Difference between revisions of "Sugar on a Stick"

Revision as of 17:46, 23 February 2009

About Sugar on a Stick (SoaS)

The Sugar on a Stick project gives children access to *their* Sugar on any computer in their environment with just a USB key.

Project Goals

Sugar on a Stick as 1 to 1 computing in an elementary school
Sugar on a Stick to empower middle and high school students to help test Sugar as Service Learning
Sugar on a Stick for conferences to let people try Sugar and collaborate with other conference participants

Create your own USB Stick

The basics of creating and using a bootable Sugar on a Stick are:

Download a .iso image file containing Sugar on a Stick.
Use a Bootable USB creator program to copy the image file to a USB stick.
Configure the target computer to boot from USB.

Download a .iso Image File

A .iso image file of the latest version of Sugar on a Stick will always be located here:

http://download.sugarlabs.org/soas/snapshots/1/latest.iso

See this email post for information about the latest version:

http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/sugar-devel/2009-February/012123.html

Create a Bootable USB stick

Creating bootable USB keys can be tricky. If it doesn't work the first try, experiment with different methods, computers and USB keys. Report your experience on the Sugar on a Stick talk page.

On Windows using Fedora LiveUSB Creator

Fedora LiveUSB Creator is a cross-platform tool for easily installing live operating systems on to USB flash drives. This is the recommended method to create Sugar on a Stick USB drives.'

http://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/

Download and install Fedora LiveUSB creator as well as a .iso image file.
Plug in a 1GB or larger USB stick into your computer.
Open "liveusb-creator.exe"
Use "Browse" to select the iso file that you just downloaded.
Set the Target Device to your USB device.
Move the slider to set some persistent storage. (Hint: Set it high, then it will tell you how much space there is, and you can adjust it to the right point).
Click "Create Live USB". It will take a few minutes.

How much persistent memory you set will depend on the size of the .iso and the size of your USB. Make sure you leave some so that people can use the Journal.

On Linux using the shell script

This is known to work in Fedora and might work in other Linux distributions. There has been one report where this script does not work in Ubuntu.

Make sure you have the isomd5sum package installed in your distribution, as it will be needed by the script later on.
Plug in a 1GB or larger USB stick into your computer.
Download the shell script livecd-iso-to-disk.sh
Check the USB device. In the example below the device is /dev/sda.

marcopg@marcopg-laptop:~$ df -h
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/hda3              36G  3.9G   30G  12% /
/dev/sda1             7.5G  716M  6.8G  10% /media/disk

Run it as root, making sure to pass the correct USB device and to set overlay and home size appropriately, depending on the stick size.

sh ./livecd-iso-to-disk.sh --overlay-size-mb 500 --home-size-mb 500 Soas-200902201251.iso /dev/sdb1

On Windows or Linux using UNetbootin

UNetbootin (Universal Netboot Installer) is a cross-platform utility that can create Live USB systems.

Keep in mind that UNetbootin doesn't support persistent overlays, so you won't be able to save files using the Journal.

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

Choose the Diskimage ISO option.
Select the downloaded .iso image file.
Press OK and wait for your USB stick to be created.

Booting Sugar on a Stick

Once you have created your USB key, you still need to set your target system to boot from USB.

The trick is to set the BIOS to boot from USB. Unfortunately this is slightly different on each computer. Explore the setup screen for your system (press Esc or F1 while the computer is booting). If you can't figure it out, search Google for information on your computer model's BIOS.

If you are unable to boot from USB, you can burn a "Boot Helper" CD using the .iso below. This will start the boot from the CD, then read files from the USB.

http://www.sugarlabs.org/~marco/boot.iso

You can also use the 'PLoP Boot Manager' to create a boot floppy for machines without the ability to boot from CD or USB, see:

http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/No_native_BIOS_support

Report Bugs

Please keep notes on which version of Sugar on a Stick you have downloaded as the user interface currently does not display this information.

Report bugs to http://dev.sugarlabs.org/. Use the "SoaS" component when entering new bugs.

Join the development effort

We are coordinating work on this project on Sugar Labs Moodle system. Please create an account and join the Sugar on a Stick Class.

http://schools.sugarlabs.org/course/view.php?id=17

TODO List

Create an Easy Emulation for Boston School teachers macbooks - http://dev.sugarlabs.org/ticket/114 <-- Mick is working on this
Create a boot helper CD that lets Macs boot from the stick
Install the latest version of Sugar on a Stick, pick an activity and test it
Create a system for tracking activity testing
Solicit USB stick donations from companies
Create a design for a CD sticker to put on boot helper CDs
Develop specs for Cloning Sugar on a Stick: The vision is that an adult will be able to create a Sugar on a Stick, add activities, set the language and the collaboration service and then "clone" the stick to create Sugar on a Stick for all the students in a class or a school.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==About Sugar on a Stick (SoaS) ==
+==About Sugar on a Stick (SoaS)==
+[[Image:Soas-1.png|thumb]]
-[[Image:Soas.jpg|thumb]]
+The Sugar on a Stick project gives children access to *their* Sugar on any computer in their environment with just a USB key.
-The goal of the Sugar on a Stick project is to give children access to *their* Sugar on any computer in their environment with just a USB key.
+===Project Goals===
+* Sugar on a Stick as 1 to 1 computing in an elementary school
+* Sugar on a Stick to empower middle and high school students to help test [[Sugar as Service Learning]]
+* Sugar on a Stick for conferences to let people try Sugar and collaborate with other conference participants
-We are still in preAlpha on this project. It is not ready to use with children yet. At the time of this writing, the latest Fedora images are the recommended version to use if you want something that is the most stable.
+==Create your own USB Stick==
+[[Image:Soas.jpg|thumb]]
-===Creating a USB Stick===
-The basics of creating a Live, bootable USB are you download a '.iso' image.  Then you use a USB creator program to copy it to a USB, create a space for users to store files on the USB (if required) and set it to be bootable.
-In practice this means the first thing you need is a Live USB creator.
-We are working with live USBs based on both Fedora and Ubuntu (these are different distributions of Linux), you can try either or both.
-If you are helping us with testing, please be sure to use one of the Sugar .iso's from this page. Please keep notes on which you got and when. Please report bugs to dev.sugarlabs.org and finally, please join the Moodle Class where we are coordinating testing. http://schools.sugarlabs.org/course/view.php?id=17
+The basics of creating and using a bootable Sugar on a Stick are:
+#Download a .iso image file containing Sugar on a Stick.
+#Use a Bootable USB creator program to copy the image file to a USB stick.
+#Configure the target computer to boot from USB.
-This is still in testing, its not ready for production use yet.
+===Download a .iso Image File===
+A .iso image file of the latest version of Sugar on a Stick will always be located here:
+:http://download.sugarlabs.org/soas/snapshots/1/latest.iso
-====Fedora based Sugar on a Stick====
+See this email post for information about the latest version:
+:http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/sugar-devel/2009-February/012123.html
-You will need to download current version of Sugar that we are testing for Sugar on a Stick:
+===Create a Bootable USB stick===
+Creating bootable USB keys can be tricky.  If it doesn't work the first try, experiment with different methods, computers and USB keys.  Report your experience on the [[Talk:Sugar on a Stick|Sugar on a Stick talk]] page.
-  http://download.sugarlabs.org/soas/snapshots/1/Soas-200902231225.iso
+====On Windows using Fedora LiveUSB Creator====
+Fedora LiveUSB Creator is a cross-platform tool for easily installing live operating systems on to USB flash drives.  ''This is the recommended method to create Sugar on a Stick USB drives.'''
-See: http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/sugar-devel/2009-February/012123.html
+:http://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/
-=====From Windows=====
+*Download and install Fedora LiveUSB creator as well as a .iso image file.
-To create a Fedora based Sugar from a Windows machine:  https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/
+*Plug in a 1GB or larger USB stick into your computer.
+*Open "liveusb-creator.exe"
+*Use "Browse" to select the iso file that you just downloaded.
+*Set the Target Device to your USB device.
+*Move the slider to set some persistent storage.  (Hint: Set it high, then it will tell you how much space there is, and you can adjust it to the right point).
+*Click "Create Live USB". It will take a few minutes.
-Download that file to a windows machine and install it.
+How much persistent memory you set will depend on the size of the .iso and the size of your USB.  Make sure you leave some so that people can use the Journal.
-#Plug in a 1GB or larger USB stick into your computer.
+====On Linux using the shell script====
-#Open "liveusb-creator.exe"
+This is known to work in Fedora and might work in other Linux distributions. There has been one report where this script does not work in Ubuntu.
-#Use "Browse" to select the iso file that you just downloaded.
-#Set the Target Device to your USB device
-#Move the slider to set some persistent storage (hint, set it high then it will tell you how much space there is and you can adjust it to the right point)
-#Click "Create Live USB". It will take a few minutes.
-How much persistent memory you set will depend on the size of the .iso and the size of your USB but make sure you have some so people can save files.
-=====From Linux=====
 * Make sure you have the isomd5sum package installed in your distribution, as it will be needed by the script later on.
@@ Line 56: / Line 58: @@
   sh ./livecd-iso-to-disk.sh --overlay-size-mb 500 --home-size-mb 500 Soas-200902201251.iso /dev/sdb1
-This is known to work in Fedora and might work in other linux distributions. There has been one report where this script does not work in Ubuntu. If that happens with you, install [http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ unetbootin] and when running it, choose the Diskimage ISO option, and select the above downloaded iso. Keep in mind that unetbootin doesn't support persistent overlays, so you won't be able to use features like the journal that require a place to write.
+====On Windows or Linux using UNetbootin====
+UNetbootin (Universal Netboot Installer) is a cross-platform utility that can create Live USB systems.
-====Ubuntu based Sugar on a Stick====
-* Detailed instructions are here: http://dev.laptop.org/~probono/sbuntu/ and in [[Sugar on a Stick Ubuntu]]
-====Ubuntu based Sugar on a Stick from Windows====
-(Note that these instructions work on Fedora as well, and also can be run from any Linux distribution or Windows)
-# Download the stock [http://releases.ubuntu.com/intrepid/ubuntu-8.10-desktop-i386.iso ubuntu-8.10-desktop-i386.iso]
-# Download [http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ UNetbootin] [http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/unetbootin-windows-latest.exe for Windows] (or [http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/unetbootin-linux-latest Linux]) and run the application
-# Supply the Ubuntu 8.10 desktop ISO file in the "Diskimage" option, select your target USB drive, and press "OK" to make an Ubuntu Live USB
-# Add the file [http://dev.laptop.org/~probono/sbuntu/sugar.squashfs sugar.squashfs] to the directory casper/ on the USB stick
-===Using Sugar on a Stick===
+''Keep in mind that UNetbootin doesn't support persistent overlays, so you won't be able to save files using the Journal.''
-The trick is to set the BIOS to boot from USB.  Unfortunately this is slightly different on each computer.  Try Google on BIOS your computer model and explore the setup screen for your system.
+:http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
-If you have trouble try creating a "Boot Helper" CD using the .iso below.  This will start the boot from the CD then read files from the USB.
+* Choose the Diskimage ISO option.
+* Select the downloaded .iso image file.
+* Press OK and wait for your USB stick to be created.
- http://www.sugarlabs.org/~marco/boot.iso
+===Booting Sugar on a Stick===
+Once you have created your USB key, you still need to set your target system to boot from USB.
-You can also use the 'PLoP Boot Manager' to create a boot floppy for machines without the ability to boot from CD or USB, see http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/No_native_BIOS_support
+The trick is to set the BIOS to boot from USB.  Unfortunately this is slightly different on each computer.  Explore the setup screen for your system (press Esc or F1 while the computer is booting).  If you can't figure it out, search Google for information on your computer model's BIOS.
-===VirtualBox and Sugar on a Stick===
+If you are unable to boot from USB, you can burn a "Boot Helper" CD using the .iso below.  This will start the boot from the CD, then read files from the USB.
+:http://www.sugarlabs.org/~marco/boot.iso
-At our pilot school for Sugar on a Stick the teachers have MacBooks. Our plan is to have teachers run Sugar in emulation mode on their personal Macbooks, while the students use the USB to access a variety of computers.
+You can also use the 'PLoP Boot Manager' to create a boot floppy for machines without the ability to boot from CD or USB, see:
+:http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/No_native_BIOS_support
-Instructions for using a preconfigured VirtualBox disk image with Sugar on a Stick [[Sugar on a Stick VirtualBox]]
+==Report Bugs==
+Please keep notes on which version of Sugar on a Stick you have downloaded as the user interface currently does not display this information.
-===Cloning Sugar on a Stick===
+Report bugs to http://dev.sugarlabs.org/.  Use the "SoaS" component when entering new bugs.
-The vision is that an adult will be able to create a Sugar on a Stick, add activities, set the language and the collaboration service and then "clone" the stick to create Sugar on a Stick for all the students in a class or a school.
-[[Specs for Cloning Sugar on a Stick]]
 ===Join the development effort===
-We are coordinating work on this project on Sugar Labs Moodle system. Please create an account and join the Sugar on a Stick Class. http://schools.sugarlabs.org/course/view.php?id=17
+We are coordinating work on this project on Sugar Labs Moodle system. Please create an account and join the Sugar on a Stick Class.
+:http://schools.sugarlabs.org/course/view.php?id=17
-====Report Sugar on a Stick Bugs====
-Use the Sugar Trac system at http://dev.sugarlabs.org to report bugs.  Use the "SoaS" component.
-===Project Goals===
-* Sugar on a Stick as 1 to 1 computing in an elementary school
-* Sugar on a Stick to empower middle and high school students to help test [[Sugar as Service Learning]]
-* Sugar on a Stick for conferences to let people try Sugar and collaborate with other conference participants
-===Sugar on a Stick ToDo List===
-  * Create an Easy Emulation for Boston School teachers macbooks - http://dev.sugarlabs.org/ticket/114 <-- [[User:Mick|Mick]] is working on this
+====TODO List====
-  * Create a boot helper CD that lets Macs boot from the stick
+*Create an Easy Emulation for Boston School teachers macbooks - http://dev.sugarlabs.org/ticket/114 <-- [[User:Mick|Mick]] is working on this
-  * Install the latest version of Sugar on a Stick, pick an activity and test it
+*Create a boot helper CD that lets Macs boot from the stick
-  * Create a system for tracking activity testing
+*Install the latest version of Sugar on a Stick, pick an activity and test it
-  * Solicit USB stick donations from companies
+*Create a system for tracking activity testing
-  * Create a design for a CD sticker to put on boot helper CDs
+*Solicit USB stick donations from companies
+*Create a design for a CD sticker to put on boot helper CDs
+*Develop specs for Cloning Sugar on a Stick: The vision is that an adult will be able to create a Sugar on a Stick, add activities, set the language and the collaboration service and then "clone" the stick to create Sugar on a Stick for all the students in a class or a school.
-=== See Also ===
+== See Also ==
-*[[DeploymentTeam/School_Key]]
+*[[DeploymentTeam/School_Key]] Information on various Sugar on a Stick deployments.
+*[[Sugar on a Stick Ubuntu]] An alternate version of Sugar on a Stuck uses Ubuntu as the base system.
+*[[Sugar on a Stick VirtualBox]] Instructions for using a preconfigured VirtualBox disk image with Sugar on a Stick.