Novell Application Launcher vs. CARL Menu Builder

[Scheherazade Fowler]

Hi folks -- 

please excuse the duplication and the slightly off-thread nature of 
this post.  Couldn't find what I was looking for in the archives.  

Here at the Camden Public Library in Camden, ME, we have 
13 public access stations (6 are primarily web and word processing 
only, though the catalog is available at those as well.) on the 
Windows 95 platform.  Right now I'm using user profiles only as my 
security, and I'm trying to find a security program that will also 
provide patrons with a clear, easy to understand way to choose from 
available applications, rather than simply disabling certain Win95 
features.  

One choice is CARL's Everybody's Menu Builder -- looks pretty good as 
far as these things go.  

But I am intrigued by Novell's Application 
Launcher (we're a 4.1 server with a 50 user license).  My experiments 
so far with it suggest that it might be a good alternative -- you can 
control desktop options from  a central location, and users can't 
modify .ini files on local machines.  At startup, a user (depending 
on the rights and attributes you've given them) gets a window which 
has application choices in it -- the applications can be either on 
the server or on the local hard drive. But I'm not sure how much use 
it is as a security tool --  I was able to prevent users from 
closing that window but not from minimizing it and fiddling around in 
Windows 95 in the background.  

Has anyone looked closely at Novell's Application Launcher?  I'm
interested in your thoughts on its strengths and limitations within a
public library setting.  If you use it, what supplemental security
measures do you need to take to prevent meddling with the Windows 95
desktop?  I'd also appreciate comments on CARL's Menu Builder from
those libraries which are using it -- how is security, and how do
patrons react to it? Are there other products I should consider? 

Thanks in advance for your help,

Sherry Fowler
Systems Librarian
Camden Public Library
Camden, ME 04843
207 236 3440
sfowler at camden.lib.me.us