Webconverger 12.0 browser-only OS includes Firefox ESR

Version 12 of the open source Webconverger browser-only operating system for web kiosks has been released. According to its developers, the new release of Webconverger, which is derived from Debian, is the "biggest leap forward" that the project has ever made, noting that the entire OS is now maintained under git.

Instead of using the current Firefox 11 release, Webconverger 12 ships with the latest "enterprise" extended support release (ESR) of Firefox. Version 10.0.3 of Firefox ESR is based on the 10.0.x branch and includes recent security fixes, but none of the new features added in version 11.

Webconverger 12.1 in action Other changes includes improved network handling, updated boot APIs and a new boot menu with options to boot in a selection of different locales. A new "about:" page has also been added that shows the installed version. Following the release of version 12.0, the developers published Webconverger 12.1 to address a bug that could lead to a denial-of-service (DoS) condition: if the system could not find its configuration, it entered a configuration fetching loop.

More details about the new version can be found in the release notes and in the change log. Webconverger 12.1 is available to download as an ISO image from the project's site, and instructions for burning it to a CD or copying the image to a USB flash drive are provided. Sources for Webconverger are hosted on GitHub.

Webconverger was created in February 2007 by UK-based developer Kai Hendry. His company, Webconverger Limited, sells custom-configured versions of the web kiosk OS for use by, for example, banks, medical practices and libraries.

See also:

• "Firefox for Enterprises" begins with Firefox 10, a report from The H.

(crve)