10-13-2004, 09:00 AM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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Spb Kiosk 3.0: Corporate PPC Lock-Down Utility
"Pocket PCs are more than just simple PDAs - they are richly-featured miniature computers and it's often easy for an employee to get distracted by a game of Solitaire instead of focusing on the enterprise application you designed for them. ........When Spb Kiosk is deployed, it completely prevents the user from switching away from the target applications. It provides a full screen mode, which can hide the Pocket PC navigation elements, and automatically starts the target application after a soft reset. It can be used with most enterprise applications, and a secret administration mode can be accessed by using a custom-defined hardware key sequence. Once in administration mode, the device can be used as a normal Pocket PC without restrictions - this allows the administrator to configure the application, and then lock it back down into kiosk mode.
Yup, no longer will your pesky users get 'distracted' by their Pocket PCs. Total control can be yours. ;-) On a serious note this does sound like a good idea for more widespread PPC deployment, just as long as you aren't one of the ones who's PPC is locked down to an inch of it's life. SPB claim that over a hundred companies are using the Kiosk software, which can be customized in a variety of ways. You can lock it down to specify the buttons and menus displayed, only allow a specified program or programs or can put the PPC into Terminal Services client mode etc. The upgrade from version 2 to 3 is free for current users and you can read more at the Spb Kiosk 3 product page here.
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10-13-2004, 09:50 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 307
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"...often easy for an employee to get distracted by a game of Solitaire instead of focusing on the enterprise application you designed for them"
How do I express the deep loathing that statement arouses in me? :devilboy: :twisted:
Oh save us from the horror of wage slaves devoting a few precious minutes out of the day to themselves! And you can't trust them with the silver...
I think this would be a good time to launch the Campaign Against Nannyware.
Meanwhile, the true meaning of "Enterprise Pocket PC" in far too many organisations remains "Executive Toy".
Bah, humbug.
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10-13-2004, 10:16 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 52
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Locked Down
What next...no Mine Sweep!
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10-13-2004, 11:48 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 601
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My employer issued Toshiba e750s to the entire sales force as a sales call entry device. They are locked down (not by the SPB app) and almost all of them stay at home on our desks and are never used except for the company mandated daily syncing. The units cannot be used as full PDAs thanks to the footprint of the Seibel (:-P) software. What a colossal waste.
I'm waiting a couple of years when the units are obsolete and they release them to us, then I'll have a new unit with which to replace my iPAQ 3845. Is that a promotion or demotion?
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10-13-2004, 02:42 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 119
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Something like this might be neat on a personal level as security as well. An example would be locking the ppc down as a remote when it's in the living room, so the kids don't end up in excel or format your storage card trying to find pacman :T
Any chance of a personal version for something like this?
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10-13-2004, 05:10 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,043
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PocketMinds makes something for securing acccess to specified areas of the device, at a vastly lower price compared to this corporate kiosk thing. It's a little more flexible too, I think. I haven't tried it for a year or more, so they might have a new version out... when I did try the thing I was furious, very quickly. I decided to block user access to programs, one of the options. Figured I'd have to hard reset anyway, so there was a fresh Sprite Backup on my SD card, but the way it which they implemented program access blocking was just too stupid. Checking that option deleted all my Start Menu shortcuts. Unchecking the option didn't put them back. It left the device in general usable, and I could install new software and make new shortcuts eventually I guess... but it was just such a lame way to go about it.
Working better was the option to hide certain Contacts from view. Not a quick process to implement or reverse, but at least it didn't delete them, just hid them. Like I said though, it could be they've tidied it up or reworked how it functions since I tried it last. I won't be trying again though. Curiousity was amply satisfied, and after a hard reset and restore I deleted the installer, wrote a detailed letter to the developer recommending a lot of changes, and moved on.
__________________
Gerard Ivan Samija
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Linear Mode
