Anyone using Linux workstations?
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Michael Badger
Member
January 21, 2010
I'm working on a potential article for a Linux publication. Just curious, is there anyone who has taught a Scratch workshop or class using Linux-based workstations? Would love to hear from you.
Thanks,
Mike
In Linux Mint , old version of Scratch1.4 .
Can even installed without command line , from Software Manager.
Public Schools in the State of Santa Catarina (and in most other Brazilian states also) use only LInux-Based applications and the Internet access is not always optimal. So there was a huge need for installation tutorials of Scratch 2.0 Offline Editor on Linux for these schools to use.
We produced 2 tutorials (for 32 and 64 bits, since the installation procedure for Adobe Air is different for both environments):
- Ubuntu 12 LTS 64 bits: http://scratched.media.mit.edu/resources/instala%C3%A7%C3%A3o-do-mit-scratch-20-offline-editor-em-ubuntu-linux-64-bits
- Ubuntu 12 LTS 32 bits: http://scratched.media.mit.edu/resources/instala%C3%A7%C3%A3o-do-mit-scratch-20-offline-editor-em-ubuntu-linux-32-bits
Since they consist mostly of Linux commands and figures, they can easily be translated into any other languages.---
Material produzido pela Iniciativa Computação na Escola - http://www.computacaonaescola.ufsc.br
Hi Frank - There is a beta Linux version of Scratch- you can find instructions for installing it here: http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Linux_installer
Perhaps this is the same version you are already using? Unfortunately, there is a problem with compiz in Ubuntu 9.04 which causes the blank window problem when switching from fullscreen back to normal mode. However, if you disable visual effects in Ubuntu, this problem will go away. You can do this via the following menus: System > Preferences > Appearance, select the Visual Effects tab. Choose "none." Hope this helps!
Re: official version - we'd hoped to have one released by now, but there are numerous kinks still to be worked with Ubuntu's sound subsystem. If you or anyone you know can help, we'd welcome the assistance. There are links to the project / source code on the installer page linked above. Scratch On!
Yes, Amos. I'm using the beta version and I've tried your solution and IT WORKS! Thanks!!! My students are so happy!! Do you know if the compiz problem is solved in 9.10?
Frank
Great! :)
Yes, the compiz problem is solved in Ubuntu 9.10. However, they introduced changes to the sound recording subsystem in 9.10 that broke Scratch's ability to record sounds properly. (The Ubuntu giveth and the Ubuntu taketh away). I'm running 9.10 and I'm sorry to say it's a bit of a mess in general. If you are considering upgrading, I might wait until 10.04 is released, unless you have other compelling reasons. 10.4 will be a Long Term Support release- should be more stable. With any luck, we'll have these issues solved by then!
By the way, I'm not certain I compiled the latest version of the Scratch package for Ubuntu 9.04. It includes some fixes for the help menus. I'll try to build a new package later this week - so expect an automatic update from the PPA soon.
Michael, I'm teaching with, well, my students are learning with Scratch using Ubuntu 9.04. During two years I've been doing a videogame creation workshop (see my profile for more details) running Scratch on WinXP. Now we have moved to Linux and although the main things work fine I'm having some problems: for example, when students switch from presentation mode to the standard, the screen turns grey and there's nothing! So they cannot swith to presentation mode. If you know the solution, please tell me!
I still don't know why there is not an official linux version. Anyone knows?
Frank
Thanks, Frank. That sounds fun and I think it's interesting that you moved from XP to Ubuntu.
I have Scratch installed on 9.10 (Karmic Koala) desktop and netbook remix versions, and it seems to work just fine for me with the exception of the known issues. I only wish I could use my PicoBoard. The webcam support, however, works well. I snap photos of my 2 year old. He likes commenting (babbling) about the image appears on the Scratch stage. Heh.
One of the benefits of using Ubuntu is great software packagement management. As Amos recommended, you sould definitely add the Scratch PPA to your package manager (Synaptic) so that you can automatically be notified about updates as they are published.
Mike
Frank, the problem you described is caused by Compiz. You have two options: upgrade to the latest version of Compiz (and perhaps Xorg as well) or disable Compiz completely. There is an official Linux version. We even have a PPA in Launchpad as most Ubuntu packages do :) We do link it from the download page but not so prominently because there are still some issues with it related to sound recording and lack of full support for MIDI.
Cheers!
Thanks Andrés! One of the problems that I have is that I'm very new to Linux (I don't know what's a PPA). To install the Scratch beta I downloaded de .deb file. I don't know if I did it right... but it works and I've disabled the visual effects and the presentation mode works fine.
Thanks again!
Frank
PPA stands for Personal Package Archive - it's a way to install a piece of software as well as subscribe to future updates. There's a page that explains how to install a PPA on your system here:
https://launchpad.net/+help/soyuz/ppa-sources-list.html
Here is the line you'll need to add to your 3rd party software sources:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/scratch/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main
Then open a terminal, and type the following to authenticate the package:
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 4EA7974E
sudo apt-get update
Then you can install or update Scratch from your favorite package manager (I like synaptic). Each time we push an updated version, your computer will automagically install it when it looks for updates.