[WEB4LIB] Re: Time Limit Software

[Charles 'Wes' Osborn]

Hello,

I personally like the looks of the Internet Station Manger.  It
authenticates based on a patron library card (using a checksum I think).
Live patron database verification can be built in by you.  It is Open Source
and uses Apache, Perl, MySQL and FreeBSD for the server.

It works a little differently than most products.  You setup your
workstations on a private 192.168.x.x network.  Then the FreeBSD server acts
as a firewall/proxy, only allowing authenticated stations to pass through
the private network onto the Internet.  The advantage to this is that you
can use it with virtually any combination of Client workstations (Macs,
Linux, W2K, etc.) and appropriate web browser (IE, Netscape, Opera).

The whole setup could theoretically not cost you a dime.  You customize it
to fit you needs (if you know Unix, Perl, etc.) and all the settings can be
controlled from the FreeBSD server.

Further details as well as downloads can be found at:
http://www.grpl.org/ism/

Hope that this helps!

Charles "Wes" Osborn
Digital Archivist
Grandview Heights Public Library
614-486-2951 ext. 143

PS BIG Disclaimer I have NOT used this product in a test or production
environment, but I do plan on doing so soon :)