We've decided to get our two grandchildren (11 & 13) a PC each after glowing school reports (which they will hopefully use to improve even further!), and I'd like to dual boot with SUSE being the primary OS. The main reasons for this is stability & freedom from viruses. XP will be there if there for anything they can't run on Linux.

This has brought up a few worries, as while they are used to using Linux when on holiday at our place, they don't have any technical experience to fix problems, and I'm 200 miles away, so can't call round (I know I can use ssh & VNC, but haven't quite got it figured out yet). I've identified a few areas which may be a problem to them, but would like to know if anyone else has done this for their kids and knows what parts to lock down, so that they don't accidentally destroy the installation.

One of the things I've looked at is the NVIDIA card, which is what they will have on theirs. After a kernel update, I have to recompile the driver, which is a pain in the arris for me, and is the sort of thing I don't want to inflict on them, as yet. Would it be advisable to lock the kernel against updates to prevent that, or could that make for other problems?

Are there any other pitfalls I should look at? I would rather that their Linux experience is a good one, as mine has (mostly) been. What would you install/not install, and are there any things out there that they would find cool (like, but not Beryl, please - tried that on mine, too unstable)

Cheers in advance for any help

I don't see the problem really. All I did was do the initial install, none of my children have admin rights so chances are they won't be able to bring the system down. Any problems they create will only affect their own user space, this can easily be remedied by deleting either the .kde or .gnome folders after which they can just log in and a fresh environment will be created all they will lose is any customizations that they previously had. If the system is running fine I see no reason (apart from security/bugfixes) to update anything. There's probably many other alternatives, this method works fine with my kids for me.

If you install the nvidia drivers using Yast, you won't have to recompile every time a kernel update occurs

http://www.suse.de/~sndirsch/nvidia-...r-HOWTO.html#1

Thanks for that one, lambchops! So simple when you know how!

Regarding kernel updates, keep in mind that if you use lilo, you need to run /sbin/lilo every time after a kernel upgrade. It may be worthwhile scheduling any upgrades while they are visiting

The problem with this is that the precompiled drivers do not work nearly as well on many machines. On two of the machines at our home, even ignoring 3D applications and just considering the 2D desktop, the RPMs perform much more poorly than the compiled drivers--to the point that you can actually see the screen redraw using the RPM drivers.

Regarding the subject at hand, I agree with {BBI}Nexus{BBI}. If you do not give them admin (root) permissions, they will not be able to update the kernel. The machine will run just fine and you can update it when you visit, along with rebuilding the video drivers, if necessary. Let me add that since the NVIDIA drivers affect X.org, any customization of the mouse (to enable extra buttons, for example) will also need to be updated.

It's worked fine on my machine, but as you say it may make problems on theirs. Possibly the best tactic then is to do a full update after installation, compile the NVIDIA drivers and then disable automatic updates. Like you say, I can always do an update if we visit them. I can do other updates via VNC.

Any suggestions for things to install that will increase the WOW factor?

I tried beryl which was definitely WOW, but unfortunately it's still too dodgy to use. Luckily I have a second instance of suse on my machine for testing stuff, when I tried to remove beryl there it wrecked it.

I don't think you need to worry too much on that score, my kids get enough WOW & AWE from the fact they can totally customize their desktop environment to the nth degree if they wish. They especially love the virtual desktops

If you are set up where you can ssh into their machine, then you could run YaST2 remotely.
You probably want to set up your own account on their computer so that you can ssh to your account, and then su to root, by entering "kdesu /sbin/yast2" or "gnomesu /sbin/yast2" depending on which desktop environment you have installed.

It is advisable to disable root logins in /etc/ssh/sshd_conf.

Ah, now that's the sort of thing I'll need to know. Are there any SUSE specific howtos on ssh/vnc? I've just been having hair-tearing moments trying to install xmame/gxmame following a generic howto. Linux programs can be fantastic, but sometimes the documentation for them leave a lot to be desired.

I've just installed pidgin (gaim) on my machine to test - seems great, the grand-daughter is an MSN addict so that should keep her happy. Anything to reduce the need to go into XP is a bonus in my eyes. Her machine arrives tomorrow, the other one at the end of the week. That'll keep me busy!

Google for "Cool Solutions". You can add a Cool Solutions SuSE article feed to your rss reader such as knewsticker. I think that the knewsticker package from SuSE includes this already. I don't know if there has been an ssh, vpn article but it is a good source for that sort of thing. There should also be a vpn howto in www.tldp.org.

Also, look for LinuxGazette Magazine articles.

Using google, you can search particular web sites:
site:linuxgazette.net ssh security (sshd_config OR ssh_config)