Ubuntu 9.10 version?

[kabads]

Obviously, ubuntu 9.10 is now out - are there any plans for a version of Activinspire for this version of ubuntu and if so, when can we expect the release?

[nsbcc]

Also interested in this - was running but now there are apparently no Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) repositories
Any suggestions/workarounds?
thanks

[trobinson]

Good news, It's on it's way soon.

[bobconway]

Just wanted to add that I'm keep for the Karmic release too.

Just purchased some netbooks running Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 and would love to have ActivInspire installed on them so the children can access the lessons.

[nsbcc]

Good news, It's on it's way soon.

at the risk of being a pest - how soon is "soon"?
is there a backport or beta version available in the meantime?

thanks

[charlie.o.sullivan]

I am running karmic on all machines in a school. All promethean boards are working well BUT we just purchased a new board and when you touch it with a pen, the connected notebook and board freezes so we can't use it. Promethean Asia pacific support have told us:
Just an update, its obviously a problem with the new AC3 Pro Board with the driver, unfortunately there is no new driver at the moment to work with AC3 Pro Boards and Ubuntu 9.10 but there will be soon which you will be able to update on the Linux machine.
We also hope soon is soon.

[nsbcc]

I am running karmic on all machines in a school. All Promethean boards are working well BUT ...


are you running ActivInspire?? which repository did you use? AFAIK there are no 9.10/karmic repositories.
did you install the deb for jaunty?

[bobconway]

Good news, It's on it's way soon.

Any update on "soon"? Are we talking before the end of 2009, or the start of AY10-11?

[bleucanard]

I am running karmic on all machines in a school. All Promethean boards are working well BUT we just purchased a new board and when you touch it with a pen, the connected notebook and board freezes so we can't use it.

This was fixed last week, I am trying to convince my colleagues to release a patch, but it takes time :-(

In the meantime, since the driver is open - source, you can actually fix it yourself, as the code is installed on your computer.

Open a terminal.
Type the following:


sudo -i
cd /usr/src/Promethean/kernel
chmod 766 usbPromethean.c
gedit usbPromethean.c


Now, you must find the following text in the file:

tempData[10];


and replace it with

tempData[32];


Save the file and exit gedit.
Disconnect any Promethean devices.
type


make
make install


Reconnect the board and try. It should fix the problem.

Surprisingly, this problem has been in for ever, and only started causing crashes recently.

I will also leave a message as soon as the Karmic repository is available (I have no precise date at the moment).

[kabads]

Pierre - great fix, thanks for that level of detail.

Any news on the karmic release? I have one machine here which is dying to updated (Karmic has been out for nearly 3 months now). Why not release it as beta?

[bleucanard]

> Why not release it as beta ?

I can only ask my colleagues again. If it was up to me, we'd already have 10.04 on the repository ! (ok, maybe not !)

[kabads]

> Why not release it as beta ?

I can only ask my colleagues again. If it was up to me, we'd already have 10.04 on the repository ! (ok, maybe not !)


Why not tell them that the linux way is to release early and release often. We can always go back to 9.04 if we want (and the risk is ours to take). It's ages since I read the Cathedral and Bazaar but I seem to recall that it's better to get your software out there with many eyes looking at it instead of you trying to test it all in house.

[jcrewe]

Excuse my ignorance, but has there been a 9.10 update yet? I have a promethian trial going on and I am trying to add the deb to my sources through the package manager but am having issues....

after apt-get update I get this....

W: GPG error: http://activsoftware.co.uk jaunty Release: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 266A041058B98E87

I googled but no results....meaning this is only me? Can someone please let me know what has happened here and how can I solve it?

Jason

[bleucanard]

The update for Karmic will be with the next version of Inspire. We have decided not to support Karmic for now as we have not tested ActivInspire or the driver on it.

You can always try the Jaunty packages, but we do not support them on 9.10 at this time, and there is no guarantee that they will work on karmic :-(

As for your error, have you imported the Promethean key for authentication of the packages ?

This should tell you how to do it :
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9034

The Planet instructions for Linux installation (some interesting videos)
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.17491

[jcrewe]

The key command was exactly what I needed. Thanks.

So when the next version of Inspire is released then the Karmic packages will be available? Since 10.04 is slated to be released in mid-2010 does that mean 9.10 will be supported after everyone has upgraded to 10.04?

[charlie.o.sullivan]

I still have a new Activboard that I can't use. I am running karmic on all machines in a school. All Promethean boards are working well BUT we just purchased a new board last year and when you touch it with a pen, the connected notebook and board freezes so we can't use it. Promethean Asia pacific support have told us:
Just an update, its obviously a problem with the new AC3 Pro Board with the driver, unfortunately there is no new driver at the moment to work with AC3 Pro Boards and Ubuntu 9.10 but there will be soon which you will be able to update on the Linux machine.

[bleucanard]

Have you tried the fix I suggested in this thread ?

(Post #9
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/forum/showpost.php?p=63922&postcount=9)

[charlie.o.sullivan]

Hi Pierre,
Thanks it worked. When is the next release planned?
Charlie

[dglover]

Hi, the next ActivInspire release is planned for late April.

Dave
Promethean

[charlie.o.sullivan]

Hi Pierre,
I thought the fix worked but the teacher is reporting that the driver problem persists. After about 5 minutes of using the board with various flipcharts, the same error appears "Serious Kernel error". The machine freezes and has to be rebooted. I have checked it and she is correct. It seems like a variation of the original problem of the computer freezing once you touch the board. The only way to get rid of the error message is to hold down the power button. I followed your instructions for recompiling the kernel as requested.
Charlie

[bleucanard]

I will ask our testers to have a look if they have time. One of our tests is to stick a pen to a board enough for it to interact with it and leave it there for 24 hours or more, and it's never caused any trouble. Is there any chance the problem could be caused by another driver ?

If you look in the system tools menu, you will found a program called ActivAid. Could you run it and click on the Diagnostic button in the toolbar ? (you may have to resize the window to see it) It will generate a log file (.tar.gz). Could you either post to the forum, or email it to our support department at tech.support@prometheanworld.com and I will try and have a look (say it's for me in your email !)

[rgrondin]

OK, I've heard of mind-numbing jobs, but holding a pen to a board for 24 hours? Ouch!

[bleucanard]

We have a very hi-tech solution for this, consisting of a plastic cup and some sticky tape (see picture)

[charlie.o.sullivan]

Hi Pierre,

I have attached the tar file requested. The activity log in the display
of Activeaid said all OK. Please see what you can do. Teachers are
threatening to return to using Windows.BTW the uploader on this wysiwyg wouldn't accept a .gz file only a zip file. I emailed the file to techsupport as well addressed to you.

Regards

Charlie O'Sullivan

[kabads]

OK - 10.4 is out today - any idea when we might be able to keep our OS up to date just for one application? Most other applications bundled with Ubuntu don't have the same issues that Promethean are having with Inspire (although there are some who don't appreciate the Ubuntu way of releasing often),

So, how long now until another release or repository?