comes with a useful command-line tool called ~~[http://wiki.debian.org/Apt~~ APT], which provides access to a huge database of software.		UberStudent users can get software in a variety of ways. Of course packages can be manually installed from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deb_(file_format) DEB file], [http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-rpm-file.htm RPM file], or source code from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_(file_format) tar ball]. In addition, the included Synaptic Package Manager offers a simple graphical approach to searching for and managing software. The distro also comes with a useful command-line tool called APT, which provides access to a huge database of software.

	Whenever a user wants a list of all installed software on a system running UberStudent, they can either ask the Synaptic Package Manager or APT. The former provides a GUI list, and the latter provides an analytical portal, namely [http://linux.die.net/man/8/apt-cache apt-cache].		Whenever a user wants a list of all installed software on a system running UberStudent, they can either ask the Synaptic Package Manager or APT. The former provides a GUI list, and the latter provides an analytical portal, namely [http://linux.die.net/man/8/apt-cache apt-cache].
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	==Initialization==		==Initialization==

	~~After~~ the BIOS ~~runs~~ the ~~boot loader, which~~ in ~~turn hands control to~~ the ~~Linux kernel~~, the system begins running its boot-time scripts. Since UberStudent is based on [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu], it uses the [http://upstart.ubuntu.com/ upstart] initialization system as opposed to the older [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIX_System_V System V] method. This means that there is no fixed order to startup tasks, but by reading the boot logs (/var/log/boot.log and /var/log/syslog) a general picture can be seen. The kernel launches the ~~network ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~~NetworkManager ~~NetworkManager])~~ followed by the DHCP client ([http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl8_dhclient.htm dhclient]). After that the crontab ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron cron]) is started, as well as the network time sync daemon ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntpd ntpd]). The system and hardware clocks are also synchronized ([http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl8_hwclock.htm hwclock]).		When the Linux kernel is handed control by the BIOS, it launches it starts launching daemon processes to keep things running well. They include the following (in chronological order):
			* [http://linux.about.com/od/commands/l/blcmdl8_init.htm init] - process ID 1 (starts all other processes)
			* [http://www.tin.org/bin/man.cgi?section=9&topic=ksoftirqd ksoftirqd]
			* [http://linux.about.com/cs/linux101/g/watchdog.htm watchdog]
			* [http://www.nxmnpg.com/2/cpuset cpuset]
			* [http://osinternals.wordpress.com/ khungtaskd]
			* [http://science.unitn.it/~fiorella/guidelinux/tlk/node39.html kswapd]
			* [http://linux.die.net/man/8/udevd udevd]
			* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rsyslog rsyslogd]
			* [http://linux.die.net/man/8/portmap portmap]
			* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetworkManager NetworkManager]

			The above processes were found by running the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix Unix] [http://www.techonthenet.com/unix/basic/ls.php ls] command and asking for the output listed by increasing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_identifier PID].

			After that, the system begins running its boot-time scripts. Since UberStudent is based on [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu], it uses the [http://upstart.ubuntu.com/ upstart] initialization system as opposed to the older [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIX_System_V System V] method. This means that there is no fixed order to startup tasks, but by reading the boot logs (/var/log/boot.log and /var/log/syslog) a general picture can be seen. The kernel launches the NetworkManager followed by the DHCP client ([http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl8_dhclient.htm dhclient]). After that the crontab ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron cron]) is started, as well as the network time sync daemon ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntpd ntpd]). The system and hardware clocks are also synchronized ([http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl8_hwclock.htm hwclock]).

	=References=		=References=
	<references />		<references />

Akwiatko: first draft of report 3

2011-12-19T23:27:02Z

first draft of report 3

Show changes

Akwiatko: links and cleanup

2011-11-17T01:42:16Z

links and cleanup

Show changes

Akwiatko: Initialization section of part 2

2011-11-17T01:29:38Z

Initialization section of part 2

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:29, 17 November 2011
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			==Initialization==

			After the BIOS runs the boot loader, which in turn hands control to the Linux kernel, the system begins running its boot-time scripts. Since UberStudent is based on Ubuntu, it uses the upstart initialization system as opposed to the older System V method. This means that there is no fixed order to startup tasks, but by reading the boot logs (/var/log/boot.log and /var/log/syslog) a general picture can be seen. The kernel launches the network (NetworkManager) followed by the DHCP client (dhclient). After that the crontab (cron) is started, as well as the network time sync daemon (ntpd). The system and hardware clocks are also synchronized (hwclock).

Akwiatko: first draft of part 2

2011-11-17T01:06:37Z

first draft of part 2

Show changes

Akwiatko: grammar

2011-10-20T16:03:01Z

grammar

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:03, 20 October 2011
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	Lest a user become bored with the often dry world of “education”, the distro includes various other tools and the obligatory Games menu. There are image editors, photograph colour tools, and music editors. An entire menu is even dedicated to links to online cloud-based offerings, including BitStorm Lite, Google Reader, and EyeOS.		Lest a user become bored with the often dry world of “education”, the distro includes various other tools and the obligatory Games menu. There are image editors, photograph colour tools, and music editors. An entire menu is even dedicated to links to online cloud-based offerings, including BitStorm Lite, Google Reader, and EyeOS.

	One simple feature that underlines UberStudent’s credibility as a well-thought-out integrated academic system is the default homepage in Firefox. It takes the user to a [http://uberstudent.org/start/ portal page] on the official website, with instant access to various online resources. It almost goes without saying there is a Google search box there, but only in addition to an [http://www.ixquick.com/ Ixquick] search box.		One simple feature that underlines UberStudent’s credibility as a well thought out integrated academic system is the default homepage in Firefox. It takes the user to a [http://uberstudent.org/start/ portal page] on the official website, with instant access to various online resources. It almost goes without saying there is a Google search box there, but only in addition to an [http://www.ixquick.com/ Ixquick] search box.

	==Security and Networking==		==Security and Networking==

Akwiatko: spelling

2011-10-20T15:59:38Z

spelling

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:59, 20 October 2011
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	=Summary=		=Summary=

	Well, quite honestly this Linux distribution is a welcome relief from the large amount of educational software available that is well meaning yet not ~~quit~~ there. This packages a large amount of material that a student would need to make it through their studies without being cluttered or bloated. The creators must have spent quite a bit of time searching for things to include, as well as integrating them nicely into a system that feels like a unit. We are very tempted to go have a peek at the full edition of UberStudent, and what else it could possibly bring to the table.		Well, quite honestly this Linux distribution is a welcome relief from the large amount of educational software available that is well meaning yet not quite there. This packages a large amount of material that a student would need to make it through their studies without being cluttered or bloated. The creators must have spent quite a bit of time searching for things to include, as well as integrating them nicely into a system that feels like a unit. We are very tempted to go have a peek at the full edition of UberStudent, and what else it could possibly bring to the table.

Akwiatko: added ref to stephen ewen

2011-10-19T21:26:56Z

added ref to stephen ewen

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:26, 19 October 2011
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	=Raison d’être ~~(and Heritage)~~=		=Raison d’être=

	The name “UberStudent” has a memorable, if not slightly nerdy, ring to it. In the swirl of educational software available, both free and not, that is probably a good thing. [http://www.uberstudent.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=4 UberStudent] is a free Linux distribution for “learning, doing, and teaching academic success at the higher education and advanced secondary levels.” Essentially, its purpose is to wrap all the software needs of an academic into a single intuitive package, leaving users to focus on their studies. [[File:uberstudent_logo.jpg\|200px\|thumb\|left\|UberStudent logo]]		The name “UberStudent” has a memorable, if not slightly nerdy, ring to it. In the swirl of educational software available, both free and not, that is probably a good thing. [http://www.uberstudent.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=4 UberStudent] is a free Linux distribution for “learning, doing, and teaching academic success at the higher education and advanced secondary levels.” Essentially, its purpose is to wrap all the software needs of an academic into a single intuitive package, leaving users to focus on their studies. [[File:uberstudent_logo.jpg\|200px\|thumb\|left\|UberStudent logo]] It was founded by Stephen Ewen, who holds a masters degree in adult education.

	At its core, UberStudent is built on [http://www.debian.org/ Debian], but pulls into play ideas from other distros, notably [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu] and [http://www.linuxmint.com/ Mint]. This review will only look at the lightweight edition 1.0 "Cicero", which runs the simple [http://lxde.org/ LXDE] GUI and fits on a CD as opposed to the full DVD edition. [[File:uberstudent-1.0-cd-cover.png\|200px\|thumb\|right\|UberStudent lightweight cd cover]] Note that the full edition contains substantially more software as well as including the [http://www.gnome.org/ GNOME] desktop. Although being six times the size, it retains the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD live CD] capability of the lightweight version.		At its core, UberStudent is built on [http://www.debian.org/ Debian], but pulls into play ideas from other distros, notably [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu] and [http://www.linuxmint.com/ Mint]. This review will only look at the lightweight edition 1.0 "Cicero", which runs the simple [http://lxde.org/ LXDE] GUI and fits on a CD as opposed to the full DVD edition. [[File:uberstudent-1.0-cd-cover.png\|200px\|thumb\|right\|UberStudent lightweight cd cover]] Note that the full edition contains substantially more software as well as including the [http://www.gnome.org/ GNOME] desktop. Although being six times the size, it retains the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD live CD] capability of the lightweight version.

Akwiatko: more images

2011-10-19T21:18:21Z

more images

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:18, 19 October 2011
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	=Raison d’être (and Heritage)=		=Raison d’être (and Heritage)=

	The name “UberStudent” has a memorable, if not slightly nerdy, ring to it. In the swirl of educational software available, both free and not, that is probably a good thing. [http://www.uberstudent.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=4 UberStudent] is a free Linux distribution for “learning, doing, and teaching academic success at the higher education and advanced secondary levels.” Essentially, its purpose is to wrap all the software needs of an academic into a single intuitive package, leaving users to focus on their studies.		The name “UberStudent” has a memorable, if not slightly nerdy, ring to it. In the swirl of educational software available, both free and not, that is probably a good thing. [http://www.uberstudent.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=4 UberStudent] is a free Linux distribution for “learning, doing, and teaching academic success at the higher education and advanced secondary levels.” Essentially, its purpose is to wrap all the software needs of an academic into a single intuitive package, leaving users to focus on their studies. [[File:uberstudent_logo.jpg\|200px\|thumb\|left\|UberStudent logo]]

	At its core, UberStudent is built on [http://www.debian.org/ Debian], but pulls into play ideas from other distros, notably [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu] and [http://www.linuxmint.com/ Mint]. This review will only look at the lightweight edition, which runs the simple [http://lxde.org/ LXDE] GUI and fits on a CD as opposed to the full DVD edition. Note that the full edition contains substantially more software as well as including the [http://www.gnome.org/ GNOME] desktop. Although being six times the size, it retains the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD live CD] capability of the lightweight version.		At its core, UberStudent is built on [http://www.debian.org/ Debian], but pulls into play ideas from other distros, notably [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu] and [http://www.linuxmint.com/ Mint]. This review will only look at the lightweight edition 1.0 "Cicero", which runs the simple [http://lxde.org/ LXDE] GUI and fits on a CD as opposed to the full DVD edition. [[File:uberstudent-1.0-cd-cover.png\|200px\|thumb\|right\|UberStudent lightweight cd cover]] Note that the full edition contains substantially more software as well as including the [http://www.gnome.org/ GNOME] desktop. Although being six times the size, it retains the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD live CD] capability of the lightweight version.

	=Installation and Startup=		=Installation and Startup=

Akwiatko: some images

2011-10-19T21:14:35Z

some images

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:14, 19 October 2011
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	From the moment we powered up our virtual machine to the first sign of the UberStudent’s LXDE desktop, we waited one minute. That was on a recent MacBook Pro running Parallels 6. The machine was defined as a single core with 1 GB of RAM and a 10 GB drive. Note that our laptop actually runs on a 64 GB SSD drive, and live CD booting in a virtual machine likely benefits heavily from the random-access performance boost. For whatever reason, that duration didn’t change when we allowed the virtualized PC access to both the laptop’s CPU cores.		From the moment we powered up our virtual machine to the first sign of the UberStudent’s LXDE desktop, we waited one minute. That was on a recent MacBook Pro running Parallels 6. The machine was defined as a single core with 1 GB of RAM and a 10 GB drive. Note that our laptop actually runs on a 64 GB SSD drive, and live CD booting in a virtual machine likely benefits heavily from the random-access performance boost. For whatever reason, that duration didn’t change when we allowed the virtualized PC access to both the laptop’s CPU cores.

	Once satisfied that the live CD was working, the next step was to take the plunge and ask it to install a complete copy on the hard drive. UberStudent was quite snappy at this, and came back in less than four minutes to ask us to reboot. Before and after the reboot, the system was always very responsive and stable (trust us there are distros that are totally unusable even within the first few minutes of running).		Once satisfied that the live CD was working, the next step was to take the plunge and ask it to install a complete copy on the hard drive. [[File:UberStudent_Desktop.png\|200px\|thumb\|right\|UberStudent desktop screenshot]] UberStudent was quite snappy at this, and came back in less than four minutes to ask us to reboot. Before and after the reboot, the system was always very responsive and stable (trust us there are distros that are totally unusable even within the first few minutes of running). [[File:UberStudent_Login.png\|200px\|thumb\|right\|UberStudent login screen screenshot]]

	The live CD ISO image downloaded from the [http://www.uberstudent.org/ official website] was 660 MB, and the final size of the guest filesystem’s disk image including Parallels Tools was 3.5 GB. For the record, Parallels worked flawlessly with everything, from shared folders to networking to mouse sharing.		The live CD ISO image downloaded from the [http://www.uberstudent.org/ official website] was 660 MB, and the final size of the guest filesystem’s disk image including Parallels Tools was 3.5 GB. For the record, Parallels worked flawlessly with everything, from shared folders to networking to mouse sharing.