Chapter 1 - Introduction
Welcome to Edubuntu! You're about to embark on a journey of discovery and empowerment. This book will help you on your journey to running Edubuntu in a learning environment.
This book is meant for anyone who would like to set up a computer laboratory using Edubuntu. Edubuntu uses only free software, is easy to administer, and makes the best use of old or obsolete hardware. And because it is properly documented (for example, in the book you're reading now), there is a growing community of Edubuntu administrators and enthusiasts to whom you may turn for help if you get stuck.
Although Edubuntu is primarily aimed at schools, it is not only useful in a school environment. Any kind of community organisation may benefit from a secure and powerful computer laboratory, so feel free to pass on this book to anyone who can use it.
How to use this book
The Edubuntu Cookbook is a step-by-step guide in setting up Edubuntu in a learning enviroment.
Anyone with enough enthusiasm, as well as access to some old computers and the other equipment necessary, may use the Cookbook as a blueprint to install Edubuntu for their community.
The book is also meant to introduce to you the concept of a computer laboratory, and to give you some insight into what it takes to run one with Edubuntu. If you are in a hurry to get up to speed with Edubuntu, the following list may come in handy:
- If you are thinking of installing Edubuntu, start reading at ... for information on obtaining and setting up Edubuntu.
- If you're preparing to install Edubuntu, turn to ... for some pre-installation notes, tips and tricks.
- If you already have Edubuntu up and running, you'll want to skip to...to find out what was installed and how it works.
- If something is not performing right in your Edubuntu installation, check out....for some troubleshooting tips and fixes. You'll also find information where to get further assistance in case the cookbook doesn't help you at all with your problem.
Why we wrote this book
TODO
This book is intended to help you to be self-sufficient, and to enable you to look for help effectively. It gathers together information about all the components that make up Edubuntu, and it tells the story behind the global, grass-roots free software movement that created all the software, millions upon millions of lines of code, that make it work.
Audience and Scope
TODO
Overview of the Edubuntu Project
How Edubuntu came to be
TODO
Edubuntu and Ubuntu
TODO
About Ubuntu
"Ubuntu", is an ancient African work meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.
Ubuntu is a complete open source operating system built around the Linux kernel. The Ubuntu community is made up of software developers, translators, folks who love to write documentation, and most importantly the people who use Ubuntu every day. We invite you to join this community and help to make Ubuntu the operating system your family and friends and office colleagues will love to use. Help to translate Ubuntu into your own language, test it on new laptops, servers and other exciting hardware, improve the web site with hints, tips and FAQ's, or help to define the set of software that is installed by default for future Ubuntu releases.
The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. For those reasons:
Ubuntu will always be free of charge, and there is no extra fee for the "enterprise edition", we make our very best work available to everyone on the same Free terms.
Ubuntu includes the very best in translations and accessibility infrastructure that the Free Software community has to offer, to make Ubuntu usable by as many people as possible.
Ubuntu is released regularly and predictably; a new release is made every six months. You can use the current stable release or the current development release. Each release is supported for at least 18 months.
Ubuntu is entirely committed to the principles of open source software development; we encourage people to use open source software, improve it and pass it on.