Gokis Kiosk Self-Service

Mexico City gov't installs first 2 digital media kiosks

Mexico City – Mexico City's government has installed the first two of 25 planned kiosks that will allow residents to download music, e-books and videos at affordable prices.

Mexico City gov't installs first 2 digital media kiosks - Fox News Latino

The two digital media stations were inaugurated on Wednesday at the Pino Suarez Metro station's cybercenter by Historic Downtown Trust officials Alejandra Moreno Toscano and Inti Muñoz Santini.
The two officials later went to Nuevo Volador Plaza, located at the intersections of Pino Suarez and Republica de Uruguay streets, where they inaugurated the second kiosk.
The Federal District's government wants to provide residents who lack credit cards and personal computers with an alternative way to download digital content at a low cost.
The kiosks will be placed at shopping centers around the city, with most of the units being installed downtown, to provide access to digital materials to low-income people.
The Metro cybercenters at the Balderas, Zocalo, Bellas Artes and Hidalgo stations, among others, will provide downloading services via the long-distance education project launched by the Mexico City Education Secretariat.
The project will benefit hundreds of thousands of people who will be able to obtain quality legal content, the officials said.
"This system is a response to the need to create alternatives to a problem the city has and that has to do with the consumption of digital cultural content," Muñoz Santini said.
The project was inspired by Brazil's "Crea tu Mundo" (Create Your World) initiative, which was rolled out by Brazilian digital content provider Phone Station, and is designed to offer access to cultural materials at a competitive price and protect intellectual property rights, Mexican officials said.
Street vendors sell pirated goods at stalls across Mexico City, where even police officers obtain music and movies.
A large segment of the capital's population lives in low-income households and the project may encourage them to acquire digital materials legally, Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said earlier this year.
The downloading kiosks will soon be installed all around Mexico City, offering a catalog of 350,000 songs, 70,000 ringtones for cell phones, 20,000 audio books and 20,000 videos, Phone Station CEO Marco Bissi said.
"For a city in the vanguard, vanguard solutions," Bissi said, adding that one free download would be provided weekly.
Downloading materials at the kiosks requires the use of a prepaid card and a storage device, such as a cell phone or a USB flash drive.

Mexico City gov't installs first 2 digital media kiosks - Fox News Latino

MCD's info kiosk project hits a roadblock

MCD - Of 2000 information kiosks, which were to be operational by October 2010, only 100 have been installed in the city. Of these, none are functional

MCD's info kiosk project hits a roadblock - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: MCD's ambitious project — MCD Aapke Dwar — that aims to bring its services to the doorstep of residents has hit a roadblock. Of 2000 information kiosks, which were to be operational by October 2010, only 100 have been installed in the city. Of these, none are functional.

Sources say the proposal was put on hold, as the company, which was given the contract, didn't make the payments to MCD in time.

These kiosks were designed to provide information on railway timings and services provided by MCD and Delhi government. As per the initial proposal, these were also supposed to offer facilities for payment of utility bills and option to register public grievances. But in the kiosks that have been installed so far, the options are missing.

The contract for the project was given to Hyderabad-based Bartronics. "This unique initiative would have helped MCD connect better with citizens. But the project got stuck in the implementation phase," said a senior MCD official.

With this Rs 800-crore project, which was to function on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis, the civic agency would have earned revenue worth Rs 101 crore every year. The project was stopped midway due to financial reasons. The kiosks were to be placed near residential colonies so that information and services are available to citizens near to their place of residence. "The company is yet to the make payment to MCD. But we are also told there were issues related to the site where kiosks were supposed to be put up," said an MCD official.

"This is a citizen-friendly project. The project still stands, but there are some issues which need to be sorted out before we re-start the project. We are examining the matter and will soon restore it," said Deep Mathur, spokesperson, MCD. Officials said the main source of revenue for the company that has been implementing the project will be service charges collected from concerned government departments and advertisements. "In the second phase, these kiosk are meant to provide information on hotels, hospitals, nearby doctors, chemist shops, pet shops etc," said an MCD official.

Read more: MCD's info kiosk project hits a roadblock - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/MCDs-info-kiosk-project-hits-a-roadblock/articleshow/7136503.cms#ixzz18hi9y7rB

MCD's info kiosk project hits a roadblock - The Times of India

Prison Kiosks go Pay For View

Candace McCann, an inmate at the Rockville Correctional Facility in Rockville, Ind., talks to her aunt from her prison unit.

CBS News Link

MIAMI (CBS/AP) There’s still no place like home, but for the prison population, "being there" on the Web is becoming the next best thing. And prison officials say "video-conference visitation" offers benefits for inmates, family, and friends.

Almost every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Candace McCann, inmate No. 188342, sits down for a scheduled video conference with her daughter.

Seven-year-old Kashmir appears from McCann's aunt's home, three hours away. Sometimes Kashmir draws a picture. Other times she stands on a chair to model an outfit: jeans and a Hannah Montana T-shirt or new shoes. Lately she's been pressing her face close to the camera and opening her mouth, showing off lost teeth.

"I feel like I'm at home, kind of," said McCann, 24, in a video conference interview. "It's good to see that kind of stuff."

Home for McCann right now is a medium-security Indiana prison, where she is serving almost three years for theft and forgery. She has only seen her daughter in person three times in the last year.

But in February, the 1,200 inmates at the prison got the ability to video conference using ATM-like kiosks. Families and friends can talk from the comfort of a home office or an armchair. All they need is a webcam.

Other prisons around the country offer video visits, but families generally have to go to a site like a church to use it. At Indiana's Rockville Correctional Facility, however, once visitors are on an approved list, they can go online from home or elsewhere and schedule and pay for their own visits. Visits cost $12.50 for 30 minutes, less than the approximately $15 the prison charges for a 30-minute local call.

Only the Rockville facility is currently using the system, developed by a Florida company called JPay. But all 28,000 Indiana inmates are expected to have access to the system within the next four years. And all Kansas inmates — just under 9,000 of them — will be able to use it by next year. JPay covers the cost of the kiosks and their installation. The states pay nothing.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Using ATM-like kiosks developed by a Florida company, inmates at the Rockville facility are among the first whose families can link up with them from home.

Prison officials say the virtual visits can be less expensive and less time-consuming for families than driving to a faraway prison.

McCann's mother, for example, underwent treatment for cancer and her aunt breathes with the assistance of oxygen.

McCann's aunt, Margaret Earlywine, 69, said visiting her niece in person requires packing four canisters of oxygen and can be stressful.

The prison benefits from increased contact, too.

"When they (prisoners) have that contact with the outside family they actually behave better here at the facility," said Richard Brown, Rockville's assistant superintendent.

And there's no chance inmates can get drugs or other contraband slipped to them.

Not everyone has behaved during the visits, however. In the past few months, a handful of inmates and family members have been banned from using the system for exposing themselves during a visit. The prison watches all the visits either live — like a security video — or later, when the system archives them. If there's a problem, JPay can ban a family member or an inmate from the visits, though after the first offense inmates can get the privilege back in six months.

The prison can block visits at times when inmates have to be at meals or in bed. Inmates get notified they have a visit when they log in to the JPay kiosk. The kiosk has a screen where they can see video, a video camera to record them, and a phone they pick up to listen to the other person. It also has a keypad and built-in mouse.

The same kiosk lets inmates send and receive e-mails, something a third of federal prisons also now offer, and doubles as an ATM machine to tell them how much money they have in their accounts for spending at the prison commissary. Many inmates log in daily, even if just for a minute or two. And at Rockville, which has about one kiosk for every 75 inmates, the wait to use one is rarely long.

Inmate Deborah Reagin, 48, said her video visits have given her a chance to feel like she's still nearby. Her daughters, Amber and Michelle, have taken her on video tours of their new homes, both purchased after she went to prison on a methamphetamine charge. Her 3-year-old grandson Khelin likes to dance for her to the song “I Like to Move It” from the movie “Madagascar.” And on Christmas, she watched him play with new toy trucks and bounce on a new trampoline.

"It makes my day a whole lot better to be able to see my family, to talk to them," Reagin said.

She even gets to see her rat terrier, Peaches, who is living with her daughter Michelle.

"Of course they don't allow dogs in this facility," Reagin said, "I would never get to see her if it weren't for these visits."

Even so, prison video conferencing has its limitations. Conjugal visits seem beyond the reach of the new technology.

FTC Nails Internet Kiosk Scammers

Pulling a Madeoff -- Internet scam goes down -- The participation of these defendants in the kiosk scam has landed two key principals, Edward Bevilacqua and Charles Castro, in California state prison. Surprise here is that for once the scam wasn't based in Florida....Wanna buy an internet kiosk for $4000?

FTC Obtains $18.9 Million Judgment Against Ponzi Scheme Operators

FTC Obtains $18.9 Million Judgment Against Ponzi Scheme Operators

Apr 28, 2009 (FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- FTC Obtains $18.9 Million Judgment Against Ponzi Scheme Operators At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has imposed a judgment of $18.9 million against operators of an "Internet kiosk" business opportunity scam, clearing the way for the FTC to distribute more than $2 million to the victims of their illegal Ponzi scheme. The court found that the operators of the scam violated the FTC Act and the agency's Franchise Rule by duping hundreds of consumers into buying Internet kiosk business opportunities with promises of lucrative earnings. In its final order, the court banned the key defendants from promoting any future business ventures and barred all defendants from making further misrepresentations.

As a result of the court order, consumers will be reimbursed more than $2 million. This amount includes approximately $450,000 in funds that the court froze at the FTC's request, as well as $1.5 million in funds that previously had been seized by the FBI and had been the subject of a civil forfeiture action brought by the Office of the U.S. Attorney.

The court previously found that some funds that the defendants paid to their attorneys should go to victims of the scheme as well. One attorney agreed to return $40,000. The court ordered the other attorney to return $238,000.

The FTC's complaint, filed in 2005, charged the California-based defendants with misrepresenting the earnings potential of the Internet kiosk business opportunity and misrepresenting the availability and/or profitability of locations for the machines. The free-standing kiosks housed a computer and a mechanism to accept payments. The Internet kiosks were designed to allow the public to access the Internet, for a fee, from locations such as hotels, bowling alleys, and convenience stores. According to the FTC, more than 450 consumers purchased thousands of kiosks.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada agreed with the FTC that the venture was a Ponzi scheme. "Revenue" payments sent to investors each month did not come from the kiosk businesses, but from the infusion of money paid by new investors. In fact, the defendants installed only a small fraction of the kiosk businesses they had sold. This left the majority of investors holding worthless interests in nonexistent kiosks.

The FTC's complaint named Charles Castro, Elizabeth Castro, Gregory High, Network Services Depot, Inc., Network Marketing, LLC, doing business as Network Services Marketing, LLC, Net Depot, Inc., Network Services Distribution, Inc., and Sunbelt Marketing, Inc. as defendants (collectively the Castro Entities), and Phyllis Watson as a relief defendant. The Castro Entities are located in Orange County, California. The FTC also filed a separate complaint against a set of entities based in San Diego County, California, who worked closely with the Castro Entities to perpetrate the scam. The entities named in that complaint, Edward Bevilacqua, Bikini Vending Corp., 360 Wireless Corp., and MyMart, Inc., agreed to settle the FTC's charges and have been banned from selling any business venture or franchise in the future.

The participation of these defendants in the kiosk scam has landed two key principals, Edward Bevilacqua and Charles Castro, in California state prison. As a result of criminal prosecutions brought by the Office of the San Diego County District Attorney, they were indicted on 48 counts of securities fraud by a San Diego County Grand Jury in September 2006. Bevilacqua pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud in February 2009 and is serving a seven-year prison term. Castro pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud in 2008 and is serving a three-year term. The FTC referred the cases to the San Diego District Attorney in 2005.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC's online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-8...). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,500 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC's Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

Editors Note: the actual scheme -- Using an interrelated series of agreements, the Castro Entities sold the Internet kiosks to consumers at prices ranging from $4,000 to $7,000 per unit, and Bevilacqua Entities agreed to install the kiosks in designated locations and manage and service the kiosks. After entering into these agreements, consumers believed they owned the Internet kiosk business opportunities at the designated locations and that the businesses would be managed by Bevilacqua Entities.

Internet Machine Company & Pantheon End-Game

Glaubman is the 14th person to be sentenced to related crimes in the case. Pantheon Holdings told potential purchasers that the $18,000 Internet kiosks would earn substantial profits from fees for Internet access and from advertising that would be placed on the kiosks, the DOJ said.

Source link at NetworkWorld

Miami woman sentenced to prison for Internet kiosk scheme

By Grant Gross , IDG News Service , 10/29/2008

A Miami woman has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison and ordered to pay US$18.2 million in restitution for a scheme to sell Internet kiosks that were promised to generate substantial income for buyers.

Lillian Glaubman, who served as administrator for Pantheon Holdings, also known as Internet Machine Company, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of mail fraud in July.

Glaubman is the 14th person to be sentenced to related crimes in the case. Pantheon Holdings told potential purchasers that the $18,000 Internet kiosks would earn substantial profits from fees for Internet access and from advertising that would be placed on the kiosks, the DOJ said. Pantheon promised to perform all the legwork for the kiosk, including finding high-traffic areas for the kiosks, relocating underperforming kiosks and placing advertising.

Locations where the machines were located drew little business, and no advertising was placed on the kiosks, the DOJ said. There were more than 730 victims of the scheme, the DOJ said.

Related Content
RipoffReport.com has more than 100 comments posted about Pantheon, with the latest ones coming in January. "I bought one machine, and my dad got three," one poster wrote. "They are large paperweights. They said [the machines] made $1,800 monthly. Well, the best i did was $65, and it cost over $100 to run this tin can."

Glaubman was charged with another person in May 2007 on charges related to the Internet kiosk scheme. Jay Mayne, a Pantheon salesman, was indicted on nine related counts in February 2006, then Mayne and eight other people connected to Pantheon were named in a second indictment in May of that year.

Between October and December 2006, eight defendants were sentenced in the case, after most of them pleaded guilty. The lightest penalty was for 34 months in prison and $1.9 million in restitution. Jeffrey Kuba, a Pantheon owner, salesman and head of customer service, was sentenced in November 2006 to 188 months in prison and $18.1 million in restitution.

Glaubman was the president and manager of Marketing Workforce Providers, a company located in the same office building as Pantheon that assisted with Pantheon operations. Glaubman shipped promotional brochures, processed customer purchases, managed Pantheon's books and issued payments to Pantheon employees and owners, the DOJ said.

Glaubman knew that Pantheon was misrepresenting the Internet kiosks to customers and knew that some customers did not receive the kiosks, the DOJ said. She also concealed the identities of Pantheon's operators, the DOJ said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

PR - SurferQuest Provides Self Contained Internet Kiosk Software for Celebrity Resorts

Global Software Applications/SurferQuest has installed secure, self maintained and privacy protected internet kiosk center software into Celebrity Resorts' business centers. SurferQuest will allow the resort guests to have access to the desktop and applications such as Microsoft Office, Instant messangers and media players.

SurferQuest Provides Self Contained Internet Kiosk Software for Celebrity Resorts

State College, PA (PRWEB) April 26, 2008 -- Global Software Applications, an innovator in the self service hospitality industry, is proud to announce Celebrity Resorts' adoption of SurferQuest self contained kiosk software into their business centers. The software will enable them to offer a computer solution free of common public computer side affects such as left over content, viruses and objectionable content. SurferQuest protects the user privacy and maintains the computer to the extent that no IT staff needs to check, clean or update the systems.

"Celebrity Resorts is committed to providing guests using our business center kiosks a safe and reliable experience. SurferQuest software will help us to achieve this goal," said C. Craig Lewis, Chief Operating Officer at Celebrity Resorts.

SurferQuest is dedicated to each and every hotel and is very excited about this new opportunity with Celebrity Resorts.
Scott D. Zane, Sr. Director of Support Services/IMS at Celebrity Resorts, stated, "After the initial deployment of our business center kiosk, we discovered the software we had originally chosen was not providing us with the full desktop experience that our end users were demanding. Upon finding SurferQuest and testing its capabilities, it was clear to me that this was going to be our product of choice. Support for deployment has been phenomenal and user feedback has been great."

As a result of Celebrity Resorts' implementation of SurferQuest software into their business centers, their guests will now be able to access the computers and internet at their resorts with the guarantee that everything they do will be erased from the computers at the sessions end. This ensures that no credit card, personal or business information may be viewed by other guests. SurferQuest will also provide 24/7 live technical support to the users of the Celebrity Resorts' business center machines.

"We pride our selves in excellence of customer service and our flexibility toward our customers. Our goal is to offer easy to use dependable public computer solutions with the best interest of every guest in mind. We care about the protection of a guest's personal information and their satisfaction," said Ron Koning, VP of GSA/SurferQuest. "SurferQuest is dedicated to each and every hotel and is very excited about this new opportunity with Celebrity Resorts."

About Celebrity Resorts
Founded in 1974, Celebrity Resorts has developed and managed numerous successful vacation ownership and property management projects throughout the nation and in the Caribbean. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida the Celebrity Resorts brand encompasses more than 60 companies, has ac¬tive interests in over 30 states and services more than 80,000 families on an annual basis. For more information about Celebrity Resorts, please visit www.celebrityresorts.com">www.celebrityresorts.com or call 1-800-423-8604.

About SurferQuest
Since 2001, SurferQuest has placed self contained business center software and privacy protected public computers in over 750 hotel/resort locations world wide. SurferQuest's installed locations include many of America's 4 and 5 star and 5 diamond luxury properties. SurferQuest is proud to offer easy to use, in demand guest amenities for the hotel industry and others. SurferQuest's products range from self contained public computer software and pay-per-print solutions to way finding directional kiosks.

SurferQuest is determined to meet the demands of the self service industry with fresh, convenient, easy to use and dependable solutions. SurferQuest is pleased to offer the best customer service possible, with knowledgeable and friendly staff available 24/7.

"If there is a demand for a self service guest amenity, we will meet it; if there is already a solution out there, we will beat it." Ron Koning VP SurferQuest/GSA

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Another music download machine concept bites the dust?

Article in Manchester Evening News in U.K. lays out scenarios for Andy Egan and Felix now that they are re-evaluating business model and Egan has stepped down.

Has Andy's luck finally run out? - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

Has Andy's luck finally run out?

10/12/2007

HE has always lived life to the max, but his dream of creating an international phenomenon with his digital retail kiosk, has come crashing down.

Andy Egan, a former stuntman and promotions king, quit as chief executive of the Felix Group, after differences over strategy emerged between him and chairman, Richard Rose.

Now, the future of the company he founded back in the late 1990s hangs in the balance after a statement to the stock market by Mr Rose he had begun a `detailed review of the viability of the group's business model' sparked a major sell-off of the its shares.

The stock tumbled 80 per cent and shares in the Rostherne-based group were suspended last week. At the same time it was announced Mr Egan was stepping down.

Sources said there had been a `difference in view' between Mr Rose, who had recently taken on an executive role, and Mr Egan over the group's future and viability of its leading product, Max Box.

It is a retail kiosk with cashpoint, digital photo processing, gaming and shopping functions, such as ordering flowers.

Mr Egan believed Max Box was going to be an international hit because, until its launch, consumers had access to digital services such a photo processing and mobile-phone top-ups `but nobody had put it all in one box' and it offered retailers a `100,000 sq ft megastore from one square metre'. He even had his sights on cracking the North American market through licensing deals.

It was a concept the City and investors bought into - Mr Egan managed to secure private equity investment before Felix reversed into Chestn ut, a shell set up by serial AIM entrepreneur Michael Edelson. It floated in 2004 at 20p per share with a market value of £24.7m. Shares rocketed to more than 70p, but later nose-dived to around 4p. Mr Egan has said the major fall, which wiped £50m of the company in one day, came when it announced that a working partnership with Alliance & Leicester had lapsed, which he claims was misinterpreted by the institutional investors as collapsed.

Bouyed

The stock recovered slightly - buoyed by announcements that retailers were trialling the Max Box.

In June of this year, it announced Odeon Cinemas was trialling it in 19 venues, with a view to rolling out nationally.

In October, it issued an upbeat statement announcing a deal with T-Mobile to trial Max Box in 18 stores, while Mr Egan's dream of breaking into the US market seemed closer when it secured a licensing agreement with US group Kiosk Information Systems. The granted it the right to install Felix software on its own kiosks worldwide. The group also signed a licensing deal with ABK Group, which provides leased laptops to university students and staff. A PC version of the Max Box was to be incorporated into 1,600 laptops.

At the time, the group acknowledged the deployment of kiosks into shops had been slower that anticipated, 120 had been installed by October 2007, but after raising £4.15m in funding, it had started to generate more income. In the year to May 31, turnover was only £81,000 with pre-tax losses of £5.4m.

However Mr Rose seemingly does not share Mr Egan's faith in the long term viability of Max Box and said: "We have been placing trial kiosks with various high street multiples in order that both parties may evaluate the commercial returns.

"We have also been enhancing and adding applications to the portfolio of Max Boxes already established with the objective of achieving a near-term break-even position.

"The results of these initiatives have been disappointing, particularly when the cost and time of providing central support and marketing is taken into account."

Mr Rose has asked KPMG to carry out a review of the business model, and it is hoped it will be completed this week.

Mr Egan began his career as a stuntman after being persuaded by a BBC camera crew to ditch his canoe and go down a white water river on a lilo

During the 1980s, he worked on the Noel Edmonds Late Late Breakfast Show. When he lost part of his hand in a firework accident, he decided to move into promotions and set up Sky High Promotions. The business was behind a number of high-profile initiatives including the BT and BP share launches.However, in 1999 he came up with a plan to cash in on the new premium phoneline phenomenon and developed a game called Everyone's a Winner.

It was a simple concept where callers paid £4.50 for a 90-second phone call but were guaranteed to win a prize worth double the cost of the call. Andy then went to games maker Sega and asked them to design a kiosk version of Everyone's a Winner. The kiosk was launched in partnership with the Laurel Pub Company, operator of the Hogshead brand, in June 2004, and a year later the group expanded its products to include digital photo printing and mobile top-ups, and the Max Box was launched. But Max Box has so far failed to set the world alight, users says it is too slow, while others believe the concept was flawed, asking why would people want to take a trip to a cinema or into town to order flowers or download ringtones when they can do it over the web from their homes

Some now believe the Max Box itself will be scrapped and the company will focus on its selling its software through licensing deals.

However others were more scathing. Nigel Mills, director at WH Ireland, says the best outcome the group can hope for it is that someone uses it as a shell to reverse into.

He says: "However, there are plenty of shell companies knocking around that are clean as opposed to inheriting people's rubbish. Felix is the Latin word for lucky - but it looks like its luck has run finally run out."

In-store online internet kiosks for Boots retailer

High street retailer Boots is using Amatica’s kiosk expertise and services to pilot in-store internet kiosks, enabling access to the retailers website www.boots.com. The Boots self-service kiosks were launched this month.

The scheme to offer customers in-store internet access is being piloted in two of the retailer’s town centre outlets in Kingston-upon-Thames and Oxford. A Boots branded four seat self-service internet café in each store provides customers with an alternative method of in-store shopping, enabling them to view and purchase a wide range of items from the boots.com website.

Amatica is providing self-service kiosk applications design, integration and configuration consultancy to Boots as well as secure browser software to ensure the security of the PC and network infrastructure from misuse and malicious interference. Amatica is working closely with Boots’ business consultancy and IT suppliers Xansa and IBM.

Part of Amatica’s contract involves the provision of specialist kiosk software SiteKiosk which has facilities to brand the internet browser environment with Boots corporate livery, promote secure kiosk PCs and limit internet access to permitted websites. In addition, SiteKiosk captures usage statistics for analysis.

Amatica has over 10 years experience of self-service kiosk projects, providing its specialist services to retail, national health and local government organisations.

For further information contact:
Mark Sampey, Business Relationship Manager
Telephone: 0151 650 6991
Email: [email protected]

Bad Business Practices Result in Jail

Legal news: US Attorney charges six with BizOp scams. Prepaid debit cards, DVD Rental and internet KIosks were the products being offered. Some of the more notable are Pantheon and Transnet. And no surprise they were all based in Florida.

LawFuel - The Law News Network

US Attorney Reports Six Defendants Charged With 'Business Opportunity' Scam

LAWFUEL - The Legal Newswire - R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, announced that six defendants were charged today for their participation in various fraudulent business opportunity schemes. The charges form part of the government’s continued crackdown on business opportunity fraud in South Florida.

Five different business opportunity schemes are the targets of these criminal prosecutions. Enticed by the promise of a “turnkey business,” over 2,300 consumers nationwide lost over $62 million in purchasing these fraudulent business opportunities.

A summary of the six prosecutions announced follows:

U.S. v. Shevin Goodman, Case No. 07-20871-CR-Seitz; U.S. v. Cary Krugly, Case No. 07-20868-CR-King.

Shevin Goodman and Cary Krugly were each charged by Information for their involvement in Debit Corporation of America, Inc. (“DCA”), a Miami corporation that sold business opportunities from approximately January 2003 to January 2004. Goodman was charged with one count of criminal contempt of court under Title 18, United States Code, Section 401, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. Krugly was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Goodman was an organizer and leader of DCA, while Krugly participated in the scheme and served as an undisclosed owner.

According to the charges, DCA purported to sell prepaid MasterCard® sales systems, along with assistance in establishing, maintaining, and operating a prepaid MasterCard® business. For a purchase price of roughly $15,000, potential DCA purchasers were told that they would receive three “Debit Card Sales Systems,” plus assistance operating a prepaid debit card business opportunity. According to DCA, a business opportunity purchaser would earn substantial profits from the commissions generated when members of the public purchased prepaid debit cards from the distributor’s display racks.

The criminal contempt charge against Goodman is based on his violation of an order entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in May 2002, in a consumer fraud civil case filed by the Federal Trade Commission. The order banned Goodman from participating in the sale of business opportunities.

These defendants and others fraudulently induced over four hundred consumers to invest more than $6 million in DCA business opportunities.

If convicted, Goodman faces a maximum statutory term of up to life imprisonment, a possible fine, and mandatory restitution on the criminal contempt count. Goodman and Krugly face a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of five years on the mail fraud conspiracy count, a possible fine, and mandatory restitution.

U.S. v. Paul Stephen Pemberton, Case No. 07-60264-CR-Cohn.

Paul Pemberton was charged by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Pemberton was an organizer and leader of TransNet Wireless Corp., a Florida corporation which became operational in about June 2004. TransNet’s principal place of business was located in Plantation, Florida.

According to the Information, TransNet purported to sell Internet kiosks, along with assistance in establishing, maintaining, and operating an Internet kiosk business. For a purchase price of roughly $14,000, potential TransNet purchasers were told that they would receive an Internet kiosk/“wi-fi” base station, plus assistance operating the business opportunity. According to TransNet, a business opportunity purchaser would earn substantial profits from the commissions generated when members of the public used the purchasers’ Internet kiosk and from national advertisements placed on the kiosks once a certain base number of units were in operation.

Pemberton and his co-conspirators fraudulently induced over 800 consumers to invest in excess of $18 million in TransNet business opportunities.

If convicted, Pemberton faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of twenty years, a fine, and mandatory restitution.

U.S. v. Brian D. Gordon, Case No. 07-20867-CR-Zloch.

Brian D. Gordon was charged by Information with two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Gordon was engaged in the practice of certified public accounting and was the president and sole employee of Brian D. Gordon, CPA, PA. Gordon operated the CPA firm in North Miami, Florida, and in Hialeah, Florida.

Gordon was in the business of providing business opportunity companies with false financial statements. He placed independent auditor’s opinion letters in front of certain false financial statements stating that the Gordon CPA Firm had performed an audit. In such opinion letters, Gordon attested to the fairness of the accompanying financial statement. With Gordon’s knowledge, the business opportunity company then provided the false financial statement and independent auditor’s opinion letter to prospective customers.

The firms for which Gordon provided false financial statements and opinion letters included Pantheon Holdings, Inc., of Miami, Florida, and American Entertainment Distributors, Inc. (“AED”), of Hollywood, Florida. Pantheon fraudulently sold Internet kiosk business opportunities to the public, and AED fraudulently sold DVD rental machine business opportunities to the public. To date, twelve other individuals have been convicted in connection with their participation in Pantheon. Eleven other individuals have been convicted in connection with their participation in AED.

Gordon’s false financial statements and opinion letters provided Pantheon and AED with an aura of legitimacy and helped convince potential purchasers to rely on the accuracy of its financial statements. Pantheon fraudulently induced more than 700 consumers to invest more than $18 million in Internet kiosk business opportunities, and AED fraudulently induced more than 400 consumers to invest nearly $20 million in DVD rental business opportunities.

If convicted, Gordon faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of twenty years, a possible fine, and mandatory restitution, on each of the two counts.

U.S. v. Michael DeAngelis, Case No. 07-20870-CR-Martinez.

Michael DeAngel is was charged by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, in connection with Pantheon Holdings, Inc.

Pantheon purported to sell Internet kiosks, along with assistance in establishing, maintaining, and operating an Internet kiosk business. DeAngelis and his co-conspirators told business opportunity purchasers that they would earn substantial profits when members of the public used the kiosk to access the Internet for a fee, and from revenue generated by advertisements that Pantheon would place on the kiosks.

Pantheon salespeople provided potential purchasers with the names of references, including DeAngelis, who falsely claimed to have purchased and had success operating Pantheon kiosks and who vouched for the support and assistance that Pantheon provided.

If convicted, DeAngelis faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of twenty years on the mail fraud conspiracy count, a fine, and mandatory restitution.

U.S. v. Martin Hudson, Case No. 07-20869-CR-Cohn.

Martin Hudson was charged by Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, in connection with Tel2Net Corp., a Florida corporation incorporated in or around December 2003. Tel2Net’s principal place of business was in Miami, Florida.

Tel2Net engaged in the sale of Internet kiosk business opportunities. For a minimum purchase price of approximately $12,000, potential purchasers were told they would receive an Internet kiosk and assistance in running an Internet kiosk business. Potential purchasers were told that after being placed in various locations, members of the public would pay a fee to access the Internet, use a WiFi “hotspot,” send electronic greeting cards, and take advantage of other services the kiosk supplied. According to Tel 2 Net, a business opportunity purchaser, known as a “distributor,” would earn substantial profits from the fees generated when members of the public used the distributor’s kiosks.

Martin Hudson, doing business as CPL Locating Services, Inc., (“CPL Locating”) was a so-called “outside locator” hired to find locations for Tel 2 Net business opportunity purchasers to place their Internet kiosks. Tel 2 Net salespeople told potential purchasers to contact Hudson, who would describe the services CPL Locating would provide. Upon receiving calls from potential purchasers, Martin Hudson falsely stated that he had gone through the area where the potential purchasers were located before Tel 2 Net had advertised the business opportunity in that area. He stated that he had randomly selected business locations and spoke to them about the potential for placing Tel 2 Net kiosks in their locations. He falsely stated that he had a database of many locations ready to accept kiosks in the potential purchaser’s geographic area. He further falsely stated that kiosks would be placed in high-traffic, high profit locations.

Tel 2 Net fraudulently induced more than 80 consumers to invest more than $1 million in the kiosk opportunity. To date, four other individuals have been convicted in connection with their participation in Tel2Net.

If convicted, Hudson faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of five years on the mail fraud conspiracy count, a fine, and mandatory restitution.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Postal Inspection Service. These cases are being prosecuted by Jill Furman, Marietta Geckos, Richard Goldberg, and Joel Schwartz, Trial Attorneys, United States Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Litigation.

Kiosk Mode with Mozilla and Firefox

Nice writeup on kiosk mode requiring cross-platform support using latest Firefox. Open Kiosk Port to Firefox 2.

Mozdev Group, Inc. : www: /clients/bm/index

Client Profile - Brooklyn Museum

** NEW - Open Kiosk Port to Firefox 2 **

Firefox v,2.0

* Install For Firefox Now! [ June 29, 2007] (Powered by jsLib)

** Administrators: please read the Install as Admin Instructions before installation if you wish to install the Kiosk and run as a limited user. **

Mozilla v,1.7.13

** Please read the INSTRUCTIONS before installation. **

* Install Now! [ April 04, 2007] (Powered by jsLib)

About Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum Logo The Brooklyn Museum is the second largest art museum in New York City and one of the largest in the United States. One of the premier art institutions in the world, its permanent collection includes more than one and a half million objects, from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art, and represents almost every culture. It is housed in a 560,000 square foot, Beaux-Arts building that welcomes approximately half a million visitors each year. Located in Central Brooklyn, a half-hour from midtown Manhattan with its own subway stop, the Museum is set on Eastern Parkway and one block from Grand Army Plaza in a complex of 19th-century parks and gardens that also contains Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Wildlife Center.
The Task

Our task was to deliver a customized Mozilla browser for a Kiosk, basically a full-screen, locked-down, browser with access to settings disabled. The Kiosk browser would be initially deployed on the Windows platform, but the code had to be as cross-platform as possible for easy porting to other platforms. An XPI package installer would be the preferred distribution option, but a custom Mozilla distribution would be acceptable if necessary.
Kiosk in full screen mode
Figure 1 : Kiosk in full screen mode
The Result

It became clear early on in the project that a custom Mozilla distribution would not be necessary. The browser code base is flexible and powerful enough to be able to build your own fully customised browser using XPFE tools. Thus an XPI package is a much more flexible option for the client, enabling it to be installed on multiple stations in a faster time.

The primary feature of any Kiosk is that the application has to be locked down. Firstly, that there is no access to the operating system and other applications, and secondly that the user can not change any of the browser settings. The former is largely taken care of in this project by the fact that the keyboards in place at the museum do not have the standard keys for moving around on the system. This includes the Tab, Ctrl and Shift keys. So the main development challenge was to remove access to all browser settings, which was achieved with a fully customized user-interface.
Features

Here are just some of the features included in the Museum Kiosk.
Full Screen

The browser has a full-screen mode, without a title bar and mimimize/close icons. This is a staple of any Kiosk environment. There is an option to have true full-screen mode with no UI visible. The advantage of this is that it provides a maximized content vieiwing area and less distraction for users. There is also an option to include a toolbar and/or statusbar in the UI to make available certain functionality, such as navigation (see section - Customizable User-interface)
Administration Settings Dialog

This is a secure, password protected window that the Kiosk administrator launches from the command line to set up the Kiosk browser for a particular station. The settings persist across sessions, and are available to all users logged into the system. A per-system settings system was the preferred option here, as opposed to per-user, to minimize the setup time needed. Features include the setting of the home page, turning on/off tabbed browsing, choosing filters and timers for resetting the station after a period of inactivity.
Customizable User-interface
UI Customization Options
Figure 2 : UI Customization Options

Figure 2 illustrates the UI customization options available to the Kiosk Admin. The radio option offers a choice to show widgets, or hide them which gives you true full-screen mode. If you choose to show, then there are futher options via a list where you can choose which buttons and other items appear. These settings are sticky across sessions until changed by the Kiosk administrator.
Content Filtering

One of the main purposes of many Kiosk environments is to display content on a particular topic or a certain group of topics. Here we had to accommodate this in a Web context, and the best way to achieve it is with a content filter. This takes the form of a flat text file on the filesystem, which has entries in the form of URLs. When this feature is enabled, the list is read by the software, and any time the user tries to access a site not in the list, the request is denied and they are informed with a status message. The filter has 2 modes. STRICT only allows an exact match on a URL. ALL is the second mode, and requires a little more explanation. In ALL mode, the browser will load any page that is in the domain of a particular URL (*.brooklynmuseum.org), or sub-area of a site (www.mozdev.org/docs/).
JavaScript Filtering

Complimentary to the content filter is a special request for turning JavaScript ON/OFF on a per site basis. When enabled, each request loaded into the browser will pass through the filter (a similar URL filter to the content one), and if there is not a match the request will still load but JavaScript will be turned off. No script will execute on that page, including onload handlers, onclick events and DHTML.
Command-line Handling

The Kiosk comes packaged with various command line options including:

* mozilla -kiosk : Launch the Kiosk in full screen mode
* mozilla -kiosk mode=title : Launch the Kiosk with a titlebar
* mozilla -kiosk about : Launch the About window
* mozilla -kiosk admin : Launch the Admin Settings window

Session Reset

Session Reset Alert The functionality is available to reset the Kiosk session, either via a button accessible to users, or an automatic timer which kicks in after a certain period of inactivity. What does resetting the session mean? What happens is that the browser returns to the homepage, cookies set during the session are deleted, memory cache is cleared (disk cache is always off), and the session history is deleted. Essentially, any trace of a previous session is eliminated. The option to turn on the reset timer, and the period in minutes before it does, are both available to be configured.

About Window

The Kiosk is by design almost free of branding, yet there are 2 options for identification. An optional banner above the toolbar, and an About window. The About window gives versioning and build information that is valuable for feature tracking and updates.

New Case Studies Released

Five new case studies released including Amtrak, SITA CUSS, ISI Gaming, Army Internet Gaming, and Vanguard Car Rental check-in.

Case studies published by KIOSK in Colorado and links are here:

• Amtrak Self-Service Ticketing Kiosk
  
• CUSS SITA Self-service airline check-in kiosk
  
• ISI Sports Book Betting Kiosk
  
• Internet Game Kiosk for U.S. Army
  
• Self-service Check-in Kiosk for Car Rental with Alamo and National
  

Airport Internet Gaming Station kiosks

Passengers with idle time to kill at Denver International Airport can now play one of roughly 19 computer games at individual stations located throughout the concourses.

Story on Rocky Mountain News

Traveling video game junkies, rejoice.

Passengers with idle time to kill at Denver International Airport can now play one of roughly 19 computer games at individual stations located throughout the concourses.

Two companies have partnered to replace the "Shibby" Internet kiosks at DIA with new systems featuring 23-inch screens, enhanced graphics cards, sound systems and super-fast online connections, not to mention enclosed booths for privacy.

Users can play the games on their own or against others online, or they can simply access the Internet. The services cost 25 cents per minute.

The booths have been installed on all three concourses and will debut in the main terminal by July.

Zoox Stations and RMES Communications are behind the move.

"The single ingredient needed to make this machine a gamer magnet is idle time," Rick Malone, president of Zoox Stations and its parent, Kiosk Information Systems, said in a release. "Our development team has included the highest caliber gaming technology and a full complement of industry leading title options that appeal to even the most sophisticated gamer."

The new gaming and Internet stations give passengers another entertainment option during long connections or extended delays.

"Anytime you can help people pass the time or provide new services, it's a good thing," said DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon.

KIOSKS Case Study -- WoW and Halo gaming at the Airport

News story on Colorado television station on new kiosk mpog game stations installed at Denver International Airport. Nice video of the kiosk units. Not your usual units as they have large 26 and 22 inch LCD screens and are housed in a payphone type private sitdown. Users can check their favorite portal like MySpace or YouTube or they can log on and play high end games like World of Warcraft, Battlefield, or any number of Steam/Valve. Here's the link to the video. The units are the Zazoox units and their website is here.

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repeat -- News story on Colorado television station on new kiosk mpog game stations installed at Denver International Airport. Nice video of the kiosk units. Not your usual units as they have large 26 and 22 inch LCD screens and are housed in a payphone type private sitdown. Users can check their favorite portal like MySpace or YouTube or they can log on and play high end games like World of Warcraft, Battlefield, or any number of Steam/Valve. Here's the link to the video. The units are the Zazoox units and their website is here.

KIOSKS Case Study -- Internet surfing in public and porn adult sites

You have to be careful with internet kiosk and also those lockdowns. Here is example of internet kiosk off High Street outside Sainsburys that is very public and apparently can still be used to display material not suitable for public.

Outrage over High Street's free porn
FREE internet access in Littlehampton town centre has been suspended after a man was caught looking at pornographic images.
Shocked staff from nearby shops spotted the man surfing for porn sites for up to two hours at a time, using the iTravel internet kiosk in the pedestrian precinct, just yards from a police CCTV security camera.

The kiosk, outside Sainsbury's, was installed in May, 2005, and has an average of 1,600 users a month searching for train times, local weather reports and maps or using the free e-mail facility.

But the man seen surfing last week was searching for something quite different.

Shop assistants became aware that he was spending an increasing amount of time at the kiosk, and he was reported over the town's Shopwatch radio network after pornographic images were seen on the screen.

Arun District Council and West Sussex County Council were told and the kiosk's provider, Cityspace, was alerted.

Sue Perkins, chairman of Shopwatch, said: "I think it's terrible. It's not right for someone to do such a thing and I'm really pleased that our system picked up on it.

"I am concerned for the children in the town and what could have happened. It's a shame that it didn't get reported to the police as perhaps then they could have caught the man."

Since Cityspace was alerted, all nine of the company's kiosks in West Sussex, including ones in Worthing, Shoreham, Bognor and Horsham have had their internet search facility suspended.

But the kiosk in Littlehampton, which is overlooked by a town centre CCTV camera, was not the first to have been used in this way.

Sophia Henri, spokeswoman for Cityspace, said the company has nearly 500 kiosks around the UK and that the first such problem was in Horsham in February. Since then only the Littlehampton kiosk had also been used in a similar way.

She said that the usual security protection in the machines to stop unsuitable websites being accessed, Surf Control, had done a good job but access to "innocuous sites" with no clear pornographic links, but still containing pornographic images, had been proved still possible.

"Nothing is 100 per cent safe when you are dealing with the internet," she said, "This is a council service providing something for the public that has never been tampered with in this way before and it's not something that Cityspace will tolerate.

"The web search service has been suspended on all our nine machines in West Sussex and will not be reinstated until the problem is solved.

"The Surf Control security software we use on the machines has always been in place and its job has been pretty robust. It's a controlled walled garden.

"All our machines are managed and monitored by us and the hardware is kept clean and graffiti-free.

"It's a shame because the websearch is a useful service to people who don't have internet access at home and are looking for information or shopping. That is what it is there for."

Sgt Sharon Parker of Littlehampton police said they had received no reports from the public about the man and that provided the websites accessed were legal, the only crime that could have been committed was a public order offence of causing distress to people walking past.

A spokesman for the county council, which pays for the terminals, said: "We regret if people have been seen managing to view images on the terminals that were considered offensive.

"We have acted quickly with Cityspace and, as a result, have removed the facility that provides internet access despite the fact that there were strict filters in place. This will be for the foreseeable future, and involves all nine terminals.

"The journey planner and timetable information, which is the main function of the terminals and is extremely popular, remains in full use. People will also still be able to access the BBC's website and a jobs search facility, but no other websites will be available."
15 March 2007

News - Littlehampton Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More

Casestudy - Payphone Internet Kiosks and BT

It took four years but the BT internet kiosks in U.K. seem to have taken the next step (backwards). The expense ($$$$) was very high and then the unit which replaced payphones really tried to do too much given its screen size and connections. It only needed to make £10 a day break even/make money but it didn't do that. the small screen size was definiely limiting for the media it was supposed to present. Right content but the wrong lens.

Now they are putting payphones back in to replace them and given their mandate to provide services to all communities they are probably doing that in part because they have to (additional cost to them to punctuate the experience).

Years ago this deployment (when announced for 20,000 installations to come) was widely hailed as the pre-eminent example. The "slow drip" of reality finally caught up to it. Now it will be a reverse example. Lesson is not to jump on the bandwagon too quickly. It happens more than not. It spawned a crop of new pundits and champions back then much like the DVD vending box is spawning today.

360 000 Internet Phone Kiosks To Be Scrapped (from The Bolton News)

INTERNET telephone kiosks in Bolton, installed at a cost of £360,000 just three years ago, are to be ripped out - because hardly anybody uses them.

The 42 kiosks, subsidised by the council, were hailed as innovative and ground-breaking when they were introduced across the borough three years ago.

But now BT engineers are to replace them with standard pay phones.
Advertisement continued...

Bolton Council used a European grant to pay BT £360,000 to set up the 42 kiosks in a pilot scheme that began in December, 2003.

It was the first of its kind in the country.

But from a high of 56,803 web hits - individual internet sites visited - in February 2004, the figure fell to just 7,048 in August 2006.

Cllr Ebrahim Adia, Bolton Council's executive member for development, said: "This seems to be part of a national trend.

"It could be that more people now have access to the web at home and at work."

Each of the the 42 internet phone kiosks has a computer screen and keyboard for accessing the web.

Access to public sector websites is free, but for using other sites the charges are 10p minute with a 50p minimum charge. It costs an extra 20p to send an email.

Under the pilot scheme, a further nine internet points were provided in Bolton At Home offices and two in the Town Hall One Stop Shop.

The scheme began successfully. It was nominated for national and industry awards and similar schemes were introduced across the country.

But then use of the kiosks began to decline.

The least used kiosk, at St John's Road, Chew Moor, has averaged only 20 minutes of internet use per month since it was installed in January, 2004.

Even the most popular, at the Town Hall, has attracted little more than six hours of use per month on average.

The council had the option this month of renewing its contract with BT for a fee of £2,000-a-year for two years.

But the decision was taken out of its hands when BT decided to remove internet facilities from all of its on-street kiosks throughout the country.

Work will start in March on changing the kiosks in Bolton.

A council report said: "The kiosk project was regarded as innovative and ground-breaking when it was introduced.

"But even though this was only some three years ago, such is the pace of technological change that in a very short space of time, they have become redundant in their present format."

BT says it will continue to support the internet facilities at the town hall and in Bolton At Home offices until at least the summer of 2008.

The council says it will develop alternative facilities and will use the money saved to further develop its website.

A BT spokesman said: "We can confirm that following a strategic review that highlighted the decline in usage, BT will be removing its base of public internet kiosks and replacing them with normal payphones."

Interesting Outdoor Goverment Kiosk

Public Access Kiosks in Aberdeen by an organisation called 'Public Dataweb'. These units are outdoor and have an umbrella above them. Statistics on usage by the people are also pretty interesting as Entertainment and Sports dominates the usage with things like Email barely being used. The units also provide wireless WiFi download to mobiles.

The Umbrella Kiosk 2006

First introduced in April 2006 in the city centre streets of Aberdeen Scotland.

The 'i' Kiosks have dual operational viewing screens.

They generate a Wireless / WiFi service

Provide all the Public DataWeb multiple content service's.

Plus Video Email and VOIP/SKYPE Freephone telephony

A Verbot / Avatar assists and can also read out messages.

One major factor in collecting usage statistics over many years shows that when we introduced the Umbrella kiosk design usage shot up! With far less kiosks the usage on our new street kiosks rapidly exceeded the other designs. We believe this is due entirely to the open access design.

Public DataWeb usage statistics are collated and analyzed regularly.

The chart shows a typical month from a small random selection of kiosks.

The hit rates are very reasonable and are typical of the usage on the service over the past 3 years. The previous 18 months were much more erratic. This shows that access has settled down and a pattern of use has emerged, with reasonable access to council services and other citizen government facing options keeping pace with obvious top selections like entertainment, news and sport.

The statistics break down: usage by context/categories.

Importantly the usage hits are further automatically analyzed by our unique statistics profiler that generates the variable of hits that are associated with finding the exact need of the user.

Percentage of navigation against finding requirements:-

It is important to know the need itself is being satisfied e.g. for example, typically for job vacancies a person searches first by location or job category then a list of available vacancies, the links selected before reaching the target and actually finding jobs are in a percentage amount of the total links. People want the jobs not the links and probably other systems count these links as hits, they are not. The statistics show users are consistently reaching over 70% of their target need; thus the system is engaging them and providing rapid demonstrable access to their requirements.

Time in use: average time spent each session is 4.5 minutes.

Average time taken traversing links to exact need i.e. a job category is 5 seconds.

Notes; Percentage profiling also proves that genuine users are in the main as over 70% reach their choice whereas children or browsers will be mainly collected within the links rather than the results.

Weather plays a role in usage winter months and holiday periods reduce access.

In the evening the top shelter structure becomes illuminated.

The design maximises the visibility and the functionality.

It has increased usage dramatically.

Download file

Dataweb site

Sheffield Stats

Aberdeen

MMOG Valve and Activision Join Forces

The online mmog/mpog gaming channel just took a new turn. Activision signs a deal to now distribute Call of Duty and others online via the Steam/Valve channel. Last year Valve had a deal with EA but that seems to have gone by the wayside with this new agreement with EA's arch competitor. To rub it in a bit, Ubisoft is also now distributing as part of the Valve channel. Significance -- online games are one of the new channels being monetized on pay-for-use self-service terminals such as zazoox.

Activision unscrews Valve
[UPDATE] Publisher to release Gun, Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, and Call of Duty: United Offensive on popular download service; all but one will be $20.
By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Oct 12, 2006 3:12 pm PT

Last year, Valve struck a deal with Electronic Arts to have the publisher distribute the retail copies of its popular shooter Half-Life 2 and its sequels. Today, the Washington-based developer announced it is doing a deal with EA's archrival, California-based publisher Activision.

The agreement will see five titles from Activision's PC catalog be made available on Steam, Valve's popular download service. "Our agreement with Steam enhances our current online distribution model by allowing us to bring our games to the broadest possible audience," Activision senior director of business development Dave Anderson said in a statement. "As broadband penetration continues to grow worldwide, offering our titles digitally to the millions of gamers connected through Steam makes sense to us."

[UPDATE] Three Activision games offered on steam will be from the wildly popular Call of Duty series, which is developed by the now-internal studio Infinity Ward. Call of Duty 2 ($39.95), Call of Duty ($19.95), and the Call of Duty: United Offensive expansion pack ($19.95) will all be made available, as will the Western shooter Gun ($19.95), which was developed by NeverSoft.

Whenever Valve does open the digital spigot on the four Activision games, they will join an increasing number of third-party titles available on Steam. This week, Majesco's critical hit Psychonauts was made available on the service, and Ubisoft's Dark Messiah of Might & Magic will launch on the service later this month.

Alpha Firefox Kiosk Extension for Lockdown Released

Symbio Technologies' intern Jevin K. Ramjattan has contributed a new extension to the Firefox browser�a kiosk browser extension. Ideal for public access sites such as Internet cafes, libraries, and schools, the extension displays the browser in a locked down mode.

(I-Newswire) - New Rochelle, N.Y.�Symbio Technologies' intern Jevin K. Ramjattan has contributed a new extension to the Firefox browser�a kiosk browser extension. Ideal for public access sites such as Internet cafes, libraries, and schools, the extension displays the browser in a locked down mode. By using the extension, administrators can now limit the end-users' activities and substantially reduce the threat of viruses to the network.

�Rather than add to Firefox, this extension takes away from it in the sense that it locks configurations in place,� said Ramjattan. �Simply download the extension from the Mozilla Update page, ( https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&category=Kiosk%20Browsing&numpg=10&id=954 ) install it, and you can ensure that your end-users will just browse the web, not save potentially damaging files or alter your configurations.� Among the three kiosk browsing extensions currently available for Firefox, Ramjattan's is the only one that locks the browser down.

Ramjattan created the kiosk browser as a project during his internship at Symbio Technologies. The company, which focuses on diskless thin client technology, is a lead developer for LTSP ( Linux Terminal Server Project ). Symbio Technologies has created an extensive internship program that encompasses students from surrounding educational institutions such as Monroe College ( http://www.monroecollege.edu ), the school that Ramjattan attends. In addition, the company has an ongoing internship program with Rennert Bilingual of New York ( http://www.rennert.com ) in which foreign students and working people can improve their English while learning more about American business practices.

�We are delighted with Jevin's contribution to the open source community,� said Gideon Romm, Symbio Technologies' chief technology officer. �His work is in perfect keeping with the ideals of the open source community, the goals of our company, and the spirit of our internship program.�

About Symbio Technologies
Symbio Technologies is an innovator in server-centric diskless thin client systems. Founded in 2002, it develops and markets client hardware and server software that enables network terminals ( diskless thin clients ) to connect to applications housed on servers running a wide variety of terminal protocols, including Windows Terminal Services, Citrix, Linux/Unix, and IBM 3270. The company's products are designed to reduce the costs and concerns of IT administration by eliminating PCs, the most troublesome and costly components of computer networks. Symbio Technologies markets to business, education, library, and government users through an international network of resellers in the U.S., Canada, Chile, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and the U.K.

###

Symbio Technologies
134 North Ave.
Suites E and F
New Rochelle, NY 10801
tel: 914-576-1205
email: [email protected]

i-Newswire.com - Press Release And News Distribution - Symbio Technologies' Intern Releases Firefox Kiosk Extension

Public Internet Kiosks performing public service

From CNN.com - Web kiosks to show missing kids

story link

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Public Internet kiosks are being used as modern-day milk cartons in an effort to find missing children.

SurferQuest, a Philipsburg, Pennsylvania-based supplier of about 1,000 computer kiosks throughout the United States, is donating screen space to disseminate photos and information provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The kiosks provide public access to the Internet for a fee at places such as hotels and cafes.

When a kiosk is unoccupied, pictures of missing children appear on the screen in space normally reserved for advertising. Passersby can request more information about a missing child or report a sighting without charge.

"It is really important to give a missing child as much exposure as we can after their abduction," said SurferQuest president Kathryn Koning, a mother of four.

One in six missing kids whose picture is advertised is eventually found, said D'Ann Taflin, spokeswoman for the missing children's organization.

"We know that pictures work," Taflin said.

Internet Kiosk Software for MacOS

wKiosk Browser is intended to allow kiosk owners to design their user interface without custom programming. According to the company, the software can be used to develop Internet kiosks, survey kiosks, database kiosks, directory kiosks, shopping cart kiosks and/or multimedia-rich promotional kiosk applications.

Internet Kiosk Software for Mac Upgraded

App4mac Software announced Thursday the release of wKiosk Browser 4.0, the company's interface solution for Macintosh-based Internet kiosks. The new version include several new features. App4mac also announced an update for wKiosk Remote Supervision to version 2.0.

wKiosk Browser is intended to allow kiosk owners to design their user interface without custom programming. According to the company, the software can be used to develop Internet kiosks, survey kiosks, database kiosks, directory kiosks, shopping cart kiosks and/or multimedia-rich promotional kiosk applications.

Version 4.0 includes the following improvements:

* Final version is available after one month of public beta versions
* Full support of the new Safari 2.0 engine
* New Tab management
* New Preferences management
* New PopUp management
* New URL Control management
* Support of wKiosk Remote Supervision 2 application
* Better reliability
* Better performance

You can find more information about the product at app4mac's Web site. Pricing for wKiosk Browser starts at US$69 for one license.

As its names suggests, wKiosk Remote Supervision is a tool designed to allow you to manage multiple kiosks from a remote location.

Version 2.0 has the following new features:

* New preferences management
* Abiility to take full control to a kiosk from any computer
* Support of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

wKiosk Remote Supervision is priced at $380 for a 10-client license. You can find more information at the company's Web site

Kiosk Lockdown with Linux and KDE

Step by step configuration of KDE desktop to lockdown the desktop in kiosk mode. Includes desktop, context menus, icons and setting up custom system wide desktop icons.

Kiosk mode lockdown admin tool for Linux is available for download.

Lock Down KDE with Kiosk Mode

Hack No. 43 in Linux Desktop Hacks.

System administrators typically spend a lot of their time fixing trivial problems for users who have accidently changed their settings in some way. When an inexperienced user moves a desktop icon into the wastebin or sets a mimetype to open with the wrong programme they may be unable to reset their changes. Calls to the system administrator for help are a poor use of everyone's time. It would be better if the user had never been able to make undesirable changes.

Perhaps you just want to set up a GNU/Linux desktop for your grandmother but she keeps changing the layout of the application toolbars without meaning to. The new look confuses her so much that she calls you all the time asking for help, or worse, she gives up on GNU/Linux or her computer. Wouldn't it be great if you could protect your grandmother from herself?

For computers in a public setting such as an internet cafe or library these problems turn into more than just timewasters, they can prevent others from using the machine or cause distress as with the common anecdote of a library where a scriptkiddy had changed the background wallpaper on all the machines to pornographic photos.
Enter the Kiosk

KDE is one of the most configurable desktop environments but KDE 3.2.3 added the Kiosk framework which allows for any or all of the configuration options to be marked as unchangeable. With Kiosk you can create profiles which are attached to users or groups of users. A profile can define any KDE setting but will usually include the contents of the desktop, panel and k-menus as well as the look of the wallpaper, default fonts and widget style. You can also specify important system settings such as the network proxy and file associations. Most importantly all of these options can be set to be unchangeable by the user. This means grandma will never accidentally delete her web browser icon, and a bored teenager can't change the library's computer wallpaper to something that will give grandma a heard attack.

The easiest way to setup a Kiosk profile is to use the Kiosk Admin Tool. Some distributions include this by default, for others you can download the source from its website at http://extragear.kde.org/apps/kiosktool.php.

Start the Kiosk tool (as your normal user, there's no need to run as root) by selecting K-menu -> System -> Kiosk Admin Tool, or with the kiosktool command, and click Add New Profile. Give this profile a name such as 'locked-down' and click OK to save. You will be asked for your root password to save the new profile. Now click Manage Users and add a user policy to link a user to your new locked-down profile. It is also possible to link a whole group to the policy, you can see and change which users are in which groups by looking at the file /etc/group.

To configure a profile, select it in the list and click Next. The next screen presents numerous moules, each witrh specific configuration options in it. Ticking an option will lock down its corresponding feature. The settings will be saved when you click Back.

Some of the modules offer graphical setup for their settings. For example under the Desktop Icons module you can load a temporary desktop to replace your normal one. Switch to a different virtual desktop (Ctrl-F2) if you have windows covering your background. You can add, remove and move any of the icons on the temporary desktop. When you click Save in Kiosk Admin Tool, the settings for this desktop will be saved and your normal desktop will be loaded again. This makes configuring the setup for your Kiosk profile as easy as configuring your own desktop.

A general breakdown of the types of settings you will find in the most important modules follows:

General
Contains the settings that control the global properties for al KDE programs and inclues the ability to run commands, log out or move toolbars. Disabling Konsole removes not onlt its entry from the K-menu, but also the embedded Konsoles in Konqueror and Kate. Desktop Icons
Settings to prevent users from moving or deleting desktop icons. KDE Menu
Controls which programs are available in the K-Menu Themeing
Prevents users from changing the widget style, colour or font settings. Konqueror
Stops the user from being able to browse outside their home directory. Menu Actions
Turns off standard menu actions such as open, print, paste, settings etc from all KDE applications. File Associations
Ensures that files can be opened only with the specified programs Network Proxy
Enforces the use of your web proxy. Uses a web proxy to restrict which web sites a user can browse. Panel
Used to lock down the panel, prevents users from adding or removing the items you place here, and enables you to prevent context menus from working

The Kiosk framework has been used in large enterprise deployments of KDE. Administrators report that is cuts their time taken up by user support by half, because it reduces the number of small but time consuming problems users have.

If you are considering using Kiosk in a public setting you may want to make yourself familiar with the KDE configuration file format. Browse through /etc/kde-profile to see the setting made by the Kiosk Admin Tool. Adding [$i] to a configration option, group of options or file makes them unchangeable by users.

Kiosk is not a substitute for using Unix filesystem permissions or other security settings. You should also make sure you set X to not be killable with control-alt-backspace and prevent users from changing to a text console. Finally make sure the login manager does not allow users to log in to any other desktop environment which has not been locked down.

Copyleft Jonathan Riddell 2004

Links

• Download Kiosk Admin Tool
  
• Read more
  
• Article First Noted
  

Internet Kiosk and Ponzi

FTC Charges Marketers of �Internet Kiosk� Business Opportunity with Using Bogus Sales Tactics

FTC Charges Marketers of “Internet Kiosk” Business Opportunity with Using Bogus Sales Tactics

The Federal Trade Commission has charged two groups of California-based defendants working together with duping hundreds of consumers into buying �Internet kiosk� business opportunities with promises of lucrative earnings. The FTC alleges that the defendants misrepresented the earnings potential of the business opportunity and misrepresented the availability and/or the profitability of locations for the machines. One group of defendants has agreed to settle the charges and is barred from selling any business venture or franchise in the future. As part of the settlement, these defendants agreed to withdraw all claims they have to more than $1.5 million that the FBI seized from their bank accounts. The case against the other set of defendants is ongoing; the FTC is asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order to halt their illegal conduct and to freeze their assets.

The FTC filed separate complaints against Edward Bevilacqua, Bikini Vending Corp., 360 Wireless Corp., and MyMart, Inc. (collectively the �Bevilacqua Entities�), who have agreed to settle FTC charges; and Charles Castro, Elizabeth Castro, Gregory High, Phillis Watson, Network Services Depot, Inc., Network Marketing, LLC, doing business as Network Services Marketing, LLC, Net Depot, Inc., Network Services Distribution, Inc., and Sunbelt Marketing, Inc. (collectively the �Castro Entities�). The �Bevilacqua Entities� are located in Escondido, California, and the �Castro Entities� are located in Brea, California.

According to the FTC, the defendants sold �Internet kiosk� business opportunities to consumers nationwide. Consumers learned about the business opportunity through telephone, mail, or in-person solicitations from local insurance agents and financial planners the defendants recruited and trained as sales agents. Using promotional materials received from the defendants, the sales agents promised consumers secured profitable locations, a guaranteed monthly income

generated by the kiosk usage, and annual returns of 12 percent or more. The free-standing kiosks housed a computer and a mechanism to accept payments. The Internet kiosks were designed to allow the public to access the Internet, for a fee, from locations such as hotels, bowling alleys, restaurants, casinos, and convenience stores. According to the FTC, more than 450 consumers purchased thousands of kiosks.

Using an interrelated series of agreements, the Castro Entities sold the Internet kiosks to consumers at prices ranging from $4,000 to $7,000 per unit, and the Bevilacqua Entities agreed to install the kiosks in a designated location and manage and service the kiosks. After entering into these agreements, consumers believed that they owned the Internet kiosk business opportunities at the designated locations and that the businesses would be managed by the Bevilacqua Entities.

The FTC alleged that the venture was like a Ponzi scam since some purchasers received monthly payments not from the revenue generated by the kiosk usage, but paid to the first purchasers by using the initial payments from new purchasers, leaving the majority of buyers holding worthless interests in nonexistent kiosks.

The FTC�s complaints charge the defendants with violating the FTC Act by falsely representing that:

* consumers would acquire ownership of an Internet kiosk business opportunity;

* consumers would receive monthly payments from revenue generated by their Internet kiosks;

* consumers would earn substantial income; and

* the defendants would find profitable locations for consumers� Internet kiosks.

The complaints also charge that the defendants knowingly provided deceptive promotional materials to independent sales agents, causing those agents to mislead consumers. In addition, the complaints allege that the defendants violated the Franchise Rule by failing to provide consumers with the required disclosure document, which contains 20 categories of information required by the Rule; failing to have a reasonable basis for their earnings claims; and failing to provide consumers with documents substantiating those claims.

The settlement announced today permanently bars the Bevilacqua entities from promoting or selling any business venture or franchise, and from profiting from any sales of those ventures by other entities. The settlement also bars the defendants from making deceptive or misleading claims about any product, and from knowingly providing third parties with deceptive information for the purposes of marketing a product or service. The order also prohibits the defendants from sharing any customer lists. In addition, the order contains a total judgment of $18 million, suspended due to Mr. Bevilacqua�s inability to pay, which will become due if it is found that he misrepresented his financial situation.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the complaint and the stipulated final order
against the Bevilacqua entities, and to file a complaint against the Castro entities was 5-0. The complaints and the stipulated final order were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on April 5, 2005.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has �reason to believe� that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have actually violated the law. The case will be decided by the court.

NOTE: A stipulated final order is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the defendants of a law violation. A stipulated final order requires approval by the court and has the force of law when signed by the judge.

Copies of the complaints and the stipulated final order are available from the FTC�s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC�s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Brenda Mack
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2182

STAFF CONTACT:

Lisa Rosenthal or Kerry O�Brien
FTC�s Western Region - San Francisco
415-848-5100

(Bikini Vending - FTC File No. 042-3189; Civil Action No. CVS 050439 LDGRJJ)
(Network Services - FTC File No. 042-3188; Civil Action No. CVS 050440 LDGLRL)

(http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/04/bikinivend.htm)

Internet Cafes & China

China Shuts Down 1,600 Internet Cafes

By Associated Press
November 1, 2004

BEIJING (AP)�China has closed 1,600 Internet cafes and fined operators a total of $12 million for letting children play violent games and for other violations, the government said Saturday.

The announcement came amid a campaign launched in March to reduce or eliminate sex and violence in Web sites, video games and other material that Communist leaders consider harmful to public morality.

Investigators have inspected 1.8 million Internet cafes looking for unlicensed operations or those that let children play violent games meant for adults, the Ministry of Culture said.

China encourages Internet use for education and business but bans sexually oriented content on Chinese Web sites and tries to block access to foreign sites deemed pornographic or subversive.

The country has the world's second-largest population of Internet users after the United States, with 87 million people online.

"Porn, gambling, violence and similar problems have adversely affected the healthy development of the Internet in China," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Zhang Xinjian, a Culture Ministry official, as saying.

In addition to those shut down permanently, some 18,000 Internet cafes have been ordered to "stop operation for rectification," Zhang said.

The government said this month that 1,125 pornographic Web sites had been shut down since July and 445 people had been arrested.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1706526,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

Consolidating Operators

ICOA purchasing IMG

December 16, 2003 08:08

ICOA Expands Presence at Logan Airport, Boston and 70 New Hospitality Locations; ICOA Inc. Signs LOI to Acquire Internet Media Group
Jump to first matched term

WARWICK, R.I., Dec 16, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ICOA Inc. (OTC.BB:ICOA - News), today announced a Letter of Intent to purchase Internet Media Group Inc. (IMG), a privately held owner-operator of high speed Internet Kiosks, headquartered in Massachusetts.

IMG currently operates the Kiosks at: Airports - Massport's Boston Logan International and Worcester Regional Airport; Hospitality locations - multiple hotels, resorts in the Disney World area, Florida; and at hostels nationwide under an agreement with Hostelling International. Under the terms of the LOI, IMG, Inc. is being acquired by ICOA, who will operate, expand and promote IMG's locations. With IMG's 20 Internet Kiosks at Boston Logan International Airport and ICOA's installed base of 63 Internet Terminals in San Francisco International, and four in Greater Baton Rouge Airport, LA, ICOA will now offer Public Broadband Internet service to over 55 million airport passengers per year.

According to Summit Research Associates' recent Kiosk report "Airport gate areas ...as well as hotel lobbies, are areas where units can be installed with considerable profit potential." Frost and Sullivan research estimates the "interactive kiosk market will grow at 24 percent per year through 2006."

"IMG fits with ICOA's stated mission of providing Public Broadband Internet Access for travelers who do not carry their own laptop computers or PDAs. Wherever practicable, we plan to supplement the Kiosk Internet Access with Ethernet connections and Wi-Fi Hot Spots for Laptop and PDA users," noted ICOA's CEO, George Strouthopoulos. "Both services can share Internet connectivity, ICOA's national network infrastructure, Network Operations Center customer support center, as well as credit card validation, transaction and billing systems," he continued.

"IMG has chosen to become part of ICOA because it has an established network infrastructure and the resources to grow the business to the next level," commented Jim Castellano, IMG's Founder and President. "I am excited about joining ICOA's experienced management team, so that ICOA and IMG can now share economies of scale to significantly increase overall profitability and capitalize on major new market opportunities," he added.

In parallel, ICOA is now deploying multiple new Wi-Fi Hot Spots in airports, leading hotels, marinas and fast casual restaurant chains. ICOA handles transactional 'pay-as-you-go' users at both Kiosk and Wi-Fi Hot Spot locations and plans "open access" at these Hot Spots for subscribers of major wireless carriers as well as Wi-Fi aggregators with roaming agreements. "By being 'open' we will generate a significant increase in traffic and revenue for ICOA and its partners." added George Strouthopoulos.

About Internet Media Group (IMG) www.imgkiosk.com.

IMG currently operates 84 kiosks, providing public Internet access to premium locations including Logan International Airport, and multiple nearby Boston Hotels, Worcester Regional Airport, multiple Hotels and Resorts around Disney World in Florida and Hostelling International nationwide.

About ICOA

ICOA, Inc., www.icoacorp.com located in Warwick, RI, is a provider of Public Broadband Internet Access. The company operates private networks of high-speed Internet Terminals (WebCenter3000(TM)), and Wi-Fi Hot Spots, in over 180 locations nationwide. ICOA operates in the most sought after public locations - airports, hotels, marinas, transportation and conference centers. The Company provides fully managed broadband internet access allowing services including: e-mail, e-fax and telephony; business services including printing; e-commerce; and 'venue specific' advertising. ICOA currently operates or manages installations at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana Airport (BTR), Rhode Island's Newport Harbor 'Hot Zone', several prestigious Hotels and 100+ Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA - www.panerabread.com) locations.

'Safe Harbor'

The foregoing contains "forward-looking statements" which are based on management's beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events and information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside ICOA's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please see ICOA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ICOA disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This information is presented solely to provide additional information to further understand the results of ICOA.

SOURCE: ICOA, Inc.

ICOA, Inc.
Erwin Vahlsing, Jr., 401/739-920

The Internet Kiosk

KIS has added new pages to corporate website. The Internet Kiosk and also Interactive Kiosks.

The internet kiosk has been around for probably longer most applications. Interactive kiosks and internet terminals have gone hand in hand for over 10 years. Kiosk Information Systems is one of the most experienced providers in this self-service application with dozens of projects and products serving this market.

The Interactive Kiosks pages also includes resources and even some Interactive Kiosk trivia.

Internet Kiosk page
Interactive Kiosks

Nationwide Cybersystems

Here is a picture of the Nationwide unit.

Wireless kiosks

KIS the leader is providing Hotspots.

All of the Nationwide systems (2000+ and growing...) come equipped with Airpath wireless Access Points which allow for hotspots to sign up their own customers and create their own revenue streams.

Nationwide Cybersystems

KIS designs and manufactures these systems and has deployed over 2,000.