> Perhaps as part of an "official" Red Hat solution include a partnering > with NoMachine for their NX remote access client and server software? > > I've been using the freenx server on our various K12LTSP servers for > several years, with NoMachine's NX Windows and Linux clients for > remote access from my home to our school's servers. Especially when > connecting over the Internet, I've found the NX Client to have > significantly faster response times than VNC. NX Client also supports > local file sharing, local printing, and sound... though in full > disclosure I've not tried those features. NX was the first alternative that popped into my mind as well, but I have never used it myself so I can't recommend it personally yet. However I have read many posts stating that it is much faster and supports the other features. I wasn't aware that Indiana was using remote connections as opposed to laptops. I am encouraged to hear Greg's feedback that the students see this in a positive way. Having to physically carry a laptop or textbooks with you in such a digital age seems silly. I don't own a laptop personally anymore because it is easier to remote connect, why lug stuff around. My approach to this when I was in school was to leave everything at school, but that isn't necessarily a good thing :-) Enabling students to remotely work from school anywhere with an internet connection and without lugging material around seems like a good solution. I have also been looking into the alternative of digital textbooks. I have requested some information from Apex Learning (www.apexlearning.com) as they seem to be a leader in this area and Firefox is a supported browser (still not very educated in this area as I am just starting to research the possibilities). I really like the idea of subscription based online curriculum, quizzes, and such. Some of the things they have to offer are intriguing (such as personalized goals through online pretests). I am still not sure how this would be accepted by teachers and students (you can't read a book on a bus anymore or while on vacation without internet access, rural students may suffer as well). But having curriculum that is updated yearly (some of our textbooks are 15 years old) and not having to carry physical textbooks is an interesting concept. Not sure if Redhat could play a part in this however. I don't know what costs are associated with such an initiative at this point either, but to make it successful on thin clients, seamless sound delivery and viewing of Flash would be a must. And if there is a possibility of 400 students to be using firefox with flash all day to reference the material, one would definitely need a powerful server cluster and possibly multiple application servers to run firefox. So I guess my point is that if Redhat can provide an effective platform for delivery, going digital will be much easier. Jim Kronebusch -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by the Cotter Technology Department, and is believed to be clean. _______________________________________________ Fedora-education-list mailing list Fedora-education-list@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-education-list
