__

Allotments UK | allotment garden

Ubuntu Forums - Can’t make Realtek ALC880 HDA work

BristolWirelessWiki - Home Page
“People lack many things: jobs, shelter, food, Health care and drinkable water. Today, being cut off from basic telecommunications services is a hardship almost as acute as these other deprivations, and may indeed reduce the chances of finding remedies to them.” -

UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan

LTSP, down by the sea: a 20-terminal Linux cybertent for educationLessons learnt

* It is a possibly unfortunate reality that when children are given free access to computers and the Internet, they have a tendency to become thoroughly engrossed and it can prove very difficult to tear them away from their terminals. Some sort of ordered shift system would be needed next time, as otherwise other children, and especially the adults, can never get a turn.
* A ten minute table worked fine. It meant that everyone got the opportunity to check their hotmail accounts. However, next time we should probably dedicate more computers to a 15 or 20 minute table.
* Censorship is a delicate topic. We did not want to scaremonger parents on the dangers of the Internet and the possible corruption of their loved ones, nor impose censorship ourselves as we believe that autocensorship and guidance from parents and other responsible adults is far more effective. The solution of recommending parental guidance for this uncensored resource was a good one, but one that thankfully was not required.
* Make sure your browser has got all the latest plug-ins installed as the kids will demand them. They are likely to visit far more exciting and dynamic web sites than you, so don’t think that everyone just reads Slashdot and remember that Java and Flash are essential.
* There doesn’t appear to be a Shockwave plug-in for Firefox under Linux. We suggest petitioning Macromedia about this.
* Try to keep your Ethernet cables well off the ground when in a field in England as cleaning the mud off a 30-metre cable is a laborious task.
* Be careful with your open node. It is possible that some hideously trojaned Windows machine might connect to it and start chewing up your bandwidth. A filter for peer-to-peer networks would be a good idea, or the vetting of machines before they connect up, by registering the MAC addresses of their wireless interfaces to permit connexion.
* Windows XP has a enormously complex way of handling wireless networks. Never before have so many different screens and options been seen. It normally seems to take around ten minutes to get one to connect. A Macintosh generally just connects and works. Linux can be tricky, but satisfying.
* At festivals and events people often wish to download the photos they have taken with their digital cameras and take a CD-ROM of them away or have some of them printed. A separate machine dedicated to this and connected to a printer would be a good idea in the future.
* People seem to have woken up to Linux and free software. We experienced hardly any of the resilience that we did when we did a similar thing three years ago. Many people had already seen it, some were seriously considering using it, and others already were.
* Workshops are a good approach. The modern paradigm of an open group with facilitators can be a much more profitable learning experience and more open space for the exchange of ideas than the older teacher-student model. Everyone can learn something this way.
* We had problems with people moving the laptops around and therefore stretching the power and Ethernet cables. Perhaps we tied them too tight without enough slack, but we did this to make sure they were tidy and out of the way. One suggestion that came up would be to use velcro to attach the laptops to the tables.

LTSPArticles < Ltsp < TWiki
Articles about LTSP deployments

This page is where we can put links to articles that were found online.

If you know of an article relating to LTSP, please edit this page and add the link and a short description.

Scottish Power - The Energy People - Results

PLASMA online - Your hardware guide
AwardFlash v7.70. That’s what you need to know about the syntax:

AwardFlash v7.70. That’s what you need to know about the syntax:

AWDFLASH [Filename 1] [Filename 2] [key [/key ]…]
Filename 1: for reflashing
Filename 2: for the previous version of the BIOS

The keys denote:
/? - Help. Before you start working with Award Flash Memory Writer, it is advisable to use this key and to study carefully all the opportunities of this software.
/Py or /Pn - stands for answering “yes” (Y) or “no” (N) to the request concerning the BIOS reflashing. By means of /Pn you can ban FlashROM reprogramming. This option enables you to save the current version of the BIOS or to get its checksum without updating your BIOS. A backup copy will help you to restore the previous version of the BIOS. By default /Py mode is set.
/Sy or /Sn - stands for answering “yes” (Y) or “no” (N) to the request about saving the previous version of the BIOS. By default /Py mode is set again. In this case before reprogramming the FlashROM microchip you’ll need to confirm saving by this request:

Do You Want To Save Bios (Y/N)

/Sn is recommended to use for *.bat-files in case of automatic BIOS reflashing in systems without a display.
/CC - to clear CMOS after reflashing. This option comes in handy when there is a risk that the data arrays created by new BIOS version in CMOS may differ from those former ones. If so, then you are likely to have troubles with the mainboard startup. Clearing CMOS will let you avoid searching for Clear CMOS jumper on the board, which is really helpful if it isn’t accompanied with a proper manual or is simply hard to access.
/CP - stands for clearing PnP (ESCD) Data matrix after BIOS reflashing. The information about PnP devices is stored in ESCD. The key /CP is an equivalent to Reset Configuration Data in PnP/PCI Configuration CMOS SetUp. It makes sense to use /CP if you skip several versions of BIOS or if you have installed new PnP cards. If you don not update the ESCD, your board may suffer some startup problems.
/CD - stands for clearing DMI Data pool after reprogramming. Literally, DMI is a data base, containing all the information on the system as a whole. Clearing it may be fruitful in the above mentioned situations with /CP and /CC keys, as well as if some of the system components have been changed.
/SB - stands for no BootBlock reflashing. The BootBlock is the first unit to be addressed by startup and it is hardly ever changed. If the board manufacturer gives no other recommendations, there is no need to reflash BootBlock. In particular, if the BIOS reflashing fails, it may become impossible to restore the BIOS via software. On some mainboards there is a BootBlock Protection jumper. If protection is set, either you won’t be able to reflash the BIOS without /SB at all or the system will face verification errors.
/SD - stands for saving the data of DMI pool in a file. Part of DMI can be saved to be used by the software in future. Even though this key stands in the list, which is shown by /?, using it will bring no result. This key simply doesn’t work.
/R - stands for the system reset after reflashing. It lets you have your computer restarted automatically as soon as you finish updating FlashROM. The option is useful for working through a *.bat-file.
/Tiny - stands for using less RAM. Without the /Tiny key, AwardFlash utility tries to put the entire BIOS file, which is intended for further reflashing, into RAM. Still, if have taken all the precautions but anyway you see a message saying “Insufficient Memory” during the BIOS reflashing procedure, then the key /Tiny should be used. It will make the data from the BIOS file loaded and reflashed in portions.
/E - stands for returning to DOS after BIOS reflashing. For instance, you may need it to make sure that the previous version of the BIOS is saved.
/F - stands for reprogramming by means of the system BIOS. Most contemporary BIOSs feature the procedure of FlashROM reprogramming. The key /F enables AwardFlash to reprogram FlashROM with the algorithms of the current BIOS version. If a mainboard peculiarities do not allow applying AwardFlash Writer algorithms, you should use the key /F.
/LD - stands for clearing CMOS after reflashing and not showing the message “Press F1 to continue or DEL to setup”. Unlike /CC, this key lets you avoid this message by the following startup after clearing CMOS, provided you have set the properties by default.
/CKS - stands for showing the checksum of XXXXh file. The checksum is shown in hexadecimal representation. This option is advised to be used with the verification key.
/CKSxxxx - stands for comparing the checksum of the file with XXXXh. If the checksums are different, you’ll see the message “The program file’s part number does not match with your system!”. As a rule, XXXXh for each BIOS update file is usually available on the mainboard manufacturer’s site.

Waste Recycling: Long Distance, Short Life: Why Big Business Favours Recycling
The only definition of packaging that bears any scrutiny is that it is something disposable but persistent — a manufactured product so cheap and unloved that it is not worth the inconvenience of keeping it; but that when jettisoned, obstinately refuses to disappear. If discarded packaging — litter — blended discreetly back into the environment like beanpoles, banana-leaf plates or the falling leaves of autumn, we would not have to bury it and it would not pose such a problem. If, on the other hand, packaging were costly and crafted, we would not be at such pains to eject it from our homes. In neither case would there be a need for a special word.

Amazon.co.uk: Books: Customs in Common: Studies in Traditional Popular Culture
Customs in Common: Studies in Traditional Popular Culture

Selected Vegetable Seeds for the Home Gardener from the Real Seed Catalogue
The Real Seed Catalogue - Spring 2005 issue