KDE Kiosk Highlighted in Linux Magazine

A feature article on KDE that appeared in the November edition of Linux Magazine is now available online. The article concentrates on deploying KDE in business environments and showcases a few of KDE3's newer features. It outlines how to lock down and configure a KDE3 installation using the KDE kiosk framework and how to set up KDE to use centralized resources for configuration and data.

Dot Categories: 

Comments

by sacx (not verified)

I remember some years ago when I start a similar project under IE with Internet Helper Objects :))) but he died because of lack of documentation. I'm happy now to see the Kde team making so good stuff instead!

Sacx

by Super PET Troll (not verified)

Wow, I hope I don't die because of a lack of documentation in what I write. :)

by Peter Simonsson (not verified)

It isn't in Linux Journal but in Linux Magazine :)

by Navindra Umanee (not verified)

Oh dammit! That is an unfortunate mistake...

by Fab (not verified)

to translate this article for use during events? Anyone knows? Does the copyrigth belong to Aaron J.Seigo or to Linux Magazine?

btw this article is really good and comprehensive.

Fab

by Aaron J. Seigo (not verified)

you'll have to talk to the Linux Mag people about it.. but they are VERY nice and very community oriented. i am sure that they would welcome translations ... email me privately if you're interested and i can give you the address/name of the fellow to contact.

by Adam Treat (not verified)

Aaron, nice job!

This was an excellent article and I am very impressed with the description of the kiosk framework. I have a few questions:

* Will the kiosk framework lock non-kde applications such as Evolution or Open Office? And if so, are there any limitations?

* Any plans for a graphical interface perhaps in the KControl?

* How about using the kiosk for thin client setups like Largo? does this work?

Thanks!

Adam

by Waldo Bastian (not verified)

Some answers

* The kiosk framework only locks KDE applications.

* Chris Howells has the early stages of a GUI, see kpolicy in kdenonbeta

* I don't have a thin client setup around but I am sure it will work just fine :)

Cheers,
Waldo

by Aaron J. Seigo (not verified)

waldo already answered the first question, but i'll add answers for #2 and #3..

yes, there are plans for a GUI interface to all of this. as Waldo pointed out there is kpolicy, but i also have my eye on kconfedit (also in kdenonbeta right now) as another tool that might be very useful in this regard

as for thin client set ups: yes, Kiosk works very well in those situations. i've done some work with thin client set ups and kiosk makes locking things down and providing standardized resources a breeze!

by Aaron J. Seigo (not verified)

if you decide to do KIOSK stuff via the GUI as root (but please don't =) and you start by reseting your KDE home dir, remember that for root it is $KDEROOTHOME and not $KDEHOME as it is for all other users...

oh, and a major thanks to everyone (hey waldo! =) who has worked on the Kiosk stuff in KDE. it is one of those things that makes KDE a viable option in corporate settings. and that isn't just theory speaking, i've actually been witness to Kiosk being the deciding factor between KDE and other options.