Linux for internet cafe?

Canonfan

Hi all,

I'm having a bad time running a small Internet cafe, friend of mine recommended Linux. Can someone tell me the advantage and disadvantage of it, please?

The internet cafe is focused on web surfing/chatting and printing only.

Many thanks in advance.

FruitLover

Advantages:

Security & stability without as much effort as Windows. Zero software cost.


Disadvantages:

Many commonly-used Windows-based apps will either not run or can be difficult to get running. Not as easy to get staff who are familiar with linux-based OS.

Canonfan

FruitLover wrote: »

Advantages:

Security & stability without as much effort as Windows. Zero software cost.


Disadvantages:

Many commonly-used Windows-based apps will either not run or can be difficult to get running. Not as easy to get staff who are familiar with linux-based OS.

Thanks for the reply. It doesn't sound too good. Many people need Microsoft Office etc.

There is one linux internet cafe in town though : www.cloneirl.com

FruitLover

Canonfan wrote: »

Many people need Microsoft Office etc

No, they just think they do. You'd have to be quite an advanced MS Office user for there to be anything you did frequently in MS Office that you couldn't in something like Open Office. The general public just want to do basic editing and printing.

What's stopping you trialling a linux-based OS on a couple of your existing machines?

bushy...

You could try it out with a live cd : if it doesn't suit , just reboot it without the cd , it doesn't touch the windows install


Download one of these :

http://www.puppylinux.org/downloads/official-releases

this will burn it onto CD if you have nothing else :

http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm


You could install it on just a few of them until you get sorted

Canonfan

FruitLover wrote: »

What's stopping you trialling a linux-based OS on a couple of your existing machines?

Good point. Thanks:D

Johnboy1951

I think Linux is ideal for such locations.

You can even remaster one of the distros so that it has all the applications you need for your setup.

You could then if you wished run the OS 'live' which would prevent any changes a customer might make from remaining after a reboot.

I would suggest though, that you familiarise yourself with one of the more 'windows-looking' distros before making any decision. Maybe check out PCLinuxOS, Mepis, and Mint as examples.
The more familiar looking the OS to the customers the less work will be involved explaining anything.

Well worth the effort on your part IMO.

woop

for something like a internet cafe, I could forsee a few problems with customers not being used to navigation in a non windows enviroment much like going apple, although Id say this would be slightly less difficult

as metioned put it on 1 or 2 machines and run it long term. so that you can see if you have any problems and learn how to fix them, also the benefits of most linux in terms of a internet cafe would be long term

I would say itd save you a lot of hassle to be honest after the initial stint of work(hardware setup etc.), admin work is much easier on a linux machine. The more you put into it the more you get out. Id say youd have to reinstall windows twice by the time youre forced to update youre linux distro and thatd just be due to lack of support/updates. In this case choose one of the editions which are supplied with updates for a while-cant remember the term at the minute

Id choose ubuntu netbook remix as a possible candidate due to its extra simplicity for the techno phobes you may get amongst youre customers but if its youre first install maybe mint may be easier to get up and running

Sleipnir

What do you mean by "a bad time"?

If you find customers are screwing up the systems, take a look at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx

Linux would be better but I can't see many customers off the street going for it.

spurious

Once they're into their browser, I doubt many could tell the difference.

Canonfan

Sleipnir wrote: »

What do you mean by "a bad time"?

Thanks for the link, interesting stuff.

Bad time: Last week I had three different tech guys into my shop to reinstall all the PCs plus set up a network. None of them did a good job. Now each PC crashes 2-3 times a day(some customers are pi$$ed off by this), I have to run around telling people to use Firefox because IE8 beta2 won't open website such as www.microsoft.com and facebook etc.

Every PC has virus alert on the screen:D

I'm too tired to complaint.

niallb

Can I suggest that if you've had three different tech guys in a week,
you don't have the kind of support system in place to take any of the
headaches out of running an internet cafe just yet.
How long have you been running the cafe, and how long were the machines working properly?

Linux can help you immensely even if you're not confident about your customers using it.
There is a free linux based system available which would allow you restore all your PCs
to a working configuration by simply restarting them and selecting a menu item.
It's available at fogproject.com.
I've used it for between 12 and 200 computers in several different locations.

How much experience does the friend who suggested linux have?
Maybe have another chat and get to know some more about it.

If you want to try out linux on some of the customer machines,
don't touch puppylinux or other specialist distributions.
I'm a big fan of them myself, but you need to stay mainstream to
get the kind of support you will need with them. Most of your best choices
this year will be ubuntu or ubuntu based. The ubuntu netbook remix is a
particularly good looking suggestion if your PCs will handle it.
The only problem you're likely to run into in this scenario is your graphics cards.
If they're ATI based, linux support is messy this year (probably about to be fixed though).
Built in Intel chipsets mostly work perfectly out of the box.

Curious to hear how you get on.
Best of luck with your business.

FruitLover

Netbook editions could cut down on the moron factor alright.

spurious wrote: »

Once they're into their browser, I doubt many could tell the difference.

In a café I used to work in, we replaced Firefox's default icon with the Internet Explorer icon to save confusion. I don't think we ever had a complaint...

axer

Canonfan wrote: »

Thanks for the link, interesting stuff.

Bad time: Last week I had three different tech guys into my shop to reinstall all the PCs plus set up a network. None of them did a good job. Now each PC crashes 2-3 times a day(some customers are pi$$ed off by this), I have to run around telling people to use Firefox because IE8 beta2 won't open website such as www.microsoft.com and facebook etc.

Every PC has virus alert on the screen:D

I'm too tired to complaint.

Why are you not using software such as Deep Freeze? At least make images of the machines so that they can be easily reset (takes only 15 minutes to re-image a machine).

While Open Office is free you cannot open Office 2007 files such as the docx format using it. This could cause many problems.

If you already have licences for windows I cannot see the point in switching to Linux.

AndrewMc

axer wrote: »

While Open Office is free you cannot open Office 2007 files such as the docx format using it. This could cause many problems.

With OpenOffice 3 you can open them, but I think can only save as plain .doc. Not a major issue for most people.

axer

AndrewMc wrote: »

With OpenOffice 3 you can open them, but I think can only save as plain .doc. Not a major issue for most people.

I have downloaded it and installed it just there. It does seem to open the files alright but it doesn't seem to keep much of the formatting.

tricky D

Bear in mind most poker clients don't have Linux versions, if poker players are one of your target markets.

mukki

Canonfan wrote: »

Every PC has virus alert on the screen:D

boards has a section that will help with that, once you fix one you might be able to sort the rest out yourself


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1009


sad reading your thread, hope you get something sorted quickly

Johnboy1951

Canonfan wrote: »

Thanks for the link, interesting stuff.

Bad time: Last week I had three different tech guys into my shop to reinstall all the PCs plus set up a network. None of them did a good job. Now each PC crashes 2-3 times a day(some customers are pi$$ed off by this), I have to run around telling people to use Firefox because IE8 beta2 won't open website such as www.microsoft.com and facebook etc.

Every PC has virus alert on the screen:D

I'm too tired to complaint.

Get a Linux tech guy to set up one or maybe two machines with his preferred Linux distro, so that it appears similar to those running Windows.

Judge the situation then from a practical viewpoint ......

After a couple of weeks you will be able to make an informed decision about the OS, and maybe request changes in the setup from your Linux tech.

It seems to be the best approach for you, IMO.

good luck with getting the situation sorted.

Regards.

Canonfan

Thanks for all your support. I think best option would be install two computers first.

For a marketing guy with little money and computer skills, all too much too soon.:o

mach1982

I know you can the KED desktop look just like windows.Also an linux runs great on old hardware you use refurbish PCs

KAGY

You would also need to check out if the games that you want to run work with linux.

If that isn't*a problem I would suggest having a large icon'd program selection screen with the most common applications (Internet, Office Writer, Calc etc) to avoid people having to search around for them and to prevent them poking around the system (not that they would be able to if it's set up properly!)

Have you already paid out for connection management / timer software; if it is windows based that would be lost money if you switch. I'm sure there are Linux alternatives, for free. It's not my area of expertise though.

Canonfan

Ok, after another few bad days I have finally made my mind. Two guys are coming to install Linux tonight. I'll leave two Window pcs just in case.

Is Linux virus free? Can I advertse this ?

Cheers

Mycroft H

Canonfan wrote: »

Ok, after another few bad days I have finally made my mind. Two guys are coming to install Linux tonight. I'll leave two Window pcs just in case.

Is Linux virus free? Can I advertse this ?

Cheers

Its pretty much virus free but you can still infect windows machines with windows viruses if you transfer files between them.

Though i'm open to correction on that

BopNiblets

The point is your PCs will be safe from Windows viruses!

Kinetic^

What version of linux are you installing?

Canonfan

Kinetic^ wrote: »

What version of linux are you installing?

I'm waiting for the guys to come, will follow up on this thread. The learning curve is going to be HUGE for me, right now all I know about Linux is 'it's different from Windows'.:o

Thanks again for all the support.

I need to open my door at 9:30am tomorrow. All suggestions welcome. Please.

Kinetic^

Ubuntu is probably more newb friendly then most. Just hope it works flawlessly on your PCs.

Johnboy1951

Once the guys coming in know your requirements, and that the GUI that the user sees is not too different looking from Windows then you should be OK.

To make it comfortable for Win users is their job ..... just make sure you are happy that they do this.

The viruses you are familiar with are not "PC" viruses but Windows viruses, and only attack Win machines .... but as has been mentioned they can be passed on in files exchanged between a Linux machine (which they do not affect) to a Win machine which they do.

In that situation the Linux PC could run an anti-virus software to kill the Win viruses before transferring files to the Win PC.

djmarkus

Look into LTSP, you wont have to worry about busted hard drives or re-imaging ever week(not that you have to with linux that much)

mach1982

if need help there the irish linux user group in which meet up in dublin www.linux.ie/

BopNiblets

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Ubuntu is probably more newb friendly then most. Just hope it works flawlessly on your PCs.

I'd say Mint is even more newb friendly for two main out-of-the-box reasons:
1. Taskbar and Mint menu (similar to Windows menu) are on the bottom, window list included!
2. And I know it's been said many times said before but MP3's and videos and stuff work without installing any codecs!

PogMoThoin

BopNiblets wrote: »

I'd say Mint is even more newb friendly for two main out-of-the-box reasons:
1. Taskbar and Mint menu (similar to Windows menu) are on the bottom, window list included!
2. And I know it's been said many times said before but MP3's and videos and stuff work without installing any codecs!

I'd agree with that, all media streaming codecs are already installed. It just works out of the box unlike Ubuntu which needs extra work. It also has better support for troublesome devices

niallb

How did this go for you last night?

pickarooney

I would recommend keeping at least one Windows PC permanantly as you are pretty much guaranteed to have people coming in to print important documents and OpenOffice, in my experience, never handles .DOCX or even many .DOC files exactly as MS Office does. This is a showstopper on a CV for example.

Otherwise, my recommendation is for Xubuntu. Tutorials such as this are fairly straightforward if you want to make the machines as Windows-esque as possible without all the hassle of viruses. Win-win really, if you can forgive the pun.

Canonfan

Hi all,
I'm sorry to tell you that I've failed. The installed Linux is Ubuntu.
This morning my customers were having problems with printing(both quality and layout), the Cyber cafe software was very messy, I was running around like a headless chicken, as I said I have 0 experience.

In the end, I had to closed the door after two hours. I've been sitting in the shop all day crying.

Sorry guys I couldn't make it. I don't know what's next for me.

Dean820

Fact is most people use Windows and not Linux, your target market wouldn't know how to use your computers comfortably.

ElBarco

Canonfan wrote: »

Hi all,
... as I said I have 0 experience.

In the end, I had to closed the door after two hours. I've been sitting in the shop all day crying.

Sorry guys I couldn't make it. I don't know what's next for me.

That's a pretty crappy day alright - commiserations.

Can you get someone in to put a fresh copy of windows on the machines? Linux is great and all but if you (or your staff) don't know a thing about it it's only going to cause headaches when you start getting customers asking questions. The same is true of windows but the average customer is going to be more familiar with it.

Someone recommended deep freeze above - it sounds like the ideal scenario for yourself. Customers can (and will!) break things and you can roll back.

Best of luck.

Canonfan

Sorry guys I made a big mess. I have to say I do like Ubuntu but for now I can only keep 1 PC running on Linux and spending tonight changing the rest back to Win XP.

Thank you all for your posts.

axer

Canonfan wrote: »

Sorry guys I made a big mess. I have to say I do like Ubuntu but for now I can only keep 1 PC running on Linux and spending tonight changing the rest back to Win XP.

Thank you all for your posts.

How many computers are you running here?

Keep it simple. Forget about Linux for now or set it up on one machin for you to use and get used to.

Sleipnir linked to a free MS tool called SteadyState which I have never came across but which looks excellent. This seems to do exactly what you want. You can set it so that every day or few days the computer reboots and discards any changes.

Next invest in antivirus software like NOD32 for each machine.

With the above the only things that can go wrong are hardware problems. Set this up right from the begining and you will have no more problems.

I am surprised that none of the people you called out suggested these things.

pickarooney

Canonfan wrote: »

Sorry guys I made a big mess. I have to say I do like Ubuntu but for now I can only keep 1 PC running on Linux and spending tonight changing the rest back to Win XP.

Thank you all for your posts.

With respect, you seem to be running the business on a whim and a prayer. You're going to need at lease one competent technician whom you can rely on to give you sound, practical advice and help you implement it. Posting this thread in the Unix forum was bound to throw up a large volume of *nix-based ideas, most practically sound but not necessarily what your cybercafé needs, particularly if you haven't the expertise to troubleshoot it or immediate recourse to someone who does. (I know it's stable-door advice and I was one suggesting a particular linux solution)

I think you need to urgently look at two solutions now - getting someone to put a clean, familiar OS in place ASAP and putting your own marketing nous to good use undoing the bad publicity of today's events. I don't mean to forego linux completely - the fact you're open to the idea is positive enough - but you would be better off familiarising yourself with the OS first and gradually introducing it to your business.

It's hugely frustrating that something as straightforward as printing a document can cause so much headaches, but it's vital that you get acquinted with the inevitable barriers you'll face as much as the advantages you'll gain from changing operating systems.

You had a bd day; put it down to experience and plan your next step carefully. Best of luck.

Canonfan

Morning everybody, it's me again. I know some of you are already sick of me and my post.

After another night's work, all but 1 computer are running on Windows again. Now I need to learn how to keep the system healthy as long as possible. I'll play with the poor Ubuntu PC during my free time.

Thanks again to all of you. Have a nice day.

mach1982

Don't give up. You can run a cyber cafe on linux check the link below

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=12714

Kinetic^

mach1982 wrote: »

Don't give up. You can run a cyber cafe on linux check the link below

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=12714

The OP doesn't have a clue about linux so there's no real point in him setting the cafe up that way.

RGDATA!

for keeping a small number of computers under control, as it sounds like you are trying to do, i highly recommend deep freeze by faronics

reinstall your OS and updates, all the programs you want people to be able to use, all the latest plugins etc, then with deep freeze you freeze the computer and every time you restart your computer will revert to this virgin state.

you never have to deal with viruses/malware beyond restarting the computer, you can reassure your customers that their details/history are not stored on the computer once they request a restart.

The_Thing

Just read this thread out of curiosity as I wanted to see how many people would suggest Linux Mint for the O.P's internet cafe, but what really intrigues me now is this Deep Freeze application that several posters have suggested.

Would somebody explain how it works? Is it similar to imaging a drive with a tool like Acronis True Image? Thanks.