XS Community Edition/0.4

This IIAB XSCE content does not reflect the opinion of OLPC. These pages were created by members of a volunteer community supporting OLPC and deployments.

Please see our evolving table of smoke test results. Thanks for everyone's help testing as release candidates evolve quickly starting Saturday August 24!

Synopsis

Thank you for considering the brand new version 0.4 of XS Community Edition expected in mid-September 2013. It focuses on reliability and configurability on XO-1.5, XO-1.75 and XO-4. It also expands support for vital communities around x86, x86-64 (coming), Trim-Slice common in low-power/off-grid deployments, and this year's hot new $25-35 Raspberry Pi computers.

Advanced content options include the world's greatest free and remixable knowledge from Internet-in-a-Box and the Pathagar ebooks library to organize your school's ebooks.

In the end this release provides something for both end users and deployers, as well as mainstay XS services we've come to expect:

End Users

• Internet-in-a-Box including Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Khan Academy and 40,000+ Gutenberg Project books (requires a terabyte hard-drive)
• Integration of the Pathagar bookserver to manage your own ebooks
• Content filtering using OpenDNS and DansGuardian
• Tiny Core Linux Customization Stick bringing flexibility to all XO’s

Deployers

• Offline Install -- images at http://build.laptop.org.au/xsce/ dramatically streamlines installation -- while Online Installs remain for custom environments
• Watchdog monitor for services, and automatic restart for long-term unattended operation
• Usage Statistics collection - Enables developments to easily generate and collect laptop usage data
• Remote administration via OpenVPN - creates secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in routed or bridged configurations and remote access facilities
• Installs and runs on new platforms like Trim-Slice and Raspberry Pi
• Integration of Pathagar bookserver framework with Apache and PostgreSQL -- refinement pending future releases

Mainstay Services

• Web server -- Building block for many other extended services
• Proxy server and web cache -- Bandwidth, web-filtering, web-monitoring
• OLPC-update -- OLPC-update is necessary to update the kernel of XO
• Activity update -- Enables teachers to easily distribute new or updated activities to their students
• Backup -- Automatically creates backups students journals

Installing Your School Server

Instructions for installing your School Server are here:

Installing

With an expanding array of hardware support, we encourage folks worldwide to give it a shot, and share their experiences!

Testing Your School Server

Thanks you for testing the School Server, to make sure that it will operate reliably with your hardware, under your circumstances:

Testing

Configuring Your School Server

Configure your school server to meet your needs:

Configuring (Work In Progress)

Hacking Your School Server

Adapting the School Server to meet your specific needs:

• Hacking

How did XSCE 0.4 come together since May 2013?

Look through its spec and community efforts below, as well as XSCE's General FAQ.

• Sprint July 8-12, N. of Winnipeg
• Project Specifications
• Road Map

Thanks for thinking how we & others can refine this for in the autumn of 2013 for Version 0.5 !

School Server Recap

A community school server provides communication, networking, content, and maintenance to a school and/or classroom. In everyday usage the school server provides services extending capabilities of the connected laptops, enhancing teacher-child-parent relationships. In general, these services include:

• Classroom connectivity – Similar to what you would find in an advanced home router.
• Internet gateway – If available, an internet connection is made available to laptops.
• Content - Tools for deployments and teachers to make instructional media available to their schools and classrooms.
• Maintenance - Tools to keep laptops updated and running smoothly.