Timeout and passwords

[Mark Ellis]

We've had a look a program called Internet Timer from a local
company--GroupWest.  At the end of a specified period, it closes out the
browser and brings up a dialog box telling the patron their time is up.  It
will prevent the browser from being relaunched for a specified period.  The
intent here is that both the person at the machine and the person waiting
know it's time to change.

The catch, for the moment, is that this program only works with MSIE.

We've asked for and received a quotation for a Netscape version; for the
creation of a networked, self-serve booking program that will enforce
global, per-patron time limits and will perform authentication against our
patron database via an ODBC connection.

Does some or all of this already exist somewhere?  I'd be interested in
hearing from any others who have, or are interested in addressing this
problem.

If you'd like to speak to the Internet Timer developer directly, Hans Nietz
can be reached at hneitz at groupwest.ca or (604) 473-2123


>I was wondering if anyone knew of a script or program that timed-out the
>browser after every half hour or another fixed period? (I was thinking of
>this as a way of moving on patrons after their 30 minute internet session
>was up).
>
>Also, does anyone know of a mechanism for providing once-only passwords for
>the browser (on a Network)which could be used in conjunction with the
>time-out feature above?
>
>If anyone can help, I don't mind receiving replies off the list. I'm a bit
>of a newbie - so please excuse my ignorance!!!
>
>Thanks!
>
>Rebecca

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Mark Ellis
Network Support Analyst                 Phone: (604) 231-6410
Richmond Public Library                 Email: mark.ellis at rpl.richmond.bc.ca
Richmond, British Columbia
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