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Lindows.com today announced a version of its WebStation terminal designed for businesses, the BusinessStation.
Like the Lindows WebStation, the BusinessStation was designed to allow users minimal flexibility in choosing applications or adjusting settings, but to also minimize potential configuration problems that might arise as an IT administrator set up, deployed and administered the new systems.
Essentially, the BusinessStation is merely a WebStation with a customized network tool that allows an IT manager to configure from between 1 to 5,000 machines from a network browser. Like the WebStation, a BusinessStation is powered by an internally-mounted CD-ROM drive that can be made inaccessible to the user.
The Lindows BusinessStation service itself is available for $10 per BusinessStation per year, with volume discounts beginning at 500 units. WebStations cost about $200, depending upon the configuration.
“When we launched the WebStation, we heard from many corporate customers excited about low price point and zero maintenance, but who also needed to customize WebStations for their particular application such as kiosks, training lab, school, call center or enterprise need.” said Michael Roberston, chief executive officer of Lindows.com., in a statement. “With BusinessStation any corporation, school or government can now deploy machines tailored to their particular Internet task without a big technology budget or complex training or setup.”
Upon logging in, a user will access a “My Profile” page, which is remotely configured by an IT manager; the page can send users to the companys intranet, its home page or some other application. The BusinessStation applications are based upon the Lindows OS version 4.0, with basic Web browsing, instant messaging, audio/visual playback and other options that can be enabled.
Two businesses—Wireless Telematics, an asset tracking firm, and the Canadian government division of the Southwest Shore Development Committee, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia—have already launched Lindows.coms BusinessStations in their businesses, Lindows said.