Separate Workspaces

[Dinosaur1946]

Hi All

Just Installed LXDE over Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon.
I have tried to do what I want to do on Cinnamon but exhausted the options.

Basically I have Industrial Computers in a factory that are used by operators.
I have to isolate some applications from them.
The easiest solution would be if I could type in a password and the other Icons would show for me to use.
Alternatively a password protected container that can hold applications.
For example I would have Geany in this container as well as debugging tools.

Because of the hardware installation, a new user is not an option.
Having gone nearly blind googling, I recall something was possible in LXDE, which I have installed and trying to find again.
Is this possible in "Dock"

Regards

[drooly]

Basically I have Industrial Computers in a factory that are used by operators.
I have to isolate some applications from them.
The easiest solution would be if I could type in a password and the other Icons would show for me to use.
Alternatively a password protected container that can hold applications.

all this is possible with linux, generally. maybe not with Linux Mint - that sort of task is well outside this distro's target group
i have not done it myself, but terms like chroot, kiosk, jail (see firejail) come to mind.
in the end, you might need to harden the whole system to prevent unauthorized use. it depends - do you want to actively protect & security-enhance the machines from unauthorized access or do you just want to prevent confucion and accidentally opening the wrong apps?
what ARE the users allowed to do?

i suggest you take a step back and try to find the most suitable distro first.
i doubt a prefabricated solution exists, but then again, this is linux and everything is possible...
be aware that you will have to do a lot of manual setting up, probably editing config files and/or using the command line (instead of gui solutions).

how many computers? what sort of hardware?

also please be aware that the term "workspace" usually means something else in linux.

[Dinosaur1946]

Hi All

drooly, thanks for the reply.
I have been automating machines for at least 45 years, and migrated from Assembly Language to Quick Basic to FreeBasic.
Started with Dos, then FreeDos, then Win XPe and in the last 2 years Linux.
I selected Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon because it appeared to be the most user friendly, and looked like it had plenty of support.
It is a decision I regret now, as every version of Mint stuffs up what you knew about the previous.So by the time you are starting
to get the hang of it, a new version is out. No amount of browsing will get you the info you need, cause now you are yesterday's user.

Sorry, just venting

JFYI, your questions:
Access:
It is aimed to stop operators from experimenting. Most operators just follow instructions and only run the main application,
but some (thinking they know something) will go and try things, and thus cause changes that prevent the machine from running.

How many computers:
Currently 4, but will expand to about 16 over the next few months.

Hardware:
Fitlet-I with 30Gb mSata drive, usb I/O boards driving about 24 i/p & 24 o/p on each machine with Touchscreen.
Machines communicate with each other via Ethernet and can send reports via WiFi.

I have had some measure of success by making a new user and migrating all my protected apps to it.
However, making a small software change means:
Switching User, make the change, Compile, copy the Executable to the other user, change user, put the Icon on the Desktop, goto root, change permissions on the executable, swap back to user.

Would love to see a simpler way to put the executable on the Operator Desktop with the correct permissions.

Regards

[drooly]

It is a decision I regret now, as every version of Mint stuffs up what you knew about the previous.So by the time you are starting to get the hang of it, a new version is out. No amount of browsing will get you the info you need, cause now you are yesterday's user.

sounds like you want centos.

I have had some measure of success by making a new user and migrating all my protected apps to it.
However, making a small software change means:
Switching User, make the change, Compile, copy the Executable to the other user, change user, put the Icon on the Desktop, goto root, change permissions on the executable, swap back to user.

Would love to see a simpler way to put the executable on the Operator Desktop with the correct permissions.

for linux, there's a wealth of online resources available, i think compared to windows it must be paradise.
also loads of projects, experiments...
what i'm trying to say: don't reinvent the wheel, i'm sure what you want is out there already.
learn to use search engines, first of all.
(maybe duckduckgo instead of the big G

this is about all the advice i can give, you seem to be generally more knowledgeable in this than me.

just one very general thing: you don't typically put executables in ~/Desktop.
for a single user, ~/bin would be a more appropriate location.