[plug] public access PCs

[Gavin Chester]

Hi folks,

I am looking into re-purposing some redundant WinXP laptops (Dell
Latitudes) into simple, locked down public access PCs for my students to
use in a govt highschool setting.

What I expect is a bit more than a web kiosk, in that I want web surfing
along with libreoffice and some specialist apps such as inkscape,
librecad, and gimp - all locked down with no other 'bloat' and
everything reset after use. IOW, the small range of specialist software
precludes using google docs along with web browsing. Oh, and a 'pretty'
but locked-down icon-driven desktop would be essential. Kids these days
barely know how to use a word processor - even if they have phone apps
for all sorts of things!

Students will have to enter a username and password to access the school
proxy server for surfing, but beyond that anonymous logins are probably
best to simplify not having to authenticate their use with the schools
server. IOW,  I don't expect them to access the school's Win server
drives, but if it can ...

I've done a lot of searching and even some testing, but finding it hard
to find exactly what I'm looking for. I also know I could 'roll my own'
from a minimalist distro like puppy, or tinycore, but time is an issue,
I wonder if any of you have experience with specific custom distros that
have an iso or quick setup that you could recommend?


-- 
Gavin Chester
Pinjarra, Western Australia
email: gavin.chester at gmail.com