Internet terminal

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Outdoor terminal with paravent (2007)
Internet terminal in the hotel (2011)

Internet terminals (also: surf terminal, surf station ) are fixed technical facilities for Internet access that are used in public or semi-public areas.

An internet terminal needs a communication link to the internet in order to be functional. A kiosk system , on the other hand, can also fulfill its purpose if it only enables the user to access data on a single PC or in a LAN .

There are Internet terminals that are used on the street and those that are available inside buildings. Particularly robust industrial PCs are used for the outdoor variants , while standard PCs are generally used for the indoor variants.

Differentiation from devices for private Internet use

Internet terminals, especially if they are used outdoors, differ from privately used devices for Internet access mostly in these points:

  • Access to the PC software is severely restricted. It is possible that the browser is the only software that the user gets to see.
  • Alternatively, the user's access to the PC is limited only slightly or not at all. For this purpose, at the end of use, the system is automatically restored using the appropriate software or based on the hardware concept (e.g. by booting from a CD-ROM ).
  • Instead of the usual mouse operation, user inputs are made via touchscreen .
  • The keyboard is often a waterproof version or a keyboard displayed on the touchscreen.
  • There are devices for inserting coins or a card reader .
  • Barrier-free versions with electrical height adjustment are rarely used.

The Internet terminals of Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom Internet terminal with touchscreen (2007)

The German Telekom call their Internet terminals as multimedia stations. In February 2008 there were more than 1000 of these stations across Germany. Deutsche Telekom uses two models, the MMS 500 and the MMS 600.

The multimedia stations offer a mixture of internet terminal and kiosk system . The offers of the kiosk system can be accessed free of charge. These are information services of the respective city and the websites of T-Com .

If the Internet terminal is to be used for telephoning, a keyboard is displayed on the monitor. There are separate billing modes for surfing the Internet and making calls.

A webcam is integrated into the multimedia stations so that video telephony is possible. The webcam can also take photos of the user, which they can then send over the Internet.

software

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 on Windows XP (32-bit) was used on the multimedia stations in 2012 . The user saw IE in full screen mode , with all functions implemented as web applications :

  • On-screen keyboard
  • Telephony
  • SMS
  • e-mail
  • advertising
  • "Browser in the browser"

Web access is routed via a proxy , with each multimedia station sending a unique user agent .

Core areas

The multimedia stations are used in the following areas:

  • City information
  • Culture
  • gastronomy
  • Discos and clubs

Protection of minors at the internet terminal

The protection of minors at Internet terminals in Germany is regulated by the State Treaty on Youth Media Protection ( JMStV) and the Youth Protection Act (JuSchG). Contents available online may only be made accessible to children and young people if it is ensured, taking into account §§ 4 and 5 JMStV, that youth impairment or risk is excluded. This must be ensured by

  1. the installation of suitable filter software,
  2. the occasional, random check of the pages called up,
  3. Control or service personnel,
  4. the occasional inspection of the internet protocol and
  5. a viewable list of the screens.

Children and adolescents according to Section 12 Paragraph 1 and Section 13 JuSchG are only offered games online or offline at commercial and non-profit internet terminals that are offered by the OLJB or an organization of voluntary self-regulation within the framework of the procedure according to Section 14 Paragraph 4 JuSchG are approved or marked. In this regard, even a written permission from the parents, with which the child is allowed to use games not approved for his or her age group, cannot override this provision.

No games may be offered to children and adolescents if they are labeled as “not approved for young people”. In addition, it must be ensured that they do not have access to games that are not marked or even indexed according to the lists of the Federal Testing Office for Media Harmful to Young People (BPjM). Games without USK marking, including a. Import games, even if they are written in a language other than German, are regarded as "games without youth approval". It is irrelevant whether the German version of these games has received an age rating from the USK. According to Section 12 Paragraph 3 JuSchG, children and young people may not be offered, left or otherwise made accessible to children and young people. The test procedure for computer and console games is carried out by the entertainment software self-control (USK) in Berlin.

Violations of regulations relevant to the protection of minors at Internet terminals are an administrative offense and are punishable by fines of up to € 50,000. These fines are not aimed at the young visitors to the facility, but usually against the operators or adults who have given the children and young people access to the computers.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DRIVE from the company Dr. Kaiser Systemhaus ( Memento from March 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Internet terminal EasyNet from Mega Web
  3. ↑ [1] from the company ekiosk
  4. ↑ a b The Telekom multimedia stations ( memento from December 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ).