(Apologies I forgot to mention that auto-mounting and auto-dismounting the USB stick is likely the hard part -- untrained teachers simply cannot handle mount-point ambiguities, if they can handle the command-line at all -- suggestions on how to solve this elegantly most appreciated!)
PS we are happy to mandate that teachers must supply an empty/formatted FAT32 stick or similar if that's the best practice? On Sun, Mar 6, 2016 at 12:08 PM, Adam Holt <h...@laptop.org> wrote: > In short, http://NTP.org - by - sneakernet, not carrier pigeon :> > > > On Sun, Mar 6, 2016 at 12:06 PM, Adam Holt <h...@laptop.org> wrote: > >> Clarifs below~ >> >> On Sun, Mar 6, 2016 at 11:51 AM, Adam Holt <h...@laptop.org> wrote: >> >>> In Haiti many teachers and kids would prefer the time was set correctly >>> on their XO-1 laptops, no matter if the time is off by a couple minutes. >>> So they could really use a script that creates the following >>> /boot/olpc.fth, writing it out to an attached USB stick: >>> >>> \ Open Firmware >>> select /rtc decimal 0 0 0 1 1 1804 set-time >>> \ Optionally unlock XO >>> disable-security >>> >>> Then the teacher/operator can walk around the room to fix all XO's >>> clocks (refreshing the USB time as often as she/he wants). Of course not >>> every day can be Haitian Independence Day (Jan 1 1804!) so what the script >>> should really do is create a timestamp 1 minute into the future, filling >>> out those 6 numbers above correctly. >>> >>> The untrained operator (teacher typically) will then move the USB stick >>> to the XO(s) in need, to set their RTC's (real-time-clocks). Some >>> ambitious teachers will want to do this every month/semester it appears, to >>> sanitize/harmonize all clocks in their classroom/school as much as possible! >>> >>> Any recommended approaches to getting the UX clean, so that such >>> untrained operator have a visual confirmation that the USB stick has been >>> updated with a proper time-stamp, and (perhaps just as important??) the >>> stick mounted+unmounted effortlessly without too much risk, when this USB >>> stick is recreated hundreds of times within 1 day? A non-confusing command >>> line script can work, that says basically 2 things: >>> >>> - PLEASE INSERT A USB STICK >>> - USB STICK READY: REMOVE IT NOW! >>> >>> The less keyboard activity required from the teacher the better. But >>> I'm tempted by command syntax as follows: >>> >> >> usb-timestamper <minute*s*-into-the-future> >> >> >>> Such that running "/bin/usb-timestamper 5" would create USB sticks >>> timestamped 5 minutes into the future. The default should be 1 minute into >>> the future, so running "/bin/usb-timestamper" would be equivalent to >>> "/bin/usb-timestamper 1". >>> >>> Conclusion: am just looking for general suggestions from everyone as we >>> cook up something simple! >>> >> >> We do not want to rely on networking or mesh At All. KISS (key it >> simple/stupid) at the firmware level allows the teacher/operator to move >> thru the classroom quite rapidly, fixing the time on each XO laptop as >> often as s/he wants. 2 examples scenarios, showing how this will be used: >> >> 1. Teacher/operator may choose to run "usb-timestamper 10" once as >> s/he enters each classroom, if she wants to timestamp the USB stick 10min >> into the future, and then apply this rapidly to all 50 XO's in a >> classroom/lab over the coming 20minutes. Works great ifs/he does not care >> that the XO's clocks are off by +/- 10min! >> 2. Or if teacher/operator is perfectionist, then usb-timestamper >> (interactive command-line program) can be left running on hir own XO >> laptop >> that s/he carries around the room -- updating the USB stick repeatedly >> while walking around the classroom -- such that each of that room's 50 XO >> laptops has an almost-exact clock, accurate within a minute or so. >> >> >>> >>> in this case, as USB sticks are the most reliable and quick approach in >>> this case. >>> >>> Clarif: I will of course train the teacher/operator to set the clock >>> correctly on their own XO-1, which will typically be running OLPC OS 13.2.7 >>> -- so that all these "offline-NTP sticks" are created based on a reasonably >>> accurate baseline timestamp :) >>> >>> -- >>> Unsung Heroes of OLPC, interviewed live @ http://unleashkids.org ! >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Unsung Heroes of OLPC, interviewed live @ http://unleashkids.org ! >> >> -- >> Unsung Heroes of OLPC, interviewed live @ http://unleashkids.org ! >> >> -- >> Unsung Heroes of OLPC, interviewed live @ http://unleashkids.org ! >> >
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