<div dir="ltr">Like Ken, I also use some "seriously old hardware"...usually old staff or patron computers that have been cycled out and would otherwise have been discarded (and if the library doesn't have any that are suitable, I usually have a handful laying around the office that I've collected from other libraries that I can pass along.) My own solution is also a thin client web kiosk with nothing more than a uber-bare-bones ThinStation (<a href="http://www.thinstation.org">www.thinstation.org</a>) linux distro running Chrome web browser.<div>
<br></div><div>I typically strip out (or at least disconnect) the hard/floppy/cd-rom drives and set up to remote boot from the network via PXE. ThinStation is pretty flexible in that you can set up the config that you want, be it a browser-only kiosk using chrome or firefox, or a more featured desktop with a wider selection of tools. I used to have them boot straight into rdesktop (RDP...remote desktop) and then connect to a back-end Windows server user profile. That works well, too. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Now-days, though, since the catalogs are all web-based, I simply boot straight to the browser (no desktop) and point it straight at the library's catalog. They can be used as walk-up Internet kiosks or catalog only...whatever the library needs at whatever location. They're stateless, so can be power-cycled at will without proper shutdown.</div>
<div><br></div><div>ThinStation is free open source. No licensing or memberships required. But it can potentially have a little bit of a learning curve to really effectively use it. Linux knowledge is helpful, but not necessarily required. I'm a bit of a linux newb myself, but I managed fine.<br>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div>______________________________<br><b>Chad Neeper</b><br><font size="1">Senior Systems Engineer</font><br><br><b>Level 9 Networks</b><br><font size="1">740-548-8070 (voice)<br>
866-214-6607 (fax)</font><br><br><font size="1"><i>Full LAN/WAN consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and schools</i></font><br></div>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 3:27 PM, Ed Liddle <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:eliddle@marysvillelib.org" target="_blank">eliddle@marysvillelib.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<div style="direction:ltr;font-family:Tahoma;color:#000000;font-size:10pt">We started using OpenKiosk on our old PAC computers. If you try to run it in Linux, you need to use a 32 bit version or have the 32 bit compatibility libraries installed.
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<a href="http://openkiosk.mozdevgroup.com/" target="_blank">http://openkiosk.mozdevgroup.com/</a><br>
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<div>-Ed Liddle <br>
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Marysville Public Library<br>
<a href="http://marysvillelib.org" target="_blank">http://marysvillelib.org</a> </div>
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<div style="direction:ltr"><font color="#000000" face="Tahoma"><b>From:</b> <a href="mailto:oplintech-bounces@lists.oplin.org" target="_blank">oplintech-bounces@lists.oplin.org</a> [<a href="mailto:oplintech-bounces@lists.oplin.org" target="_blank">oplintech-bounces@lists.oplin.org</a>] on behalf of Fred Miller Jr. [<a href="mailto:millerfr@oplin.org" target="_blank">millerfr@oplin.org</a>]<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, July 22, 2014 9:59 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:oplintech@lists.oplin.org" target="_blank">oplintech@lists.oplin.org</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [OPLINTECH] Reaching out to everyone about PAC computers<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Good Morning,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">I’m the IT Service Manager for the Auglaize County Library System here in Wapak, OH. Here in the near future I was pondering the idea of replacing a lot of our PAC computers at the library and the branches.
We use Polaris as our ILS. Currently we’re using small HP thin clients, that are really old, at most of the libraries . Was wondering what some of the other libraries are using or if anyone has replaced theirs recently what you have replaced your old units
with. Would love to stay on top of technology and some more vibrant for patrons to use for the catalog.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Many Thanks,</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#002060">Fred Miller Jr</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#002060">IT Service Manager</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#002060">Auglaize County Public District Library System</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#002060">p: <a href="tel:419-738-2921%20ext.%201011" value="+14197382921" target="_blank">419-738-2921 ext. 1011</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#002060">f: <a href="tel:419-738-5168" value="+14197385168" target="_blank">419-738-5168</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#002060">w:
<a href="http://www.auglaize.oplin.org" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">www.auglaize.oplin.org</span></a></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#0322bd"><a href="http://auglaize.oplin.org/" target="_blank">Visit our Library Website!</a></span></u></b></p>
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