How to use software installed on another computer?

Solution 1:

As I recall Edubuntu is designed with this functionality in mind and includes the Linux Terminal Server Project which appears to be what you are after. I personally don't have much in the way of hands on experience with this, but here's some pertinent info.

The principal design goals of Edubuntu are centralized management of configuration, users and processes, together with facilities for working collaboratively in a classroom setting. Equally important is the gathering together of the best available free software and digital materials for education.

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Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is a free and open source terminal server for Linux that allows many people to simultaneously use the same computer. Applications run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client (also known as an X terminal) handling input and output

There is a great deal of relevant documentation available here.

The Edubuntu DVD is built from the exact same repositories as the Ubuntu discs and other official derivatives so it's not necessary to change flavors if you have a preinstalled flavor of Ubuntu you can simply add to an existing Ubuntu system whatever missing pieces you require.

As an example, the following educational bundles are available in the repositories

ubuntu-edu-preschool - Preschool educational application bundle
ubuntu-edu-primary - Primary ( ages 6-12) educational application bundle
ubuntu-edu-secondary - Secondary ( ages 13-18) educational application bundle
ubuntu-edu-tertiary - Tertiary ( university level ) educational application bundle

You can also install all Edubuntu packages, including artwork by installing the edubuntu-desktop package.

It doesn't appear that the texlive or texstudio packages are contained in any of these educational bundles but you can install them separately as needed.

Note that installation of any of these packages requires that you first enable the Universe repository

That said, If the content you want to share is on the Edubuntu Live CD, it might be simpler and easier to simply use This:

Edubuntu can be downloaded here

Edit: Preventing users from installing anything on their systems will take a bit of work on your part. You will have to somehow insure that the users can't boot via live media (USB/Optical Disk). This can typically be accomplished by Setting the boot order to boot from the hard disk only and then password protecting the BIOS. If you've managed to do this, simply not providing them with the administrative password (and not allowing them to see you enter it) should do the trick. The users can still find ways to bypass this for example if they know the administrative accounts user name

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edubuntu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_Terminal_Server_Project

https://www.edubuntu.org/about

https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/289458/download-and-installation-of-latex-for-linux-ubuntu

Is there a way to block installations of programs on Ubuntu?

My rusty memory ;-)