I am new to endless and I really like what I see, I like it so much I am in the process of convincing my school to buy 22-25 mini computers. However I still hace some questions, like:
Will flash or similar programs run on the chrome browser?
The main idea I hace to use the computers is to serve as terminals to access the web and the many learning websites online. I also want to know if my students will hace access to Office 365, since I am also getting an account forma this service forma my students.
If you have subscriptions to Office 365, you should also have access to OneDrive and the Office suite online. That is not as full featured as the installed applications, but most of what is needed and used is there. Chrome/Chromium will handle the Office 365 site and applications without problems, and working through Office 365 also provides many collaborative tools. OneNote in particular has many tools that can be useful in classroom settings. Check out the Office 365 site for all the educational material they have. I think you will find much if not all of it to be useful in Endless OS via web.
Yes, Flash will run on the browser. We currently ship with Chromium as part of the OS, and for users who run the downloaded version of the OS we automatically download Google Chrome since it includes video codecs that we cannot ship for free. Both browsers will attempt to download and use Flash from the Google server. We will make Firefox available for download next week in our app center, and it will also download Flash. Note that in all cases, you might have to restart the browser after a few minutes in order for the downloaded Flash to become available within the browser.
If you need Java in the browser (this technology is rapidly dying but may still be needed for some older websites), you will have to use Firefox, as Chrome no longer supports Java.
One word of caution on using the Endless USB stick… Installing Chrome might not work so well in live mode as everything downloaded has be stay in memory (since the live USB is not a writable drive). So definitely try the live USB first, but if you want to try Chrome or Firefox, I’d recommend installing from the live USB onto the computer’s internal drive.
One more thing, is there any software compatible with Endless to remotely manage all the units? I am trying to build a new computer lab and I think the best way to check con the students’ work, doubts and questions quickly and effectively would be through this type of program. I also need to turn them on and off remotely.
Oh, and also, thank you so much for your prompt and very effective responses.
Most printers that have good Linux support will work well on Endless. Although it is not guaranteed to be accurate, there is a database of printers maintained by the Linux community that can help: http://www.openprinting.org/printers/
One word of wisdom when choosing a printer – be sure to consider the cost of ink, as it can vary drastically from one model to another and can easily outweigh the initial cost of the printer. I personally use an HP Officejet Pro 8610 which works flawlessly on Endless and has saved me a lot in ink costs vs. a previous printer I owned.