Edubuntu update - it freakin' rocks

So after my last Edubuntu debacle (With Feisty Fawn comes a new Edubuntu) I decided to wait until I could devote a bit of time to a proper install.  By proper I mean no attempts at dual booting, no cheesy extra hard drives floating around, just a straight install on a clean hard drive.  The test computer was still only a P4 desktop (3.0GHz with Hyperthreading) and half a gig of RAM; pretty vanilla by current standards, but I figured it should do for my basement install.  One extra on this machine was a second NIC, recommended by Edubuntu for handling the terminal sessions.  The onboard NIC was plugged into a spare port on my home router and the extra NIC was plugged into an old 10/100 switch.

The install took about 45 minutes and Edubuntu immediately fired up.  It recognized all of the hardware, assigned an IP address to the onboard NIC via DHCP and a default internal address to the second NIC without any intervention on my part.  It was incredibly easy.  I didn't even bother with the client setup instructions I found online.  I added a couple of test accounts to the Edubuntu server, plugged an HP thin client into the switch, changed the first boot device to LAN, and, voila, the thin client logged into the Edubuntu server. 

I was now running applications and installing software on the server, surfing the net on the thin client, and could view the thin client connection through a handy interface on the server.  This same interface allowed me to blank the screen on the client, send it messages, and (if I install VNC on the client) share screens and monitor user actions.  All in one window - sweet.

I think it's safe to say that this is leaps and bounds ahead of the last time I tried to get Edubuntu running in a computer lab.  It was quick, easy, and the client computer was up and running in no time.  It was so easy, in fact, that I figured it was too good to be true.  So I connected an old computer I had in my basement (P3, 128MB RAM) to the switch, set the BIOS to boot from the LAN, and there it was again: an Edubuntu desktop and a new session listed in the handy-dandy window noted above.

Would I trade in my Windows terminal servers for Edubuntu?  Probably not right now.  I just about gave our business teacher a coronary switching to Office 2007.  She'd hurt me if I switched to Linux, regardless of its ease of use.  Would I roll this out in elementary schools or microlabs at the high school?  In a heartbeat.  The built-in science and math apps alone are enough to make a believer out of me and would fit quite nicely in the back of the science lab where I'll be running physics courses next year.

My kids will be on a Linux-only diet this weekend as they spend their computer time logged into the Edubuntu server.  I'll post another update on Monday and tell you what they think.