SCALE 8x - 2010 Southern California Linux Expo - Try It Lab

Amazon EC2 Beginner's Workshop

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Getting started with Linux on Amazon EC2

After a quick, high-level introduction to Amazon EC2, this workshop provides step-by-step instructions to register an account with Amazon Web Services and to start your first Linux server "in the cloud".

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provides on demand, self service, pay as you go computing infrastructure, including servers, storage, network, security, monitoring, load balancing, auto scaling, and more.

The focus of this presentation will be running Linux servers on EC2. The workshop will demonstrate using Ubuntu, but EC2 supports many Linux distros including Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora Core, CentOS, RHEL, Gentoo, and OpenSuse.

All you need to get started is a credit card to create an Amazon account. Expenses for the workshop should be under $0.25 (yes, that's a quarter). Attendees should create their Amazon accounts _before_ this session.

Controlling EC2 resources can be done using a browser on any operating system including Linux, Mac, or Windows. (The presenter's entire company runs on EC2, managed by employees with laptops.)

By the end of the workshop you will have an AWS account and a running Linux server, which we will promptly shut down before ending the class so that you will incur no further charges until you decide to use EC2 again in the future.

Speaker: Eric Hammond

Sugar on a Stick - Exploring the OLPC

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Hands-On with Sugar on a Stick

This session is a hands-on exploration of the XO and Sugar on a Stick. Participants will learn about the latest and greatest Sugar Activities and the simple processes for getting them for their students. We will look at Sugar on a Stick (SoaS), which lets you run the OLPC operating system and applications on a variety of PC platforms and Intel-based Macs. We’ll cover how to download SoaA and transfer it to a USB drive. Time permitting, Sugar on a Stick will be compared to the OLPC XO, and we’ll discuss the upcoming XO 1.5 and the expansion of applications.

We will look at Sugar on a Stick (SoaS), which lets you run the OLPC operating system and applications on a variety of PC platforms and Intel-based Macs. We’ll cover how to download SoaA and transfer it to a USB drive. Time permitting, Sugar on a Stick will be compared to the OLPC XO, and we’ll discuss the upcoming XO 1.5 and the expansion of applications.

Speaker: Caryl Bigenho

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LedgerSMB - Powerful Open Source Accounting

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Hands on demonstrations of Open Source double entry accounting systems.

Looking for a powerful web based double entry accounting solution? Consider LedgerSMB. LedgerSMB started as a fork of SQL-Ledger and has evolved into a far more secure and community driven Open Source project. The LedgerSMB project's current priority is to provide an extremely capable yet user-friendly accounting and ERP solution to small to mid-size businesses where there is interest in using the software. Learn first hand how LedgerSMB operates by interacting with a live system - create invoices, enter payments and general ledger entries.

Learn first hand how LedgerSMB operates by interacting with a live system - create invoices, enter payments and general ledger entries.

Speaker: Erick Tyack

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Open Source Social Networking tools

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Overview of Open Source Social Networking tools.

MySpace, Facebook, Youtube.... Students in your school districts are using it, staff in your school districts are using it. Come and see how other are using internal open source social networking tools to leverage learning in a controlled environment. You will be able to test and use various social networks and microblogging platforms hands-on.

Speaker: Benoit St-Andre

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LTSP Local Apps - Unchain the Desktop

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Delivering Desktops and Applications with Linux and Thin Clients

Experience first hand how utilizing the processing power of your thin clients will take your LTSP implementation to new heights. Many LTSP installations are wrestling with the challenge of offering users the interactive desktop they expect, while at the same time balancing the demands on their server infrastructure. Implementing Local Apps is a key element for extending the user capacity of your servers, and most importantly deliveing your users the desktop experience that will Unchain the Desktop!

Speaker: Erick Tyack

LTSP Local Apps - The Secret Sauce

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Technical review of making multimedia work well in the LTSP Thin Client environment

Making multimedia a success in thin client environments was no easy task … but there's a recipe. How do LTSP Local Apps work? Learn the inner workings of how Local Applications seamlessly operate between the LTSP client and server. The following will be covered: - explanation of plumbing on server and client side - sshfs utlization - how applications are integrated with Gnome menus. - configuring access to server directories - routing network traffic

The following will be covered:
- explanation of plumbing on server and client side
- sshfs utilization
- how applications are integrated with Gnome menus.
- configuring access to server directories
- routing network traffic

Speaker: Erick Tyack

Making the Best First Impression for New Users

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

How many times have you talked to someone about your favorite distribution only to have them walk away uninterested? There are many superb tactics that help us, as users of some of the most powerful operating systems available, showcase and explain our choice in a way that sparks curiosity. Helping people upgrade to a free and open system can be a fun process and we'll show you some of our best "entry points". Come well equipped to share some of your own!

Speaker: Cathy Malmrose

Pew Pew: Writing Games with Ruby

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Exploring 2D game development with open source tools and Ruby.

Rubygame is a cross-platform multimedia library for the most beautiful programming language in the world: Ruby. It embraces the Ruby spirit to provide developers with a library that is clean and easy to use so you can get things done painlessly, and yet powerful and flexible so you can get them done right. With that in mind, this class will guide participants through the process of creating 2D games with Rubygame. At the end of the class the participants will have a basic understanding of how 2D games work and will have created a small space invaders clone with animation and sound. Participants should have a solid understanding of Ruby programming.

Participants should have a solid understanding of Ruby programming.

Speaker: Shawn Anderson

Troubleshooting Linux

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

General troubleshooting techniques and tools for LInux

This presentation will cover basic troubleshooting strategies and tools available for most Linux distributions. We start by by covering how to be prepared for troubleshooting – documentation, backups and spares. Then we'll look at logs and using debug options and command history to assess the scope of the problem. Troubleshooting the X11 subsystem and the GNOME Desktop Environment is explained. We'll review how to monitor and manage general processes. We'll discuss how to check important settings and preferences. Networking, both wired and wireless, is another key area that is covered. Key command line and graphical tools for diagnostics and configuration are explained along with the important configuration files and how to verify them.

Speaker: Keith Wright

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the eLearning XHTML editor

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

This session includes a contextual overview, a walk through and a few basic demonstrations of how to use this off-line XHTML editor which has been specifically designed to construct and package instructional based course materials for LMS distribution.

Easily develop standard based SCORM content for Learning Management Systems like moodle with eXe - the eLearning XHTML editor. If you can use a word processor to create lesson plans, you can use a tool like eXE Learning. eXe Learning is one of the best editors for creating standards based, multi-platform SCORM content without any prior knowledge of SCORM, HTML or XML. eXe Learning's free license makes it extremely attractive for instructors and course designers. With the iDevices, eXe Learning is following a strategy of extending the tool. The integration of Flash films and Java applets are easy with the tool.

eXe Learning is one of the best editors for creating standards based, multi-platform SCORM content without any prior knowledge of SCORM, HTML or XML. eXe Learning's free license makes it extremely attractive for instructors and course designers. With the iDevices, eXe Learning is following a strategy of extending the tool. The integration of Flash films and Java applets are easy with the tool.

Speaker: Kenneth Wyrick

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