Home » Questions » Computers [ Ask a new question ]

Internet kiosk for motel lobby?

Internet kiosk for motel lobby?

I'm looking to set up a simple internet kiosk in the lobby of a motel. For security, I think it's best if I set up a simple Linux distribution whose only user-accessible program is a browser.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 214
Total answers/comments: 2
Guest [Entry]

"I think you can best customize the machine by putting Linux on, and using something like Opera in kiosk mode, as already mentioned by John T.

But really, just throwing Linux on it and leaving defaults is pretty useless just like giving users Windows. I recommend a Linux distro becase of customizability. If you are new with Linux, get someone who knows what they're doing (and I mean really knows what they're doing) and get them to limit the machine just enough.

Uninstalling ""everything"" from Linux (Ubuntu) machine might be a bit ... well ... problematic, since you can literally uninstall everything and literally leave just browser around. Including kernel, X11 GUI, and package manager. And removing just one of those three would leave you somewhat stranded.

EDIT.

Opera's kiosk mode can be launched by punching in:

opera -kioskmode

You should probably configure a startpage / homepage, however. There's some help for kiosk related options:

opera -kioskhelp

Some more information available from Opera themselves.

When I need a lite window manager, I like IceWM.

With a little time and will, GNU/Linux systems can be customized to do anything. If you have more than one machine, this time will definitely pay off. If nothing else, there's no arcane concepts such as registry so backup of all user configuration can be simplified to just copying the home directory.

Good luck!

EDIT 2

Just went to serverfault.com, there's a related and potentially interesting question over there."
Guest [Entry]

I believe a few companies have been using imbedded Linux in Kiosk for some time now, try getting in touch with a company called 3Mtouch , I think I saw a demonstration at a convention once.