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HospitalityMachine
For those who just want to 'get on with it' please feel free to ignore
this section and move onto the screenshots and download pages. This page
is a bit technical, and for the most part can be ignored. Just make sure
to read the bit at the bottom about 'First Steps'.
HospitalityMachine is an English only Live CD, and is a remaster of PCLinuxOS, which in turn is based on Mandrake Linux.
It runs
entirely from a bootable CD. Data on the CD is uncompressed on the fly,
allowing up to 2GB of programs on one CD including a complete X server, KDE desktop, and many more applications all ready to use .
In addition to the live CD, you can also install HospitalityMachine to your hard
drive with an easy-to-use LiveCD-installer. Additional applications can
be added or removed from your hard drive using a friendly 'apt-get' front
end via Synaptic.
HospitalityMachine v1.0
Seven goals
were used when PCLinuxOS was remastered to become HospitalityMachine
v1.0. It needs to reflect the needs, values, preferences and lifestyle
of a venue manager, so with that in mind...
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It should
be FREE! Therefore the operating systems and all applications
should be subject to the GNU General Public License. It is open source and is
freely distributable.
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It should
be compatible with a wide range of hardware. Using PCLinuxOS as a
base this is assured.
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It should
be stable and reliable. This is a Linux distribution - which is MORE
stable and reliable than Microsoft operating systems!
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It should
have all the applications needed by a venue manger (specifically all
the applications 'generally' needed - if a nightclub needs a
specialist music based application, this can't help! ). This includes
catering for all everyday office duties, to more unusual goals such
as designing a website, managing photographs to be used in
literature, etc. To clarify - it should meet all the 'BUSINESS'
needs of the hospitality trade - specialist requirements might
be considered for future releases of HospitalityMachine.
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It should
fit onto one CD.
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It should
be simple to use - or at least as simple as I can make it.
Using PCLinuxOS as a base is a good start, and stripping it of
applications that will only serve to hinder the non techie people
out there is a further help. However - there are issues that cannot
be avoided and I cannot change: where is my c:\ drive? What is a
mount? etc. It won't take long to understand this. Read through
THIS and/or
THIS and you should be up to speed.
Both are only 1 page long - but quite long pages. Skim any bits
about command line stuff, shells, consoles, what each folder/file
type does, and concentrate on mount points, configuring users,
partitions, and installation. Alternatively there is a very useful
site
HERE.
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It should
be compatible with Microsoft Windows and files. Using Samba, Lisa,
etc, to
browse Windows networks, OpenOffice's in built compatibility with MS
documents and files, lots of codecs, etc - this
shouldn't be a problem.
In short - it should free, easy to use,
reliable, and compatible with MS documents and networks!
A More Complete List of the
Applications Included in
HospitalityMachine v1.0:
In
no particular order the following shows a list of some of the applications
included in HospitalityMachine:
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Postscript/PDF Viewer, Kpdf
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Image Scaning App: Xsane
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Mozzila Firefox Browser (fully
equipped, PDF, and various multimedia player plug-ins, etc)
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Instant Messaging: Kopete
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Internet Telephony: Ekiga (compatable
with Microsoft NetMeeting)
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Download Manager: Various
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IRC Client: Xchat
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FTP Clients: Various
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Media Player: Several inc: Amarok
for music (Organise your music into a playlist, plug into an
amplifier and you have a cyber DJ!), VLC and GXine for video, with lots of extra
codecs added (flac, ogg. etc)
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Office Suite: OpenOffice.org
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Fax Software: Kfax
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CD Burning: K3b
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Flash: Adobe Flash 9
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Email Application: Mozilla
Thunderbird (Similar functionality to MS Outlook Express)
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Photograph Imaging: Various (manipulate, view photos, which can be used for leaflets,
website, flyers, etc)
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Firewall: Part of Control Centre
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DTP: Scribus (Easy to use
application to quickly knock up flyers, leaflets, etc)
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Printer Support: Various
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Automated and Manual Backups:
Part of Control Centre
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Networking: various applications to ensure
compatibility with windows
LAN, network browsing, etc.
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Remote Desktop: Various, inc
Tight VNC.
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Budgeting: Kbudget
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Postscript/PDF Viewer: KPDF
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Xine Media plugin for Mozilla
Firefox
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Realplayer
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NVU 1.0 (WYSIWYG website
designer)
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AntiVirus: ClamAV (command line
application. Although Viruses on a Linux machine are VERY rare. Another
bonus to using a Linux based OS!)
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Various Mozilla FireFox Plugins
Additionally various services are enabled ‘out of the box’ so new user's won’t
have to manually go through the services and turn them on (services
enabled include various networking services, Lisa, Samba, etc).
The
only item I couldn't squeeze onto the CD due to space restrictions was
the Java Runtime Environment. However, most browsers don't come with
this preinstalled, and as a result I don't see this as a shortcoming. It
can always be added later if it 's needed.
Anti Virus Application
The only freely
distributable antivirus application for commercial use is ClamAV. It is
included in HospitalityMachine and is preconfigured to start up
automatically. It is a command line application (which means you have to
type commands in a 'terminal' session), but I have also included an
application that is GUI based. If a user needs to scan a suspect file
for viruses, simply click on it with the right mouse button, select
'Actions', and then select 'Scan with Clam Anti Virus'. To update the
virus application open a terminal window and type in just one word:
freshclam.
Does Linux
really need an antivirus program?
Short answer -
open to debate. However, viruses for Linux based operating systems are
VERY rare. Research seems to show people use anti virus programs on
linux boxes to protect any OTHER Microsoft based machines on the same
network! But it seems prudent to include and use an antivirus
program just 'to be sure'.
Some of
the Applications I Removed (Due to being too Specialist/Esoteric for the
Hospitality Industry):
Notable
Features of the OS and Main Applications:
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Kernel: 2.6.18-6-tex1
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KDE: 3.5.6
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Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.2
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OpenOffice 2.1.0
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Xorg 7.1
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Beryl, Compiz, Aigxl and Xgl for
3d graphics support.
A Note on Themes...
I wanted to keep the feel
of the OS fairly neutral, so I included some 'nature' based wallpapers,
and the main theme is a modified version of 'Embassy', which make use of
greens, natural colours, etc (hence the green highlights in this site). However the main background is Vista
inspired - just to make people feel at home!
First
Steps...
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Ensure
your BIOS boots enables the machine to boot from the CD drive first.
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Boot from
the LiveCD of HospitalityMachine, filling in your language settings,
etc during the boot process.
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Try it
out! Have a look around, maybe browse your local network, access
some files, surf the internet, see if you like what you see!
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If you
decide to install it, click on the 'Install PCLinuxOS' icon on the
desktop.
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Installing
can be a bit confusing to the beginner. Choose to use the whole hard
disk for the installation (this will tell you to reboot), as this
keeps things simple. Choose the defaults as the installation process
continues. Towards the end it will ask you to make a user account.
This can be ignored as the root (Linux equivalent of Administrator
in MS Windows) and Guest account are already preconfigured.
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After
installation take the CD out and boot again. You are now using the
hard disk installation of HospitalityMachine!
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When you
get to the logon screen you can choose to log on as root (no
password), or guest (no password). It is safer to log on as guest as
the guest account has less privileges and a novice user is far less
likely to delete an important system file. Only use the root account
for administration tasks.
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To change
passwords, open a terminal window (System -> Terminal -> Konsole),
and type in: su root. You are now using the Terminal as root, or
administrator. Type: passwd, and enter the new password for the root
account.
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To change
password for the guest account, type: passwd guest. Enter new
password for guest account.
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To browse
your local network, use System Menu -> Remote Places. You now have 3
different methods to have a look around your local network. Samba
seems to be the tool of choice, but try them all!
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From here
you can access network servers and look at any MS Office documents
you might have. Try opening them in OpenOffice.
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These
first steps should start you on your process of leaving
expensive, license fee paying, unreliable, virus ridden, MS Windows
behind and start to look at free, reliable, Linux as the operating
system and application suite of choice!
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For more
information on using HospitalityMachine, go
HERE.
Hardware Requirements
Pentium 3
machines are ideal, although I have had HospitalityMachine running on Pentium 2's without problems. 256 MB of
memory is required, and the more you have the smoother things will run.
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