[Koha] Open source replacement for 3M self check station

[Chad Roseburg]

Magnus ~

As to "mixing up two different things a bit" ...yes and no:

The original poster wanted an open source software solution that worked
with the 3M equipment [ #1 in your list ] to reanimate a glitchy 3M station
and protect the not insubstantial $$ investment [ system restore would've
helped here perhaps, or uninstalling the guilty Windows updates? Don't
know.  ]. So the problem is keeping the [ now glitchy ] 3M
hardware/equipment investment up and going. He says:

As we 're going to upgrade our Koha installation to 3.12, we want to use
> an open source system to replace the software of the self check.
> Does anyone has some experience for an easy-to-install free software
> with that hardware ?


In theory, you could turn the 3M station/equipment into a browser based
kiosk using the Koha self-check module [ #2 in your list ] ...it's just a
computer with Windows, touchscreen and scanner in some special furniture
anyway. We *did* try re-purposing our old 3M equipment using FOSS, mostly
for kicks ~ and failed. Mainly due to driver issues between things like the
3M touchscreen and the OS. Could be avoided *possibly* if you stuck with
the existing OS on the equipment. You'd still have issues with software
needing to talk to the security strip "desensitizer".  It may be possible,
for instance, to install FOSS kiosk software or browser plugins and
continue to use the 3M kiosks, as they just run Windows XP behind the
scenes ...if you didn't care about the security strips, that is. We opted
to just replace them with generic off-the-shelf components instead as our
3M equipment was a bit long in the tooth and ready for retirement anyway.

An ideal solution, for this poster, would retain *all* functionality of the
original 3M kiosk [ RFID, security strips ], use the existing equipment
...and run on FOSS partially or entirely. Easy installation a plus. I can
only share our experiences and wish him luck.

Chad

On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 2:29 AM, Magnus Enger <magnus at enger.priv.no> wrote:

> I wonder... Is this discussion mixing up two different things a bit?
>
> For me, "self check" in relation to Koha can mean (at least) two
> different things:
>
> 1. A self check "station" that runs dedicated software, and that
> communicates with Koha via SIP2
>
> 2. Some computer running a browser, possible locked down to "kiosk
> mode" and possibly with a touch screen, that is set to display the
> "self check web interface" of Koha, as described here:
> http://manual.koha-community.org/3.12/en/selfcheckout.html
>
> Or is everyone just talking about one of those?
>
> Best regards,
> Magnus Enger
> libriotech.no
>
> On 25 September 2013 22:52, Chad Roseburg <croseburg at ncrl.org> wrote:
> > A colleague of mine tried to get our selfcheck iso installed on our 3M
> > equipment without success. You should be able to install it fine on the
> > computer tower but it's the peripheral components like the 3M scanner,
> > touchscreen and readers that are the issue. To be honest I don't remember
> > where we left off with that other than we abandoned it due to some
> > component not working properly. I will email him and ask what worked and
> > what didn't.
> >
> > Chad
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 1:11 PM, Daniel Berthereau <
> > Daniel.koha at berthereau.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> On our selfcheck kiosk, all devices (rfid, printer, scanner, tactile
> >> screen) work well on Windows, the problem is the 3M software. I don't
> >> try if they work on Debian, but I can check if your Iso runs.
> >>
> >> Sincerely,
> >>
> >> Daniel Berthereau
> >>
> >> On 25/09/2013 20:59, Chad Roseburg wrote:
> >> > I use remastersys, much like the Live Koha DVD to deploy and image
> >> > selfchecks. I could make this available as a downloadable iso if
> anyone
> >> was
> >> > interested trying it out. It would require some site specific changes
> of
> >> > course. I have quite a bit of documentation for it, but it is missing
> a
> >> > beginner's setup guide for making the site specific changes currently.
> >> >
> >> > It is designed for touchscreens and receipt printing out of the box
> using
> >> > Epson T88IV or T88V printers. A Star TSP would work with some
> >> post-install
> >> > drivers.
> >> >
> >> > We have 2 in our branches that do over 1300 and 2300 transactions each
> >> > month. I have not updated them for Wheezy yet.
> >> >
> >> > Chad
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 10:12 AM, glaws <glawson at rhcl.org> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> We do also try to remember that not everybody can do a configure,
> make,
> >> >> make install, to install software. Some small libraries without tech
> >> >> support staff simply would be unable to use some software if it
> weren't
> >> >> on a CD or easily downloadable. For these sites I think it makes good
> >> >> sense to just master a Linux .iso that can be installed and "just
> work".
> >> >> If library staff have to install Linux anyway, then a pre-configured
> >> >> "Library Kiosk" or "Self-checkout" distro is probably simpler than
> >> >> creating packages, again, for those users who need to minimize their
> >> >> exposure to synaptic or apt-get.
> >> >>
> >> >> Greg
> >> >> ---------------------------------------------
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> On 09/25/2013 10:45 AM, glaws wrote:
> >> >>> I'm not aware there currently exists an open source self-checkout
> >> >>> system, however we've long talked about it here at our library. I
> work
> >> >>> with a developer, Aaron Ogle, that is currently building a PAC
> system,
> >> >>> and when he is finished with that if we have the funds available I
> >> would
> >> >>> like to consider funding a self-checkout development. Having already
> >> >>> discussed it, we think it wouldn't be terribly difficult. Aaron
> already
> >> >>> has a generalized framework for similar systems (a children's
> >> >>> playstation and a Koha kiosk) that could be easily adapted to a
> >> checkout.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> I should note probably that all the development we support is for
> open
> >> >>> operating systems, and all the funding we've done so far generally
> uses
> >> >>> Linux Mint at the client end. The server side, where utilized, is
> more
> >> >>> generalized, but we typically use Ubuntu and OpenSuse.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> Unfortunately it seems that you need a system now, and anything we
> do
> >> >>> won't be worked on until at least mid- late-2014. This is, however,
> a
> >> >>> good discussion topic and worth continuing.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> Greg
> >> >>>
> >> >>>
> >> >> --
> >> >> Greg Lawson
> >> >> Network Administrator
> >> >> Rolling Hills Consolidated Library
> >> >> 1912 N. Belt Highway
> >> >> St. Joseph, MO 64506
> >> >> 816-232-5479 x2303
> >> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
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> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Chad Roseburg
> > Automation Dept.
> > North Central Regional Library
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-- 
Chad Roseburg
Automation Dept.
North Central Regional Library