Readme/DiscoverStation

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DiscoverStation 5 Readme



Userful®'s DiscoverStation®: Manage & Multiply your Desktops

Copyright © 2002-2008, Userful Corporation. All rights reserved.  www.userful.com
(Updated 2008-06-13)


Contents

Welcome to Userful's DiscoverStation Operating System

Thank you for choosing Userful's DiscoverStation as your public computing operating system and desktop suite. DiscoverStation is one of the most user friendly Linux-based operating systems, with the capability of running 10 stations on one computer.

Introduction

DiscoverStation includes the complete Linux operating system pre-integrated with a suite of public computer management software and Userful's unique 10-to-1 desktop advantage. With DiscoverStation and sufficient video cards, mice and keyboards, up to ten users can independently browse the Internet, send email and run a wide variety of productivity software all from one computer box. Built on Red Hat's Fedora Core, DiscoverStation is a robust, multi-user desktop computing platform that can be customized to address a wide variety of public computing applications.

Leveraging cost-effective PCs based on Intel or AMD processors, DiscoverStation provides an elegant multi-user desktop computing platform that delivers a compelling 10-to-1 advantage over the entire life of the system.

Trial Version

DiscoverStation will operate as a trial version until an appropriate license is purchased for your system. You may purchase a license from http://www.userful.com .

Limitations of Trial Version: The DiscoverStation trial will show a brief registration reminder on all screens approximately every 30 minutes.

Requirements for DiscoverStation

Before installing DiscoverStation from a CD, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this document. It points out important hardware and software requirements as well as differences between DiscoverStation and other operating systems.

  • Computers purchased through and shipped by Userful come pre-installed with DiscoverStation and meet the hardware requirements. Please see the Manuals/DiscoverStation Administrator Guide for detailed setup instructions and configuration options.

Compatible Hardware

Most x86-based computer hardware available today is compatible with DiscoverStation. However, it is advisable to have a printed list of your computer's hardware including brands and model numbers in case automatic hardware detection fails to identify your hardware. Please contact Userful support if you intend to use DiscoverStation with non-standard hardware.

Minimum Requirements

The following table shows the minimum, and recommended hardware requirements for DiscoverStation.

HARDWARE MINIMUM RECOMMENDED
Memory (RAM) 128-256 MB 512 MB (for graphical applications)
Processor Pentium III-class CPU Pentium 4 CPU or better
Free hard disk space 12 GB 20 GB
Video card 1-2 MB 16-32 MB or better
CD or DVD drive Bootable CD Bootable CD-RW or CD/DVD-RW
Mouse 2-button 3-button (USB optical mouse)

Optional Hardware (to support Multi-Station functionality)

  • Up to five dual head video cards
  • Up to 10 USB keyboards, mice and optional extension cables
  • Up to 10 monitors and optional extension cables and adapters
  • USB hubs to support devices (powered hubs are strongly recommended)

Choosing a Graphics Card

DiscoverStation can use single and dual-headed graphic cards supported by X.Org/XFree86. Any video card combinations that can start X in multi-headed mode (i.e. multi-monitor, multi-display) should work with DiscoverStation. Xinerama extensions are not used.

We recommend disabling on-board video in the BIOS if your motherboard includes an on-board video chipset. If on-board video is not disabled, boot messages may be displayed on that video output. If no monitor is connected to the on-board video output, these boot messages will not be visible, depending on the motherboard model. The on-board video may be able to support a workstation depending on the model and version of your motherboard.

Note: Although heterogeneous (mixed) combinations of graphics cards often work, we recommend using a single model and version of graphics card and monitors for your DiscoverStation system. This will ensure a simple and manageable computing environment. We suggest searching the following third-party database for heterogeneous graphics card combinations that should work under Linux: http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/search.asp

Recommended Graphic Chipsets

Userful supports and recommends the following low-cost single chip, dual-head chipsets, which are available in both AGP and PCI formats from a variety of manufacturers:


  • ATI
    • RADEON 7000/7500/9000/9200/9250 series and X300/X550.
  • Matrox (Matrox Proprietary Drivers Required - see instructions below)
    • G400/G450/G550
  • NVIDIA (nVidia Proprietary Drivers Required - see instructions below)
    • GeForce FX 4400/5200, 6600GT/7300GS
    • Quadro FX 500/600, NVS 280/285/400/440
    • Riva TNT2
    • GeForce4 MX 440
    • GeForce2 MX/MX400

Preparing For Installation

To prepare for installation:

  • Make sure that the computer meets the minimum requirements. See page 4 of this document for requirements or contact us by email at support@userful.com
  • Backup data that you want to keep. Installing DiscoverStation overwrites all data on the hard disk of the computer.
  • Remove all media from drives and disconnect USB hard drives and memory keys.

Installing DiscoverStation

These instructions assume that you will install DiscoverStation from a CD provided by Userful or created locally. You can create the DiscoverStation installation CD yourself by downloading the .iso image for the disc from http://www.userful.com, and recording the image to CD-R using a CD-writing program.

Before Installing

Position one USB keyboard and mouse combination for each workstation.

Note: The built-in system PS/2 keyboard and mouse connections can be used to connect one station.

  • Connect all cables to the back of the computer where you will be installing the DiscoverStation software, including network, monitors, USB keyboards, mice, printers, etc.
  • Power on all monitors and then turn on the DiscoverStation computer.

Note: In most cases, bootup messages will be output to the primary monitor, which is the monitor connected to the VGA port on the AGP video card. We recommend that this monitor be positioned near the computer for the duration of the installation process.

Installation

  1. Ensure that your computer is configured to boot from a CD drive.
  2. Insert CD 1 into your computer's optical drive, restart the computer and let it boot the CD. (If your computer was not shipped by Userful, check your computer's manual to determine the correct settings for booting from an optical drive, you may need to edit or change the BIOS settings)
  3. Type install when prompted to do so. Press ENTER. The installer will automatically reboot when installation is complete.

Once the system has started, each workstation's display will prompt you to press a function key (F-1 to F-10) on the keyboard in front of the monitor to correctly link the keyboard to the monitor. Both a keyboard and a mouse are required to create a station. If the mouse is plugged into the USB keyboard (via an integrated hub in the keyboard) the mouse will be automatically assigned along with the keyboard when you press the correct function key. If the mouse is plugged into a separate USB port, you will be prompted to press a button on the mouse to link it with the correct monitor and keyboard combination.

After setting up the mice and keyboards, you will be presented with the DiscoverStation software.

You may reassign keyboards and mice at any point by simply re-connecting the device by unplugging and re-connecting it to the USB port while the system is running. The assignment screen will automatically appear on top of your current desktop. No work will be lost, simply press the correct function key and return to your desktop.


Supported TouchScreen Devices

  • MicroTouch (3M) USB TouchScreen
    • Vendor ID: 0x0596, Product ID: 0x0001
  • Elo TouchSystems TouchScreen
    • Vendor ID: 0x04e7, Product ID: 0x0020
    • Vendor ID: 0x04e7, Product ID: 0x0050

Note: If your touchscreen device is not in this list, it may still work. You need to edit the config file /etc/X11/userful.Nxorg.conf.

Calibration

The touch screen calibration wizard assumes all touch screens connected to the computer are of the same make and model.

Before starting the calibration procedure, all touch screens must be connected to the computer and powered on. If touch screens will not be used for all stations, make sure that a touch screen is connected to the first video head. The touch screen calibration tool will use the touch screen connected to the first video head as the basis for configuring all other touch screens connected to the computer.

Refer to the main Desktop Multiplier readme to identify the location of the first video head on the computer.

On the first boot after installing Desktop Multiplier, you will be prompted to press F1 on the first video head to start the calibration procedure. Only an "X" icon is displayed on the other heads.

When you are prompted to press F1, press the F1 key on your keyboard and touch the screen connected to the first head. This will link the keyboard and touch screen to the first video head.

Step 1 of 3: (Calibrate Screen Size)

In this step, touch the screen and drag your finger around the outermost edges of the screen.

Keep dragging your finger around the edges of the screen until the "Min" and "Max" value on the screen stop changing.

Step 2 of 3: (Align Touch Points)

This step fine-tunes the touch screen. Touch the red square as it appears in each of the 9 key points on the screen.

Step 3 of 3: (Verify Calibration)

This step verifies the current calibration. Touch the screen and drag your finger to confirm that the pointer follows your finger.

  • Press Y on your keyboard to accept current calibration, or
  • Press N if the cursor does not follow your finger.

Horizontal (X-axis) Test (Optional)

Drag your finger horizontally across the screen.

  • Press Y on your keyboard if the pointer follows your finger, or
  • Press N to flip the X-axis.

Vertical (Y-axis) Test (Optional)

Drag your finger vertically up and down the screen.

  • Press Y on your keyboard if the pointer follows your finger, or
  • Press N to flip the Y-axis.

This concludes the touch-screen calibration process. If you wish to recalibrate the touch screens at a later date, you may do so by deleting the /etc/X11/userful.Mxorg.conf file.


Setup

After assigning mice and keyboards, you will be prompted to configure the DiscoverStation. The default settings provide basic functionality in most environments.

Please configure the DiscoverStation by clicking the icon for each setup wizard starting from the top with Network and Registration. A check mark will appear next to wizards you have completed. When you have finished with all the wizards, press the green Enable System button to complete the setup process.

Settings can be changed subsequently in Admin Mode (press Ctrl+Alt+A when logged in as a user) or Userful Manager (visit http://manage.userful.com ).

Configuring Multiuser Audio

DiscoverStation will automatically detect and configure most USB audio devices after they are connected via a USB port on a keyboard or hub. Should automatic detection fail, use the following steps to configure multiuser audio on DiscoverStation or contact Userful Support through support.userful.com.

Please enter Admin Mode to perform the following procedures:

To assign a sound device to a station, run the Multiuser Audio Config Tool located on the Admin Mode desktop. If a user wants to enable default sounds, ESD must be configured to start with Gnome. This is done using the configuration utility found in Applications -> Preferences -> Sound menu. In the Sound menu, check Enable Sound Server Startup, and enable Sound For Events to turn on sounds for error messages. Once configured, default sounds such as error beeps will play on the configured audio device when a user is logged in.

Known Limitations

Boot messages only display on the primary video display

  • BIOS and Linux boot messages will only display on the primary video adapter. On some dual head cards this is two monitors, but in most cases it will only display on a single monitor. It is important to connect a monitor to this primary head to display these messages. On motherboards with on-board video (video hardware built into the motherboard), typically the BIOS will be set to use the on-board video head by default. We generally recommend that motherboard/main-board/on-board video be disabled in the BIOS for DiscoverStation systems.

Multimedia keys on keyboards are not supported

Both keyboard and mouse are required for station assignment

  • Currently it is not possible to link just a mouse to a screen. Hence, a keyboard is required even for touch-screen or mouse-only kiosks. Keyboard-only stations are currently possible, as the mouse can be removed after a station has been assigned without unlinking the keyboard.

Getting Help/Technical Support

Be sure to consult the following resources:

Manuals:

Special How-To's:

Contacting Technical Support

If the above steps and procedures do not resolve your issue, please contact us. You can report your problem and create a support case by one of the following means:

Website: http://support.userful.com (company home page: http://userful.com )
Online: Customer Support (through support.userful.com)
Phone: 403-289-2177 extension 2
Toll-Free: 1-866-873-9119


(Note: Office hours for telephone support: Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 5:30pm MT (UTC-6 or UTC-7))

To get help quickly, it is important to be as specific as possible about your problem.

Be sure to include the following information:

  • Detailed description of your problem or question
  • The circumstances under which the problem is reproducible
  • The text of any error messages that appear on screen.


Copyrights, Licenses and Trademarks

Desktop Multiplier is commercial software and contains proprietary, patent-pending intellectual property. See the Userful-EULA.txt file for full terms of the license agreement.

Trademarks

Userful®, Desktop Multiplier®, and DiscoverStation® are a registered trademarks of Userful Corporation.

Desktop Server™, 1-Box™, Turn 1 PC into Ten™, Manage & Multiply your Desktops™ are trademarks of Userful Corporation

NVIDIA® is a trademark of NVIDIA Corporation. Intel® is a trademark of Intel Corporation. AMD® and ATI® are trademarks of AMD Inc. Matrox® is a trademark of Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. X.Org is a trademark of X.Org Foundation. XFree86 is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc. X Window System, and Xinerama are trademarks of the Open Group. Linspire is a trademark of Linspire Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Software Copyright and Permissions Notice

Copyright © 2002-2007, Userful Corporation. All rights reserved.

This software includes X Window System source code licensed under the MIT X Window System License, http://www.x.org/Downloads_terms.html

Disclaimer

Userful trial software comes without warranty or guarantee. By using this software, you acknowledge that Userful Corporation is not responsible for any damage resulting from its use.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR HOLDERS INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, OR ANY SPECIAL INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY. THE ENTIRE RISK IS ASSUMED BY YOU. WE HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR CLAIMS BY A THIRD PARTY. OUR MAXIMUM LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR THE PRODUCT.





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