How to install squeak in school network setting

Lex Spoon lex at cc.gatech.edu
Fri Sep 17 19:15:23 UTC 2004


Christian Mascher <christian.mascher at gmx.de> wrote:
> Well, sure, I will have to be more generous with server disk-space 
> <wink> when using squeak. 21 students' images will probably be no 
> problem even given our quite full /home, but it is a difference compared 
> to when using other languages, say python, where the individuals only 
> save source (text-)files which take up hardly no space.
> 
> Not arguing with the smalltalk way of doing this, only up to now, my 
> students didn't need a starting point of 15 MB in their home.

True, it would be nice both if Squeak took less space, and if it were
possible to load a Squeak image read-only and thus to share it.  If you
get truly stuck, there are some alternative possibilities that can be
investigated, so please don't just give up!

That aside, however, please consider a couple of other perspectives.

First, other computer activities you might consider, also consume
multiple megabytes at a time.  In particular, image, sound, and video
editing will quickly eat up megabytes or even gigabytes.  If you
restrict students to <15MB, then Squeak is not the only computer
activity you have to give up on; you have to give up on a lot of the
multimedia activities, activities which are able to enthrall a large
segment of your student body that is left cold by activities that are
text-only.

Second, the cost is low these days.  According to www.pricewatch.com,
disk space can be obtained for $0.50/GB.  That means you can store over
one hundred Squeak images per dollar, or alternatively, 2 images for 50
students per dollar.  Since you have fewer than 50 students in mind, we
are literally quibbling over one dollar.


> The problem is probably that computers in a school-lab are no real 
> _personal_ computers (because they are used by so many different users). 
> Individual laptops would be. And squeak is designed for a true personal 
> computer.

I have lost track of the thread, but note that a shared computer with a
personal home directory is still personal while it is in use.  Squeak
should work fine as is, provide there is sufficient disk space per
student.

Two other things.

Please try, if possible, to get space for two Squeak images per student,
not just one.  Having space for two images opens up some extra
possibilities in the long run.  For example, students may want to test
that something they have written still functions in a stock image.  Or,
they may want to grab a copy of a friend's image and play around in it
for a while.

Finally, an additional option to think about, if laptops are out of
financial possibility, is to get students some sort of external disk
drive that they can take home.  If most of your students' families have
a computer, then students can still work on their stuff at home this
way.  (And remember that Squeak is widely compatible; it merely needs a
certain amount of horsepower.)



-Lex


[1] assuming you get a 200 GB drive.  If that seems like too much, you
can still get a 20 GB drive for $1.00/gig.



More information about the Squeak-dev mailing list