mark.hopgood

Update: We've just added Acer L1000 small form factor to our list of 'good to use' with Plasmanet. I've had one problem with an Acer so far. One of the network cards went kaput, but I think this was to do with one of our (ex) employees taking it apart. I solved it by adding a USB network dongle.

another idea which would save the number of servers you would need. The Hopnetix system can take advantage of higher powered processors to allow the running of multimedia content web browsing with all the processing done at the local machine. This means that you can allow 'thin clients' to browse the web without fear of them accessing sites with flash animations. There would be no overhead on the server if the local browser is used. Also Hopnetix includes a full office suite locally so it is possible to run open office applications without impacting the server because local processing power is used.

Thanks for the response, I see the differences as You are not tied to any specific hardware maufacturer, or model, so Hopnetix runs on any PC motherboard that will PXE boot. This includes any Dell machine, HP, Compaq etc. You can also re-use older hardware into service as a thin client. Previous thin clients use flash memory to store their Linux OS. With Hopnetix there is less disposal at the end of the unit's life cycle. It also means less resources are used in manufacture. Flash memory has a limited lifetime too. If the OS in a traditional thin client this needs updating or patching then you have to service the machine. Hopnetix performas a live update on boot. The procedure to customise the clients in the first place according to hp extends to 12 pages. http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00485307/c00485307.pdf With Hopnetix a single image on the boot server is needed, subsequent additional clients use this configuration automatically, so if you need to have your thin clients boot to the login screen of a windows terminal service, you do this once at the server. here's a link on what HP does with its computer recycling http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-10877_11-88409.html (pictures of the recycling plant at HP) The aim with Hopnetix is to get the components down to a bare minimum, while this may seem extreme, there is no lesser number of components to get a PC up and runnning. This means the least power consumption and the least components and of course less setup, especially if you have a large estate. The hardware I was referring to was a 800MHz 256MB RAM machine (£170), compared to a 400MHz 128MB RAM t5135 ($199 US) That's all the info i have at the moment, regards mark

I've noticed that RM are publicising the benefits of thin client technology, so I thought you might be interested in the following info and 'white paper' link on the use of thin clients in schools. Using Plasmanetix and Hopnetix as the ultimate thin client. Hopnetix has the following advantages over using traditional thin clients: 1. there is no local operating system (OS) to install - less cost at purchase 2. there is no local OS to maintain or update - less cost at run time 3. the image is managed by a central server - no update time 4. there is no need for hard disk or flash memory - lower cost at purchase and greater mean time before failure (MTBF) Hopnetix offers the greenest and ultimate thin client. Traditional thin clients require additional components. click here for a study into thin client use in schools http://partners.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&rid=13802 The hardware for a hopnetix thin client costs from £170. Hopnetix can be used as a thin client for the following remote technologies: a. Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) b. Windows Terminal Services (e.g. RM Client Connect) c. Citrix Metaframe (ICA client) d. Sun Secure Global Desktop e. VNC Hopnetix can be booted in one of three ways: a. over the network (PXE) b. using a boot CD c. using a USB boot key mark dot hopgood at plasmanet-uk.com

Problem with using remote desktop is that after you close your connection, the remote machine is now locked at the login page. This is not compatible with digital signage, so you'd have to log in at the machine. I've got 2 solutions to this, depending on your needs. q1. Are you able to install new software on your controller PCs? q2. have you got java enabled on the controller machine? Also, a problem with most laptops is that the motherboard doesn't allow the machine to auto start on power loss. This may be a problem as you might need to access to the laptop to reboot. An auto startup motherboard would allow you to just off and on at the mains to restart. let me know regards mark hopgood director plasmanet uk ltd 08700 747 757

Yes, certainly. Our solution can use a diskless set top box (£169) like triple play, but you can use any PC to play the content - any, be it windows, linux, whatever, as long as it has a browser. This means that for all the companies and colleges that use plasmanet, they don't have to install software on their player or administrator pcs. They don't have to configure their network - it just works. You can buy the software, lease or hire the service and run it as a player connected via the web to our servers. Also plasmanet is the only signage solution with EasyEdit templates where you can change content on the fly, again without needing to install software on your PC. We concentrate on corporate communications, so our strength from the content side is that we're not about traditional signage where advertising videos and revenue generation are key. Also we have a niche in the real time data side of things where we can connect into websites, databases, call switches etc. We have a lot of kudos in that some large companies use our solution and we support our customers operation if they want, so we don't just sell the software we help install and get the most out of it. regards mark

OK, thanks for the interest - i've finally got round to setting up a server with enough bandwidth to host the image (KNOPPIX) Here's the instructions on obtaining the hopnetix / plasmanetix diskless OS and installing the server on any windows machine. installing hopnetix / plasmanetix server and testing requirements - 2gb free disk space - LAN network connection download from ftp://ftpw.plasmanet-uk.com/plasmanetix.exe username: plasmanetix password: plasmanetix2005 run plasmanetix.exe and it will ask you for a password password: plasmanetix2005 click install - leave the path as c:\pnuk\plasmanetix (alternative location for the plasmanetix folder copy s:\software\plasmanetix contents to c:\pnuk\plasmanetix or obtain from CD) 1. start launch_plasmanetix.bat 2. start tftpd32.exe - plasmanetix is now running 3. install textpad from c:\pnuk\plasmanetix\sw\txpeng502.exe - install to c:\pnuk\programs 4. configure c:\pnuk\plasmanetix\pxelinux.cfg\default - right click the file and choose textpad - change the line that starts with ammend nfsdir=192.168.0.19 - so that 192.168.0.19 is replaced with the current ip address of this (server) machine PXE boot a machine connected on this server connected via a LAN - you can use the virtual machine provided to test this 5. install VMWare player from c:\pnuk\plasmanetix\sw\VMware-player-1.0.3-34682.exe - install to c:\pnuk\programs 6. launch vmware and choose the virtual_machine\hopnetix\hopnetix.vmx file optional - Configuring plasmanetix digtal signage player 7. configure the PlasmaNetix player for attaching to your PlasmaNet server - change the c:\pnuk\plasmanetix\KNOPPIX\index_en.html - so the line: var PlasmaNet_URL = "http://192.168.0.20/plasmanet78.nsf/frame?openagent&z.linux"; - reflects your plasmanet server and channel 8. configure the hopnetix client network configuration so the internet gateway is defined - change the c:\pnuk\plasmanetix\KNOPPIX\resolv.conf - make sure the line nameserver reflects the ip address of your dns gateway for the internet - use texpad and make sure the file is saved as type UNIX

Post removed until a response about blatent advertising is received! - Ric_

I wanted to know if anyone is interested in trying this. We've made Linux boot very easy - just need any PC that will boot on a network using PXE. The Hopnetix Linux distro has the open ofice suite built in and is customisable. I've spent a few months working on it and already have it up and running in a couple of establishments. The Linux network boot PC (no hard disk = less electricity = greener) can be used for the following: 1. connection using rdp to windows terminal services / linux 2. vnc connection 3. open office 4. citrix ica client 5. sun SGD thin client PCs to run this can be found for £160 but you can use any PC anyway I'm looking for people to try this so I'd appreciate a reply / PM

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I'd recommend Acer for cost and performance. As far as support, we've had 12 at plasmanet (L100) which we used for digital signage. For a dual core AMD, £499 including a screen is pretty good value. We've also used their laptops (8 of these) - only problem was when one guy trapped his power supply in a door, but was fixed with some silicon sealant. Another good point is that usually they include DVD-RAM drives and DL DVD, so a plus for us. As far as ASUS pundit, this is ok as a desktop, but I've seen issues with stability (freezing) which may be ok if you don't mind rebooting your machine periodically. Hope this info helps.

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Hi, I'm the author of PlasmaNet which is a browser / web based digital signage system. You've got the options of either using our server (low cost) or installing on your own server. We've also got a diskless linux player (PlasmaNetix / free / open source) which will link into it. Let me know if you are interested in trying this out, I'm happy to work with you in getting your system up and running. News feeds, RSS, powerpoint, video and custom templates / html are supported. Live TV / video is also possible. regards mark