[KLUG Members] gnome users in a one app prison

[Bruce Smith]

> > > I would like to know how to put a user into a one or two application
> > > prison in gnome.  I'd like to control these users desktops to have no
> > > gnome-panel and only an icon or two to execute from the desktop.  Is
> > > this possible?  They will be getting a desktop through ltsp.  
> > 
> > Does it have to be Gnome?  
> 
> No, does not have to.  I was attempting to make this easier by not
> installing another window manager on this machine.

Simple WM's like fvwm are very small.  The advantage is they are easy to
configure to what applications are on the menu.

> > I think it'd be easier to do with something
> > like fvwm.
> > 
> > > I will be
> > > on the same machine and would prefer to not be in the jail.
> > 
> > Does the terminal have a xdm/gdm/kdm/... login screen?
> 
> gdm

Depending on what you want to do, I found kdm to be more powerful.
(default userid, auto login, etc.)

> > If so, you can force your users to one window manager (fvwm?)
> > and allow yourself to select other WM's.
> 
> I could attempt to do so.  Do you think this would be the easiest way.

Assuming you don't want to give your users a shell prompt, and they
cannot edit files in their home directory, I'd give yourself a different
fvwm config (with an xterm - to allow you to start anything).

> > Or you can have your own ~/.fvwmrc config file, different than your
> > users, giving you more applications you can run.

fvwm doesn't have any panels like gnome or xfce.  You can create a popup
menu that appears when they right-click on the desktop, to launch apps.

If you want a panel, use xfce.  It is also small and easy to config.

> > Or you can not give them a windows manager at all, which really 
> > limits them!  (what I do on data collection terminals)
> 
> I could look at the possibility of doing so through ltsp.  Just never
> done it before.

I've never done it with LTSP, but I've done it using a real X-Terminal.
Shouldn't be too much different.

--------------------------------------------
Bruce Smith                bruce@armintl.com
System Administrator / Network Administrator
Armstrong International, Inc.
Three Rivers, Michigan  49093  USA
http://www.armstrong-intl.com/
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