Difference between revisions of "computing for kids"

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(→‎Linux for kids: last, lastlog)
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=={{hide|navbar}}==
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==Navigation==
 
[[computing]]: [[computing for kids|for kids]]
 
[[computing]]: [[computing for kids|for kids]]
 
==Overview==
 
==Overview==
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==Related Articles==
 
==Related Articles==
 
* [[languages for learning programming]]
 
* [[languages for learning programming]]
==Notes==
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* [[Linux for kids]]: some useful commands and techniques specific to managing a kid's computer with Linux installed
===Linux for kids===
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* [[One Laptop Per Child]], also known as the "$100 laptop" project
[[Linux]] offers a lot more fine-tuned control of how computers are set up, including who is allowed access and what they are allowed access to. There is even a particular distribution of Ubuntu aimed at kids – [http://edubuntu.org Edubuntu] – but it is designed more for group-educational contexts than for home use. (For example, it assigns fixed [[IP address]]es by default rather than using [[DHCP]].)
 
 
 
Handy remote-control commands:
 
* {{linuxcmd|sudo}} {{linuxcmd|shutdown}} now
 
** forces the computer to shutdown immediately, terminating all activity (especially useful at bedtime)
 
* {{linuxcmd|telinit}} 3 ; telinit 5
 
** not sure of the details, but this should end the current GUI session without shutting down (n.b. phealy says telinit 5 won't work on Ubuntu, so just telinit 3 should suffice)
 
* {{linuxcmd|ps}} -u <u>username</u>
 
** shows what processes the user is currently running; you can {{linuxcmd|kill}} any inappropriate games
 
* {{linuxcmd|last}}
 
** Shows logins and other system events for the current month, with timestamps and durations; see [[2006-10-15 sample output from 'last' command]]
 
** '''last -f /var/log/wtmp.1''' shows last month's log
 
* {{linuxcmd|lastlog}} shows a list of everyone who has ever logged in, the date/time of when they last did so, and for how long they were logged in.
 
To be able to view what kids are seeing remotely (incomplete instructions):
 
* on the kid's machine:
 
** edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
 
*** inside '''Section "Module"''', add '''Load "vnc"'''
 
*** inside '''Section "Screen"''', add '''Option      "PasswordFile"    "/root/.vnc/passwd"'''
 
*** save the changes
 
** as root, run [[vncpasswd]]
 
* not sure what happens next; does something need restarting? Presumably you also need to run a VNC client on your machine, and that will need parameters...
 

Latest revision as of 20:04, 13 June 2008

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computing: for kids

Overview

Computers intended for use by children have a specialized set of needs.

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