92 lines
4.3 KiB
HTML
92 lines
4.3 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
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<TITLE>Kiosk HOWTO : Introduction</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="Kiosk-HOWTO-2.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="Kiosk-HOWTO.html#toc1" REL=contents>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY>
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<A HREF="Kiosk-HOWTO-2.html">Next</A>
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Previous
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<A HREF="Kiosk-HOWTO.html#toc1">Contents</A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s1">1. Introduction</A></H2>
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<P>Information display kiosks are useful in libraries, galleries and
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museums, educational institutions, municipal offices, visitor
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information booths, conferences, shopping malls, airports---in short
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any location where simple, easy access to information is
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desirable. Kiosks are normally set up with touchscreens or pointing
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devices such as trackballs, to allow people to select and view
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information that is attractively displayed and up to date.
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<P>There are many ways to create kiosks, from expensive solutions based
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on proprietary software to HTML-based open-source
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solutions. Browser-based technologies are particularly attractive
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because they are inherently multimedia, offering text, graphics, sound
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and streaming media, and the content is highly portable.
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<P>Linux provides a flexible and interesting platform for kiosk
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development. Linux is inexpensive to set up and it offers a wide range
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of options, from diskless display stations to self-contained,
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database-driven web servers. Due to the versatility of the underlying
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operating system, a well-designed Linux kiosk can be placed in a
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remote location and administered via a telephone or network link.
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<P>This HOWTO explores one method of setting up Linux as a standalone
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information kiosk, using Netscape Navigator 4.X and FVWM2 on a Red Hat
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Linux 6.X system. It is based on a kiosk I set up for use in the
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<I>Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery</I> in the Royal Ontario Museum
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(
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<A HREF="http://www.rom.on.ca">http://www.rom.on.ca</A>), Toronto, Canada. The kiosk
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outlined in this HOWTO incorporates a trackball rather than a more
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expensive touchscreen. There are undoubtedly many other ways to create
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a Linux-based kiosk, but this one has worked reliably for us and it
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may provide a useful starting point for your own kiosk project.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.1">1.1 Copyright, license and terms of usage</A>
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</H2>
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<P>Copyright Gene Wilburn 1999. All rights reserved.
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<P><I>The author disclaims all warranties with regard to this
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document, including all implied warranties of merchantability and
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fitness for a certain purpose; in no event shall the author be liable
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for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages
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whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in
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an action of contract, negligence or other tortuous action, arising
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out of or in connection with the use of this document.</I>
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<P>This legalese means <I>use at your own risk</I>.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.2">1.2 Acknowledgements</A>
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</H2>
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<P>Our Linux kiosk derives heavily from the work done by the City of
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Charlotte, North Carolina, for their municipal website,
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<I>Charlotte's Web</I> (see
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<A HREF="http://www.charweb.org/webinfo/kiosk/">http://www.charweb.org/webinfo/kiosk/</A>). The Charlotte's Web
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kiosk project, which employs a touchscreen monitor, was set up in 1996
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using an early version of Slackware Linux, Netscape Navigator 2.X, and
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FVWM. The webmasters at Charlotte have created a very useable kiosk
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implementation and have shared their complete setup via their
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website. This HOWTO, to a certain degree, represents an update of
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their work, altering the details to work with Red Hat 6.X, Netscape
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Navigator 4.X, FVWM2, and a custom-made trackball.
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<P>I worked with Debra Luneau (debral@rom.on.ca), the Royal Ontario
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Museum webmaster, to create the graphics overlays for Netscape. The
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examples we distribute at our ftp site are her work---and are the ones
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we use on the kiosk in the Biodiversity Gallery.
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<P>The Ontario Biodiversity section of the ROM website was designed by
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Hopscotch Interactive (www.hopscotch.ca). The original application was
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converted from a flat-file database system to a MySQL-database driven
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system by Gord Howells (gordonh@rom.on.ca), the ROM's database
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designer and programmer. The non-kiosk version of this mini-site may
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be viewed at
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<A HREF="http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/">http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/</A>.
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="Kiosk-HOWTO-2.html">Next</A>
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Previous
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<A HREF="Kiosk-HOWTO.html#toc1">Contents</A>
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</BODY>
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</HTML>
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