Any Linux software or drivers?

[askvictor]

Our school has invested in a number of activboards. The thing is, I use linux on my laptop, which makes it difficult (impossible at the moment) to access them. Is there at least a driver available to make use of the board as an input device?

vik

[Peter Lambert]

Yes, there is a linux driver, but I don't know where it is!!!

I'll find out

[askvictor]

Any updates on this?

[Dug]

We, too, await in anticipation...

[KGillespie]

There isn't a Linux driver available at the moment i'm afraid.

However, without giving too much away, there is going to be one but I can't give any indication of dates. Sorry.

+wave+

[cjoshi8]

Any developments on this?

CJ

[KGillespie]

Hi
Sorry - still no dates.
Thanks

[montgomeryheath]

looks as though a linux driver is a backburner project. i've seen many posts answered by employees of promethean saying it's being worked on. those posts go back as far as 2004.

i still can't find any support for any flavor of linux whatsoever.

[Stuart Collins]

Well I'm posting this from Ubuntu, which is on my main work laptop. So that should tell you that yes, we're taking Linux seriously. From what I've seen of the software so far it's looking good.

(geek note: triple boot macbook pro FTW!!!)

[cjoshi8]

While I appreciate efforts from Promethean team on working on the Linux driver, we have a case here which needs compliance of Activ software on Linux............and its a race against time....... we can grab it if we show compliance immediately.........

The early bird catches the worm.....!

CJ

[askvictor]

Well I'm posting this from Ubuntu, which is on my main work laptop. So that should tell you that yes, we're taking Linux seriously. From what I've seen of the software so far it's looking good.

(geek note: triple boot macbook pro FTW!!!)

I think it is fair to judge how seriously you take linux by what you've _actually_ done/released. Which, at the moment, is zip. I'm personally getting fed up with waiting. You could start by just releasing a driver - this should be trivial to code - or at least open the hardware spec so someone else can. The software will no doubt eventually run under wine (the viewer almost works entirely) But most linux people (some eeePC users excluded) are savvy enough to make do with other software for use on the whiteboard. Release a driver; let the software come later.

If this goes on much longer I'll be recommending against promethean to any colleagues...

[askvictor]

Am starting to get a bit fed up with this; there is clearly a market for a linux driver (really, it can't be that hard to write - you could even release a beta driver and let the geeks of the world fix it up) but nothing is forthcoming, despite plenty of re-assurances that there'll be a driver 'real soon now'

We're about to purchase a number of new interactive whiteboards. At this point I won't be going for promethean as there is no Linux driver.

[Peter Lambert]

There will be a complete Linux solution very early next year

[askvictor]

With all due respect, I've heard it before, and it'll be too late by then. You've been saying 'real soon now' for well over a year... If the linux driver that is supposed to be in development actually exists, release it now and let us linux geeks play with it... Linux development works very differently to windows and mac development (at this stage anyway) - many linux users are OK with drivers or apps that don't quite work perfectly all the time - it doesn't give a bad impression of your product. What does give a bad impression of your product is not releasing anything (driver/specs/etc)

vik

[pwebster]

Has anyone tried installing windows version of ActivStudio on Linux via WINE? I haven't used wine alot. I haven't found many excuses to need to. However, I am the only Linux user in an all Promethean and Windows school.

[austindunk]

Has anyone tried installing windows version of ActivStudio on Linux via WINE? I haven't used wine alot. I haven't found many excuses to need to. However, I am the only Linux user in an all Promethean and Windows school.

I have tried using ActivStudio in both wine and while running XP in Sun's VirtualBox without any success. Supposedly a driver has been developed by a person in Brazil, but I haven't had a chance to try it. With the increased use of Linux distributions in education, especially on the world market, Promethean would be wise to realize that a Linux driver needs to be addressed. Since SmartBoards are Linux compatible (SUSE 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 WS, Debian 3.1 (Sarge), Ubuntu 6.06 LTS or Fedora Core 3+)I don't know what reasonable excuse would exist for the delay for the Activ product, since it was supposed to be released towards the end of 2006.

In early May of this year, I finally wrote Promethean since there have been talks of adding Linux support for so long. Below is their response, but since the a version has been released since my message, I don't have much hope in what I'm guessing is a canned response:

Austin,
I do know that the Linux version is currently in the works for the next software update from Activstudio. I'm sure that if there is a beta test available, then we will push it out through our website, so keep an eye out at www.prometheanworld.com/us (http://www.prometheanworld.com/us) for further details.

Ian Lantry
Customer Care Technician