Beautiful Huntsville ISD (love the countryside over there!) has posted several positions in their Technology Department:Systems Administrator - $67,000Systems Interface Specialist -  $54,000Computer Tech Level 1 - $33,000Apply online at :http://www.applitrack.com/huntsvilleisd/onlineapp/Frankly, the Systems Interface Specialist position is a bit low...probably add $30K-$40K to that salary, but nevertheless, it is a starter position for someone if they are willing to relocate and grow!Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Source: ClassLink Slideshow (appears in its entirety below)If you have missed the heated discussions, you'll want to read about The Texas Digital Textbook Nightmare, which explores the problems and available solutions to the issues we're encountering as public school district in Texas. This is a fight between competing solutions that provide rostering solutions, as well as between school districts and textbook publishers who think districts should march to their tune to create the logins/passwords students and teachers need to access instructional materials (e.g. digital textbooks).Source: Tweet by @cloudguyj #onerosterThis presentation at the TCEA SystemAdmin Conference held on October 29 & 30, 2015 shares yet another possible solution.Listen to Audio of this Presentation(Permission to share audio granted via Tweet by @cloudguyj )MyNotes on "Another Custom Extract? Awesome!" The flyer ClassLink passed out alleges the following:ClassLink OneRoster is a no-cost, secure, and easy way to deliver class roster to any publisher, app or platform.Gives educators and technologists a simple web console to select and deliver class rosters.Publishers and platform providers can use free and open IMS Global REST API's to receive rostersStudent data is stored securely on school servers and is never copied to ClassLinkFree for schools and free for publishers through the OneRoster.org open technology standard. [Wow, this is pretty aggressive and undercuts Clever's model, doesn't it? Clever is free for schools but NOT free for publishers who have to pay to get access]."The OneRoster™ standard is designed to be a subset of the full Learning Information Services standard that focuses on the Schools needs to exchange roster information and grades. The standard includes both SOAP and REST-based bindings make it quicker and easier to implement the exchange of information about people, membership, courses and outcomes. In addition to the standard, we have included a format for CSV files that are typically exchanged between the school and the vendor to populate the roster information needed to gain access to learning tools, portals and learning environments." Source: OneRoster.orgWhat is IMS Global One Roster? a technology standard developed by IMS Global Learning Consortium that replaces multiple/proprietary class roster templates with one common web service agreed to by all members of the industry.The standard defines... data fields, tables, and relationships thereinREST APIs or CSV templates to be used to deliver dataSecure authentication/security provisions regarding the REST APIsThe standard is...An open technology standard developed collaboratively by industry leaders and school districtsAn accepted set of CSV templates and REST APIs to deliver dataFreely available for school districts and providers at oneroster.orgIncreasingly adopted by large and small publishers and platforms.The standard is not...Tied to any one publisher or platform provider's methodologyA "pay for access" model that requires publishers to pay license fees to data holders and then charge school districts to recover those same license feesAn actual software applicationChallenges it solves...Missing logins and incorrect class rosters are the first stumbling blocks and a key reason why online resources fail in the classroom.The burden of creating specifically formatted roster extracts for each provider falls on an already overburdened district IT staff, creating delays and jeopardizing accuracy.When students and teachers more actively use all their digital learning resources, they will want single sign-on.A group of companies and districts that have input into standards that are developed.Email: info@classlink.com - 1-888-963-7550Eliminate custom csv files and spreadsheets with 3 easy steps:Select your publisherSelect your rostersClick doneOne standard set of files for every providerno custom extractsRatified June 2015http://oneroster.orgReST API - 400% increase in rostering and single sign-onUniversal district pain points are the same for data extraction in both large and small districts[love the slide with Harry Potter that says, Data Extractum!]Pain Point #1 - Rostering/Login CredentialsDifferent file layoutsScheduling of FTP uploadsMultiple internet addressesDifferent usernames/passwordsIT PrioritiesTOp priority is based on the title of the person who comes into your office. IT Governance structure falls apart when the superintendent walks in and says, "Make it work!"Paint Point #2 - Roster Creation with PublishersPearsonGalegroupThinkCentralEdgenuityTeachingBooks.netLots more since Mr. Perreault moved through the slides quickly!Current MethodologyUsernames and passwords created and uploadedTeachers enter codesTeachers select sutdent names from listTeachers build and maintain classesWhy can't we let instruction start when school starts?IMS Global's ONEROSTERNext year, Pearson will be using the OneRoster standards. Hmm.Facts.education/members - no bylaws, no conference...this is a pledge site.Beatriz Arnillas was mentioned in this presentation.ClassLink has two offerings:ClassLink Free includes:OneClick Single Sign-on for up to 50 usersOne Roster for your entire school or districtOnline supportFree ForeverClassLink Enterprise for your entire school or districtOne Roster for your entire school or districtFull installation and unlimited supportAnnual subscriptionHow can this be put in place?There are people in the room who can make this happenTHey are all wearing badges with school district namesEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Some great sessions on GoogleApps, Chromebooks shared...This one from Jeff St. Andre covered quite a bit of info.MyNotesMyNotesBackgroundGoogleApps District since 2011 (City View ISD)APprox 1000 students k-121 to 1 Chromebooks (Lenovo N21), grades 5-12Macbook Air carts K-410 Resources about GoogleAppsGoogleApps Status Email Notification - get email updates about service interruptionsRecently, GoogleApps has had lots of outages. Toggle Apps outage Alert and any other change alerts that you would like to be notified about. Unless you like to get excessive email, be very selective. If you click on each alert, you can edit the alert name and which email addresses receives each alert. You will receive email alerts for any service disruptions or outages. Gmail disruptions and outages may hinder the delivery of alerts, obviously.Chromebook Inventory Google Sheets Add-onThe simplest way to manage your Chromebook inventory.Chromebook Penalty Box (via Shawn Mahoney)Create a "PenaltyBox" OUGo into Chrome management, click on user settings...and change settings in the penalty box OUUnder content settings, find "URL blocking" There you will find a "URL Blacklist," etc.When you do this, you can whitelist sites (only allow certain sites).You can give every Chromebook a "penalty box" and this results in a unique wallpaper.Using Google Forms as a Free Student Help DeskGoogleApps Manager (GAM)GoogleApps Admin Help Center & Product ForumsGoogleApps Administrator CertificationGo GuardianMakes managing Chromebooks so simple.Gooru Daily NewsletterGoogle Admins CommunityFrom another presentation by Edward Doan, some notes:Video - Managing Chromebooks with Google Apps Console - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_vLX1BvV4ASpecial thanks to Diana Benner (Sprinkle Innovation) for sharing her notes from Edward Doan's preso!Pearson TELPAS, STARR ALT 2, TAKS - through Test Nav 8 - Tests are administered online through Chrome kiosk Kiosk mode is required - Here's how: Go to Device management > Chrome management > Device settings > Kiosk Apps. Click on Manage Kiosk Applications. In the dialog that appears select the exam kiosk app you want to use. You can search for it on the Chrome Web Store, or manually install it if you have the app ID and URL by selecting Specify a Custom App. View Google's ResourcesETS - STAAR may be done through a Chrome app. [As I recall, a colleague revealed that ETS would support Chromebooks, so yay!]Lots more great stuff shared but these are the items that jumped out at me! BTW, another neat resource was the GAM Google Apps Manager!Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Left to Right: Miguel Guhlin, Virgil KirkEarlier today, Virgil Kirk and I had the opportunity to share our district's journey in solving a wicked problem--user account management and user provisioning. Whew, it was a big room!Identity Crisis: Managing User AccountsFacilitators: Miguel Guhlin (Twitter: @mguhlin), Virgil Kirk (Twitter: @virgilkirk)If you don't know how to effectively manage user accounts, you'll find yourself wasting your time and generating confusion. Find out how one district has moved from chaos to order and learned to manage Active Directory, GoogleApps, and a multitude of other data sources for user account management. Participants will walk away with a roadmap of suggestions and practical tips, as well as solutions that point the way to success with identity management tools.SlideShow:Open DocumentIdentity Management in EducationOpen DocumentView slideshow, full-screenResourcesArticles on the SubjectThe Texas Digital Textbook Data Nightmare - In this engaging comprehensive primer, featuring quotes from Texas school districts, Miguel explores the problem and solutions available. This is a great intro for those struggling with vague notions of what is happening (or not) in regards to data integration.Data-Driven School Districts Experience Growing Pains - In this "pictures of the problem"-rich article, Miguel shares his journey to find a solution, including job descriptions and expectations.To the Rescue - @Clever in Texas Schools? - Want to use Clever to in place of or to complement your existing user provisioning solution? Read this article to get answers to key questions!MyNotes: ClassLink for Rostering - My notes on ClassLink's connection to OneRoster.org, a presentation shared at the TCEASysAdmin.Potential Vendor PartnersIdentity AutomationView list of Texas School Districts using productContact Info: EST Group ((817) 271-3178) + Identity Automation ((281) 220-0021); Primary Contacts areMark Hanna and Tim Till (ttill@identityautomation.com), respectively.Videos: Watch Intro Video | School Case StudyCase Studies: Charlotte County, ChesterfieldTools4Ever's UMRA (Watch intro video)EncoreWatch Intro Video | 1-Hour Video OverviewESC-11 Information PageTxCTO PresentationEncore Comparison to other SSO SolutionsEncore Value StatementEncore vs Clever ComparisonRostering Solutions & Single Sign-OnClassLink with OneRoster.orgFind out moreClever.com (free for schools, at cost for publishers)Video: Watch intro videoVideo: Student Data Privacy)What Schools Are Saying about CleverA Case Study: Sunnyside Schools | PDFDistrict LinksData Warehouse Web SiteDistrict Information Systems  - includes digital textbooks.Here is the feedback shared via the Today's Meet:I agree George. Highly transient populations... it's a full time job.about an hour ago by @BigPurpleHatManually adding users in a district of any size is just not sustainableabout an hour ago by GeorgeHave you started using or looked into multi-factor authentication?about an hour ago by MontyPythonCreating different un and diff pw all with diff criteria is a NIGHTMARE!about an hour ago by @BigPurpleHat200 or 200,000 students it is an issueabout an hour ago by GeorgeA curriculum director who LOVES to provide access to a multitude of online resources - all with different un/pw naming conventions.about 2 hours ago by CindyWhat questions do you have, or perhaps, information or experiences to share that would be of value?about 2 hours ago by MGuhlinEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Are you a school district in or around Austin or close enough to get there? Consider attending the Texas Meetup. Here's the email Josie Pang (Clever) sent out about the event:Hi folks,I'm very much looking forward to meeting you all tomorrow at our first Texas District Meetup! More than 10 Texas districts will be attending to share experiences and any challenges around software implementation. I'm excited to see whether having a united voice across the State might drive some positive change to solve some of our districts' most pressing needs.Here is a snippet of stuff I've heard from districts in your area:We have highly transient students... keeping them all updated in the right systems is next to impossible. Ugh!A tremendous waste of time and energy trying to support another unique interface for account provisioning. Districts are having to hire high dollar programmers just to make sense of the imports, scripting, SQL and automation necessary to use their product. Technology departments are going to have to be more involved in what is adopted for materials if publishers continue to not cooperate and standardize on the interface to our systemsI have to upload data to 29 different online subscriptions, each with unique data requirements. If Clever can even help fix a handful of those it would save my team tons of timeBelow are details of the event:Time: 12:30pm-3:30pm (Light lunch will be provided at 12:30pm, coffee break at around 2pm)Location: Courtyard by Marriott, Austin Airport (Trinity Meeting Room, 7809 East Ben White Blvd)Contact: Josie Pang on 408-791-9055 Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

What a fantastic session on Dell KACE. Absolutely phenomenal detail and presentation. This session was presented at the TCEA SystemAdmin Conference held October 29 & 30, 2015.MyNotesKevin Wilbourn (Twitter: @kevinwilbourn), Systems Engineer, Temple ISDSession GoalsWhat is a System Mgmt Platform?What is Dell KACE?Identify System Mgmt Pain PointsMgmt with KACEDeployments with KACEWhat is a System Mgmt Platform? Six areas that define it:Inventory & IT Asset mgmtSoftware distributionService DeskPatch management & securitySystems DeploymentMobile mgmtKey playersMS System Center (SMMS) - Robust but difficult to use.Altiris - On and off again relationship with SymantecLANDeskDell KACEWhat operating systems?Windows 7OS XWindows ServerGNU/LinuxAndroidiOSChromebookWhat is KACE?Flexible Management PlatformPurchased by Dell in 2010K1000InventorySoftware distribReportingSupport deskK2000O/S DeploymentK3000Mobile device mgmtHow is it implemented?Physical Servers (Dell PowerEdge R6) 1 user per KACE ServiceVIrtual Appliance (vmware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Cloud SaaS)KACE 1000Discovery and Inventory: View, sort, and search hardware devices, software, etc.Fixing Pain points - user details. KACE enables you to go to your inventory by device, search for the user by name, or view details or remote in.The Actions MenuFrom the inventory display you can take pre-defined actionYou can manage and change these actions to work with Remote Desktop, VNC, etc.Deep dive view of an individual system:Show all hardware with change trackingView installed printersShow installed programs with change trackingPatch statusRunning processes, startup programs and services (all searchable)Discovery Data in the LifecycleDiscovery and inventory is automaticAsset ManagementDo you have an accurate inventory? Why not? WHat if it was automatic, accurate, and customizable?Goals: Fast, accurate inventory (tracks location)Must cover all district provided hardwareTrack location for fixed assetsAdding Your assetsAutomatic entry with KACE Agent Devices and SNMP TrappingManual entry with import of CSV files, web-based entry form.K1000 Management ApplianceSoftware distribution: up to date software, automatic, targeted deployment, easy to manage.Managing software distributionAssignment - Select comps individually, use computer labelsScheduling - set days & times, Use Wake on LAN, etc.Security and PatchingGot WSUS? KACE can replace WSUS with an integrated patching solution.Choose the products to patch, KACE downloads, scans, and deploys.What about my remote campuses?Replication shares - local stores for all data and program files for the K1000Software itemsDependenciesPatches and PackagesAlternate download location - use a CIFS/SMB share to host an individual install packageManaged installationsFile synchronizationsWIndows 7 has a hard limit of 20 concurrent file sharing connections. Use Windows Server....KACE2000System ImagesPros: Identical System setup, faster deployment time, multicasting, great with complex environmentsCons: Hardware dependent, OEM LIcensing Compatibility, Difficult to change, Manual intervention at end pointScripted InstallsPros: Supports any hardware, compatible with OEM licenses, Upgrade and add components without rebuilding image, no sysprep, no golden image to maintain, ISO slipstream for CUs, or SPsCons: Slightly slower deployment time, no multicastingPre and Post Install TasksWhat are they? User defined tasks that work with system images and script installs. Can be easily added or removed on drag and drop interface.What can they do? Join domain, Give the computer a new or existing name. Install Office, Install KACE, etc.What about remote campuses?Once agan, a single applicance will handle thousands of clients. For K2000, you can reduce bandwidth by:Remote site appliances - storage for images and install media for the K2000.Multicasting - image multiple computers with the same bandwidth footprint as one machineScheduler - set deployments to occur outside of peak hoursQuestionsDo you have any problems with Dell KACE not recognizing new Dell laptops? KACE doesn't have the driver in the cache for some newer laptops.Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

A presentation by Bobby Robertson (Bryan ISD) at the TCEA System Admin 2015.MyNotesAbout 16K students, 2000 adults, 14000 user devicesNot an expert on VMware but using it for several years.Today's TopicsVirtualization benefitswhat's new in vsphere 6how bryan isd utilizes vmware10gb everythingdisaster recoveryoperations management with vRealizeVirtualization BenefitsReduce footprintReduce costImprove uptimeIncrease hardware lifespanDecrease ticketsMaximize performanceWhat's new in VSphere 6Fault tolerance - up to 4 vCPUs and 64GB RAMVMotion across slow/long distancesFaster, more responsive web clientNVIDIA GRID vGPU SupportVirtual volumesNFS 4.1 supportStorage IOPS reservationsImproved vCenter ApplianceVirtualization in Bryan ISDMain Cluster Setup100+ virtual serversVSphere 6.0 Update 18 Hosts - 7 Enterprise Plus, 1 Standard2 SANS - 1 hybrid array, 1 cheap-n-deep2 Meraki MS420-48 10gb top of rack switches - redundancy is important that's why I'm using 2 switches.80+ Direct attach 10gb cables6 additional hosts1 standard, 5 free ESXiReduced Footprint80 old servers taking up 140U - 5 racks of hardware - Now Gone!No longer need UPSs, ToR switches, complex KVM switchesOnly 11 physical, non-ESXi serversCost Savings We've Seen80 servers is a lot to keep up with.Save on equipmentover 80 servers replaced with vms or P2VedReduction in UPS maintenance$25K in new servers & VMware licensing a year, instead of $50K in new serversSave on OS licensingEasily try a linux solution before WindowsWindows standard covers 2 virtual running instancesSave on power and cooling80 servers at avg of 2000 BTU/Hr = 160,000 BTU/hr$10K saved in power a year$16K saved in cooling a yearNo more idle serversImproved UptimeThings that don't bring my vms downVMware upgrades and patchesSAN/storage upgrades or migrationsServer maintenance/replacementSwitch failure/upgradesHardware failures10gb upgradeTesting is done on snapshots/clonesCentralization means few panes of glassNo more driving to work at 4AMImproved Hardware LifespanMain cluster hosts are rotated every 4-5 yearsRetired hosts?NeverThe Trickle DownCycled out Hosts are moved to secondary locationsHigh School Hosts (2-5 vms)1 to 1 CCTV serversRacked at DR siteDecrease Helpdesk Ticketsget ahead and stay proactivealerts detect problems before usersself correcting actions like high availabilityreosurce utilziation with DRSFix what isn't brokenNo more Helpdesk tickets!Moving to 10gbBetween Sitesdistributed data centerfast backups, replicationsfast vMotions - 8vms at once with 10gb vs only 4 with 1gbsSAN/NASmakes replication/backups faster4x 1gb may not cut itHostsSPlit a couple 10gb connections using distr switchesDisaster Recovery PlannedNon-critical 1 to 1 servers can be moved to DR site (New cluster assembled out of the old)Storage array replications to dr sitereplicated data stores are easily attached to DR clusterVMWare Site Recovery ManagerAutomated Orchestration and testing of DRVMware vCloud Air Diaster RecoveryRecovery as a servicevRealize What's Going OnEasy to setup demoMore than vSphere alertsHighlights problems, future problems, and performance issuesMore SavingsIncrease capacity utilizationIncrease consolidation ratiosIncrease hardware savingsreduce diagnostics & problem resolution timeResources for YouVMware community forumsVMUG - Groups of users and not salespeopleIRC chat on Freenode #vmwareRegional VMware engineersEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

This session was facilitated at the TCEA system AdminView this great slideshow!MyNotesLori Gracey - lgracey@tcea.org ; @lgraceyView this great slideshow!Bad Tech Support - picturesWhat's the point? - ly.tcea.org/byhdb (click to read audience participation)What is the purpose of your IT staff?to close the most tickets?To ensure the network always runs smoothly?to make the learning environment better?to help students master the curriculum? This is the answerWhat would your IT staff say is their purpose?"Our business is not the technology we repair; it's who we serve. We are in the people business."What are your customers' needs?We're not talking about IT needs.Top concerns of educatorsnot enough timehow to empower their students (or, for administrators, their staff)how to motivate students (or, for administrators, their staff)How to provide differentiated instructionTop IT Concerns of EducatorsNot enough technologyInternet is too slowToo many websites are blockedRepairs take too longI'm afraid my students know more about technology than I do.Questions to Ask YourselfDoes your tech staff know the goals of the district for educators and students?Does your tech staff know what teachers and admins worry about?How often do you encourage your IT staff to sit in on a class to see how the technology is being used by staff and students?Can your tech staff recommend Web 2.0 tools for teachers to use in a given situation?Guiding Principles?Guiding principles set the course.If principles have not yet been identified, have staff discuss what precepts or employee promises should be in the org's norm. Then clearly define what each principle means in terms of the jobs they do.Focus on customer service above all other priorities. Utilize customer feedback to develop strategic direction based in part upon desired new services and feedback on improving existing services.For the network, customer focused means that....For end user support, customer focused means...Accessible and Reliable - Require reliability and accessibility from campus information tech systems and services. These values rely upon each other; you cannot jeopardize reliability for accessibility and vice versa.What principles do your IT staff follow?Consider having the staff sign and date the principles and post in aprominent locationBring them up in meetings.Frequently discuss how the team is doing on meeting these guidelines.Sample principles for TCEA - Create Amazement.Show up early and stay late.Respond faster than they expect.Address the customer by name.Just listen.Help the customer understand how our system works.Smile (even over the phone)Don't do things half way.YOU be the expert.Take the extra step and give the customer more than expected.Own the problem and see it resolved completely.Always say "Thank You!" even if they have been mean, cruel, etc. to you.Follow up...send an email at the very least.If you don't have something to do, ask to help someone else.Check out Sylvia Martinez' 10 Commandments - sylviamartinez.com/ten-commandments-of-school-tech-supportCustomer ServiceMake your people happyGive 'em the Pickle! viewpure.com/ISJ1V8vBiilGive away "pickles" make people happy - serving others is their #1 priorityExceptional Customer Service - viewpure.com/4GKQ9kTnSg4What training do you provide regularly in customer service for your IT staff?When and how often do they reflect on the level of services they are providing?How are you keeping them updated to new educ uses of tech?What training do you provide regularly in customer service for your IT staff?After that...What can your IT staff do to go beyond repairing the tech and truly empower your users?Read Ten Commandments of School Tech Support +Sandy blog entry on Educators & Technical Staff Play NiceEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

This past week, I had the chance to attend the TCEA System Administrator session held in Austin, Texas. Here's a roundup of blog entries featuring my notes about the event:Training Your Staff to Be Education Friendly (Lori Gracey, TCEA)Better Systems Management with VMware (Bobby Robertson, Bryan ISD)Dell KACE (Temple ISD)Identity Crisis and Account Management (Miguel Guhlin, Virgil Kirk, East Central ISD)GAFE and Chromebooks (Jeff St. Andre, City View ISD) + Edward Doan's notes about STAARData Extractum! (ClassLink)Linux in Education (Jason Cannon) - On this one, I didn't take notes but quite a bit is in the slideshow.GoogleApps Management (GAM) - Brian Gray shared his resources with me, a must-have if you are using GoogleApps. All of these were tremendously engaging presentations, well-organized. I observed some presentation approaches that were :In your Google slide, make every slide your "title slide" but then embed a link to a GoogleDoc with the details.Embed GoogleDocs in your slides so that folks can investigateEverything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

One of the most helpful, "sure to work" distros I carry around with me on a USB flash drive is the TAILS live operating system. I have found it to boot on laptops and computers that my Ubuntu USB flash drive failed to start up on. I'm not sure why, except that it's probably the meticulous attention TAILS developers put into ensuring compatibility with a wide range of systems.Some obstacles I have encountered to using TAILS as my "on the go" Linux distro include the following:Keepass, rather than Keepass2, is installed on it and this means I can't access my passwords.TAILS is missing a dual-panel "file commander" GUI to facilitate file transfers. In the past, I've made an effort to download the packages for tools like Midnight Commander (MC), I have saved the deb files on the flash drive. But it's a bit of a pain. Installing from deb packages requires editing sources.list file and other mods that are a pain for a short-term bootup.Difficult to download or save files from the "Unsafe Browser" to the desktop or attached file storage.While I realize these are features, not bugs, in TAILS due to the privacy and security aspect, it's always fun to find workarounds. Here they are:Workaround #1 - KeepassSince I couldn't find a workaround to getting Keepass2 working on TAILS, I decided to downgrade my kdbx file--that's the file created by Keepass2 holding all my passwords--to a kdb file readable by TAILS Keepass. Finding out how to do it involved some googling, before I finally landed on the Keepass2 to Keepass converter. The converter requires Java, and following some straightforward instructions.Workaround #2 - File CommanderI almost kicked myself when I realized that muCommander is still available for download and the portable version (tar.gz file) works without installation after extraction, providing access to a great dual-panel file commander type program. It works well and I include it on my persistent partition of my TAILS USB drive.Image Source: WikimediaWorkaround #3 - Downloading FilesWhen I find a file I like on the web, I right-click it and copy the URL. Then, I open the Terminal and type the following:amnesia:~$ wget "http://websiteurl/filename.ext"This works great and saves the file (whatever it is) to "amnesia's" home directory, or a persistent partition, where I can then interact with it using the built-in file manager or muCommander.I hope these three tips are helpful to you!Note: I wrote this blog entry while in TAILS.Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure