GNOME Cool Effects and why I am enjoying it

Although the machine warned me that in order to use the special effects I would need a fast graphics card. I was amazed at how beautiful the effects were specially the one where the window drags like a sheet in water. The way the windows pop up and drop down or shake when settling down after being left alone is not only wonderful but also pleasing to the eye. The user experience enhancements made in these cool effects is remarkable.

Ways to go GNOME

GCompris Education Game for kids 2-10 years old : Pilot Submarine Game

I had thought that I would be able to review the kids games in one go but I was in for a wonderful surprise. I started playing the first game which happened to be pilot-a-submarine activity. The main goal was to click on different active elements : engine, rudders and air tanks, in order to navigate to the required depth. There was a close gate on the right. Catch the jewel to open it, then pass through it to reach the next level. It took me alot of time to get familiar with the motion of the submarine but I was wondering the amazement a small kid would go through when playing this wonderful game. This game gives the kid basic ideas about physics and fluid mechanics without even mentioning a single scientific term. This sure is a great achievement. Happy cruising. Enjoy !

Experiences with LTSP eduBuntu

Frankly I was not looking to install LTSP but a series of events forced me to install LTSP. Well its not a long story but somehow I was convinced that if I have to replace my Ubuntu it has to be a Ubuntu. Since Ubuntu's support is the best right now. I tried Gentoo but aborted midway. I installed Mandriva but that too ended in my discomfort with the UI. In the end it was my hidden desire to check out the educational software that comes with edubuntu that motivated me to put that CD in. So that triggered a chain of events which led from one thing to another.

So I put the eduBuntu Install CD 6.06 into my machine and let it install. When I had got it installed I came to know it came with LTSP. So I checked out my laptop's PXE capability (PXE = Pre-boot Execution Environment) and then using a switch I tried to get my laptop to boot with the LTSP. The result was that it was unable to get an IP Address. This meant that I have to tweek the /etc/dhcp3/dhcp.conf and get it to give IPs from the range of addresses for my local network. This led to another problem tftf could not find file problem. In the end I was able to get my laptop boot from my LTSP Server but could not log into the X-server environment. Meanwhile I had to upgrade to the next LTS (Long time support) Linux called Hardy edubuntu and that one was extremely cool since for the first time I had an Operating System which was able to recognize my LCD screen and allow me to use it to its full potential.


Regarding the educational software that came with it. I would write another post where I would be looking at the capabilities and potential usage of the software.

In a nut shell it was not easy to setup the edubuntu (as claimed by many that its a half an hour exercise).