On Thu, Jan 23, 2003 at 05:50:39PM +0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> is there a way to lock the config of a linux box in a cybercafe type
> of environment -- e.g., upon boot-up, web browser is launched already
> and nothing else could be done except for browsing?

When I worked on the Talipapa Project of UP Manila in April 2001, I
designed a prototype Debian GNU/Linux-based system meant to run on
minimal hardware. The setup ran Netscape Navigator and the fvwm2 window
manager, and was influenced strongly by a HOWTO written by Gene Wilburn.

The system used runlevel 4 as "talipapa-mode", where Debian ran an init
script that ran startx as a non-privileged user using su, and skipped
the loading of mingetty on the terminals. The non-privileged user's
~/.xinit file ran fvwm2, xdaliclock to cover the components area of the
bottom-bar of Netscape, and sxpm to place an overlay image to cover most
of the menus and buttons of Netscape. It ran Netscape in a loop, so that
Netscape would be restarted when the last window was closed. The init
script was set to reboot the system in case the X11 session ended.

Obviously the kiosks were not meant to be shut down. We used a
journalling filesystem (initially ReiserFS, then ext3) to harden their
filesystems for the perpetually unclean poweroffs they'd go through.

The system worked, but a second generation kiosk system is overdue.
Ideally the kiosks should be diskless, to allow for centralized
management of the software, and should run "restricted Mozilla". It's
the restriction of Mozilla that I'm interested in at this point. Would
anyone have recommended reading for how this can be done? Something
along the lines of a perpetual full screen mode with keyboard shortcuts
disabled sounds just right.

 --> Jijo

-- 
Federico Sevilla III  : http://jijo.free.net.ph      : When we speak of free
Network Administrator : The Leather Collection, Inc. : software we refer to
GnuPG Key ID          : 0x93B746BE                   : freedom, not price.
_
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