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HospitalityMachineKiosk
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'.
HospitalityMachineKiosk is designed to be run from the CD. Ideally the
hard drive should be removed to ensure no damage can be done to the pc.
However I have had HospitalityMachineKiosk running at the
Kingston Arms Freehouse for some time, with the hard drives still inside the base
units, with no ill effects.
HospitalityMachineKiosk
v2.1
Currently there are 2 versions of HospitalityMachine, one of which is
the main version which contains all the applications that someone in the
hospitality trade could want, the other is the 'mini' version, called
HospitalityMachineKiosk. This version is targeted towards those
venue/bar/club/pub owners and managers who want to offer their customers
computers equipped with a fully loaded web browser (Firefox with Flash, Java Runtime Environment
and Mplayer), a PDF file reader, and a number of cloud applications.
In other words a 'kiosk', and is meant to be run solely from CD. This
means the owner puts the CD in the PC, ensures the pc boots from the
CD-drive (ideally the hard drive should be disconnected), and that's it
- they can completely forget about the computer! Because everything runs
from CD the machine cannot be
'broken', any changes made to the computer are purely made to the RAM,
and are undone the next time it is turned off.
There are
no software problems to be dealt with, no need to pay for I.T. help - no
maintenance, no worries, no hassle!
A More Complete List of the
Applications Included in
HospitalityMachineKiosk
v2.1:
In no particular order
the following shows a list of some of the applications included in
HospitalityMachineKiosk:
-
Web
Browser: Mozilla Firefox v2.0.0.3 Why Firefox? It is relatively small and lightweight, and
therefore is ideal to run from CD and memory. It 's also subject to
the GNU-GPL license and is freely distributable.
-
PDF
Reader: KPDF
-
Flash
Player: Adobe Flash v9.0
-
Java
Runtime Environment v1.6.0
-
Online
Media Player: Mplayer to play RealPlayer and Apple Quicktime files.
-
Firewall
-
Homepage:
Google
-
And a
variety of cloud applications targeted towards internet cafes,
clubs, bars, etc.
First
Steps...
Assuming you have a
network in place already, or a router or computer that has DHCP up and
running...
-
Ensure
your BIOS boots enables the machine to boot from the CD drive first.
-
Boot from
the LiveCD of HospitalityMachineKiosk.
-
Some
machines have sound cards that Linux doesn't recognise. If this
happens this isn't a biggy - you lose sound on those sites that
might have it - but the machine will still serve as a perfectly
acceptable internet browser.
-
Try it
out! Have a look around, surf the internet, look at a PDF file, try
some sites with Flash content, etc.
-
If you
decide to use HospitalityMachineKiosk in your venue, ensure your
machines boot from the CD drive. For added security you can take the
hard drive out. At the very least you should ensure the bios has a
non trivial password.
-
If you
decide to buy a machine (or several) to use as internet browsers,
take a copy of HospitalityMachineKiosk to your supplier, and put it
in any machine you're interested in. Tell the shop owner it is a
live CD and doesn't affect the machine in anyway!
-
If you
need to turn the machine off you can just switch it off at the
mains! Because everything runs from CD there is no need to shut the
machine down gracefully.
Voila, internet terminals for your customers! And no worries, hassles or
fees for you!
Running
HospitalityMachineKiosk from USB key.
Using a fast
CD/DVD drive results in a HMK running at a fair speed, but for truly
fast performance you can run it from a USB key. Go to HMK's sister
project's site, School.Machine.Kiosk for instructions.
Substitute HospitalityMachine for School.Machine when reading through
the instructions.
Click
HERE to go to School.Machine.Kiosk
site.
Click
HERE to see instructions on
School.Machine.Kiosk site.
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