Feature request: Session time-limit?

[Sean Hammond]

I've got some ubuntu PCs running as free Internet and computing access
in a volunteer space and they, too, have asked for some automatic
session control.

They find that some people will hog the computers, and others who are
waiting will be too polite to ask, so the staff have to keep track of
it manually. This is one of the major problems they've always had with
the computers (prior to Ubuntu, they ran Windows).

The other main thing they asked for was just what you suggest Corey -
automatically cleaning up the session. It annoys the staff when people
leave saved files lying around and downloaded stuff etc.

So, integrated session timing and clean-up would be quite nice.

Another idea we had was a 'public mode' toggle button for the default
ubuntu settings and default app settings. There's a whole bunch of
settings spread around the system that have to be changed for an
ubuntu account to be setup appropriately for public access. For
example, you want the account to login automatically (after a few
seconds) rather than requiring a password everytime the machine is
rebooted. You want Firefox to not offer to remember password and form
info, and to not keep cookies. You don't want the screensaver to lock
the screen and require a password. Etc. I think this might be
implemented well as an account profile when creating a new account.
Currently you can choose between 'administrator' and 'desktop user'
profiles, 'public' would be a desktop account profile with the above
default settings changed.

On 5/30/06, Corey Burger <corey.burger at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 5/30/06, Jordan Erickson <jerickson at logicalnetworking.net> wrote:
> > Hey all,
> >
> > I'd like to know how feasible a 'session time-limit' feature would be
> > for integration into Edubuntu/Gnome. I did some apt-cache search'ing and
> > found "timeout" and "timeoutd" - these might work and might be easy to
> > integrate into, say, the 'Edit Users/Groups' GUI as a simple checkbox
> > that interfaces with the program (Check here to limit session length,
> > and enter how long).
> >
> > This was actually a direct suggestion from my customer when I was
> > setting up my first Edubuntu LTSP network a few months ago - they are a
> > nation wide, non-profit after school program for kids, in a lab type
> > environment where there are many more kids than computers (and they are
> > so addicted to Edubuntu the staff has to keep track of who is on and for
> > how long manually).
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Jordan
>
> <puts on my userful hat>
>
> Session timing control is key thing for any public computer. Ideally,
> it could be integrated with a piece that cleans up the session. Maybe
> this could be done through pessulus and sabayon?
>
> Corey
>
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>


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