[Cialug] Volunteer Opportunity for CIALUG: West Des Moines Teen Center

[dave at usalug.org]

I would be willing to help.  You could use customized versions of Slax or
use something like http://www.kioskcd.com/  Live Linux disks that would
only require the computer be rebooted to clear the browser cache.  .....
whatever the outcome, I'd be willing to help.

Dave


On Sun, October 29, 2006 10:18 pm, kristau wrote:
> I have a contact at the City of West Des Moines who brought this
> opportunity to my attention.  I asked him to draw up the following summary
> for me.  Do we have enough interested parties within the group to pull
> something like this off?  I know I would be interested in participating in
> such a project.
>
>
> The Scenario:
>
>
> The West Des Moines Teen Center is located in a former elementary
> school.  The Teen Center's equipment, tv's, games and furnishings have all
> been provided through donations. In fact, the entire operation is
> basically dependent on donations.
>
> They recently received a donation of computers without operating
> systems installed.  The cost of obtaining Microsoft licensed software is
> prohibitive to the group so an Open Source alternative is being suggested.
>
>
> General Idea:
>
>
> Would the local Linux community be interested in either designing  and
> deploying or assisting with the designing and deploying of Linux and Open
> Source based computer equipment for use in a local Teen Center.
> Admittedly, the total scope and involvement of this project will need
> to be talked out amongst the parties involved. Parties managing this
> facility are in discussion at the moment and none of this information
> should be considered to be the final decision or official direction of
> their project.
>
> The Hardware:
>
>
> 10 IBM 300PL workstations.
> PIII 500 Mhz processor.
> 256MB RAM.
> 6GB hard drive.
> Generic CD-ROM and Floppy drive.
> Network card. Some computers have apparently had the onboard NIC fail
> and have aftermarket cards installed. (Intel Pro 100 in one case) Onboard
> sound card. No Operating system.
>
>
> The hardware is believed to be working, but will need to be tested
> before use to confirm this.
>
> The total number of workstations to be deployed has not been
> determined at this time. (for example: some PCs may be held in reserve for
> spare parts or as "hot-swap" workstations in the event of hardware
> failures)
>
> The Network:
>
>
> There is an existing connection to the Internet.  Connection for PCs
> would be made with the use of a 3COM hub (model not known, possibly a 12
> port hub) connected to the School District network.
>
> Network connection is maintained by the School District and would be
> under their direct control.  Network will be subject to infrastructure and
> policies of the school district. (For example: Internet filtering for
> inappropriate websites, firewalls, web proxy, network topology etc).
>
> Miscellaneous:
>
>
> The Teen Center would like to provide Internet browsing workstations
> for the students. There may be a possibility that homework use may be
> requested in the future. (ie, Something compatible with Microsoft Office,
> ie Open Office).  Ability to utilize most of the technologies in use at
> typical websites sites such as Java, Flash and streaming media content.
>
> The desktops will need to be sufficiently locked down to prevent teens
> from circumnavigating any computer or network policies/settings, installing
> additional software or services, etc, etc.  The usual concerns of a secure
> network environment.
>
> Software support for these workstations will be at a minimum so their
> ability to resist tampering is very important. Teen Center staff will not
> be expected to be able to troubleshoot computer related issues beyond
> rebooting a system or replacing a system with a "hot-swap" workstation if
> that is an option.
>
> There may be some privacy issues that need to be addressed such as
> viewing previous user Internet browsing history.  A kiosk style of
> installation may be appropriate in this setting.
>
> thanks, kristau --
> Tired programmer
> Coding late into the night
> The core dump follows
>
>
> My GNUPG public key is available at http://www.kristau.net/public_key.asc
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