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<H2><A NAME="s6">6. Future Directions</A></H2>
<P>Our previous attempts at creating browser-based kiosks with
Windows-based PC's were unsatisfactory. The units were unstable,
freezing up frequently. The Linux approach has given us a reliable,
robust kiosk in a public gallery that has stood up well to visitor
usage. Our success with this project has led us to consider other
kiosk possibilities.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="ss6.1">6.1 Remote Kiosks</A>
</H2>
<P>One of our future goals is to implement remote kiosks in the greater
Toronto area where people can browse some of our site information and,
hopefully, be attracted enough by it to visit the ROM in person. These
might be deployed at places such as conventions, trade shows, shopping
malls or special exhibits. We are also thinking in terms of deploying
kiosks in more distant locations, perhaps in public libraries.
<P>For this project we would likely implement modem-based Linux boxes
that could ``call home'' to update files on a routine basis and could
be dialled into for maintenance and updates.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="ss6.2">6.2 Touchscreens</A>
</H2>
<P>When the technology gets cheaper, we would like to experiment with
flat-panel touchscreen displays for kiosks. The combination of
flat-panel display and very small PC units would enable us to deploy
kiosks with a very small footprint.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="ss6.3">6.3 Keyboards</A>
</H2>
<P>Ultimately we may need to deploy kiosks that utilize keyboards. This
will present a new set of challenges in terms of blocking unwanted
keystrokes. If anyone would like to contribute information on this, or
to any other aspect of the Kiosk-HOWTO, please email me at
genew@rom.on.ca or my alternative email address njo@interlog.com.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="ss6.4">6.4 Collaboration</A>
</H2>
<P>I would be very interested in collaborating with other kiosk builders
to extend the Kiosk-HOWTO for other situations. Kiosks are a bit like
Perl: ``There is more than one way to do it.''
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