OpenKiosk is a cross platform kiosk web browser based on Mozilla Firefox that can be easily installed and used to secure a computer for use as a public terminal. This is a complete solution for any kiosk installation. This software is released under the MPL 'as is' with no warranty or support. TIPS Kiosk Software for Windows is the ideal kiosk software solution for presenting, securing and managing web-enabled content and applications on public-access kiosks, shared workstations and/or digital signage systems. TIPS runs on top of Windows 7 or greater and eliminates all access to the network and O/S.
Set up a kiosk with these five handy apps Kiosks can help you promote your company, give users access to resources, and advertise your business. These five apps make setting one up a snap.Kiosks make it easy to display information about your company, allow users to interact with website-driven company directories, get details about products, advertise your products and services, and much more. But how do you set up a kiosk?
Surely they are complex creatures that require much care and attention!Not even remotely. Kiosks can be created using a standard machine or even a tablet. With simple and cost-effective solutions, you can have one up and running quickly. If you don't want to invest too much time and money into the project, the five kiosk apps listed here are well suited for the task. In some instances, these apps will require you to have the HTML pages already set up and ready to go. Let's dig into them and see if one will serve your needs.Note: This article is also and a video hosted by TechRepublic columnist Tom Merritt.
Other features include the ability to enable/disable zoom (you can also set the percentage of zoom), complete device lockdown (pro version only), browse privately, prevent auto-suspend, do tabbed browsing, view full screen mode, and configure remotely. 2: SiteKiosk( Figure B) is a more feature-rich kiosk app for Windows and Android. Instead of being limited to a kiosk to display information, SiteKiosk can also be used as an internet cafe tool. With this take on the kiosk app, you can define viewable URLs, add payment devices (for using the kiosk), include session reset, set content filters, view full-screen mode, customize the user interface, and add an onscreen keyboard, among other features. You can also set up SiteKiosk to retrieve data from a centralized location (so you can deploy multiple instances with a single configuration) and even do remote maintenance. SiteKiosk costs $99.00 for the Android app, $149.00 for the basic (Windows version), and $200.00 for the Plus version, which adds VOIP support and can serve as your centralized configuration for multiple devices. Figure B 3: Porteus Kiosk( Figure C) is a Linux distribution that only allows usage of a web browser.
The configuration is simple, the distribution is lightweight (60 MB), and it has low hardware requirements (so you can make use of those old machines lying around). Porteus is free and open source. You will also be hard-pressed to find a more 'locked down' kiosk than this one. Figure CIt does one thing and one thing only: It runs a web browser. You'd have to be really crafty (and know your way around Linux) to get anything beyond that.
The distribution is also incredibly secure. (It uses an isohybrid format that, even when installed on writable media, is still 'burned.' ) When you boot up the Porteus live image, you'll be greeted with a simple setup wizard. When the wizard is complete, you will find a web browser and nothing more. 4: FrontFace Lockdown( Figure D) is a simple tool for the Windows platform that allows you to easily set up either a digital sign or an interactive kiosk. Once you've selected and applied a profile, you must select a user for that profile.
You might want to first create a specific user for this purpose. (This person must be an admin user.) Figure DLockdown offers plenty of options that should suit just about every possible need. You can also set FrontFace to shut down automatically at a certain time of day, create custom profiles for different purposes, and disable the reboot/shutdown option. NOTE: If you happen to lock yourself out of FrontFace, you must boot Windows into safe mode, run FrontFace Lockdown, and then unset any changes you made to lock you out. FrontFace is free of charge. 5: Fluxbox( Figure E) is actually a Linux window manager that I have, on a number of occasions, deployed as a kiosk.
It works well as a kiosk because you can easily limit what users can access from the main menu. If you want users to be able to work only with a browser, add that single entry to the menu. You will need a bit of Linux-fu to work this, since the menu is configured via a flat-text configuration file. And once you've logged into the Fluxbox desktop, you'll need to know what you're doing to get to a terminal window to do anything but run that browser. Figure EUsing Fluxbox as a kiosk does have a caveat: It will be working on a full-blown Linux distribution, so users who know what they're doing could cause trouble. The average user who's making use of a kiosk, however, will have no idea of the power that exists under their fingers. NOTE: If you want to lock the browser down to whitelisted sites, you'll have to employ a proxy such as.
Other tools?If you're looking for a cost-effective and easy-to-use kiosk, look no further than these tools. Whether you're using a tablet, a laptop, or a desktop platform, there are plenty of apps that can serve as your digital signage or as an interactive kiosk.What tools would you add to this list? Share your recommendations with fellow TechRepublic members. Also read.