On (18 Jan 03) John Donohue wrote to Frank Vest...

Hello John,

 FV> Now, where can we get "coin-op" computers at?? :-))

 JD> Actually there was a company that did something like that; we got the
 JD> sales brochures (this was back when public access computers first
 JD> became a reality) I'll have to look and see if I still have that in
 JD> the file cabinet at work. There's also a similar solution for TCP/IP
 JD> based networks where you schedule a login and appt. time on a master
 JD> console; there's a demon process running on the client that
 JD> enables/disables the login/workstation accordingly.
 JD> Neither of these products was cheap, and by the time they became
 JD> available, we (and probably most libraries) had already dealt with the
 JD> target problems in some other cheaper low-tech manner.

The libraries in Oklahoma City simply had a BBS type thing with a
database program. Worked well and with a simple message, one could
reserve, request or recheck a book. Kinda nice. :)

For the cafe idea, I'd think a simple coin slot mechanisms would work.
Have it cut the network feed after the time is up. Not an elegant
method, but the cost would be less than some fancy login timer thing.

Of course, there might not be a need to charge for the access if
everyone bought something, even just a soda, while they were there.
Require a purchase for access to the "computer room". :-)

Heck, I don't know. I just come up with the crazy ideas. :-)


Frank

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/flv
http://biseonline.com/r19

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