Customize Linux to make it look like it's not an operating system

[santiagopagani]

Hi everyone,
I'm developing a software that run on a regular computer, inside a bending machine.
What I want is to customize Linux startup and Desktop in a way that my software starts automatically and the user does not become aware that what he sees on screen is a software running in a PC.
For this i need to customize the startup, wich I've read that can be done changing the pictures in /usr/share/images/xsplash.
After that, I need that my software starts automatically (that's not hard) and the tricky part: to delete or make unvisible every menu and to disable any key combination that could close or minimize my software.
If I could, I would also like the PC to power down if my software crushes or closes (I could do this with another software running checking the previous).

Any ideas on where to start? I've still haven't started to program, so I've not yet decided if I would use GTK or another framework.


Thanks a lot

[beyecixramd]

Webconverger

Those guys could help you achieve that... Use Google, it's a very slim Linux distribution

That distro's not free, sadly. At least their customization methods. You can of course, download the distro and modify it yourself

[ocon]

just load your application over X... No desktop. Or you could use ubuntu, modify the splah and use a light desktop such as fluxbox....

there is also a lightweight version of ubuntu... Try it, strip out all bg images and change the desktop look...

ocon

Hi everyone,
I'm developing a software that run on a regular computer, inside a bending machine.
What I want is to customize Linux startup and Desktop in a way that my software starts automatically and the user does not become aware that what he sees on screen is a software running in a PC.
For this i need to customize the startup, wich I've read that can be done changing the pictures in /usr/share/images/xsplash.
After that, I need that my software starts automatically (that's not hard) and the tricky part: to delete or make unvisible every menu and to disable any key combination that could close or minimize my software.
If I could, I would also like the PC to power down if my software crushes or closes (I could do this with another software running checking the previous).

Any ideas on where to start? I've still haven't started to program, so I've not yet decided if I would use GTK or another framework.


Thanks a lot

[zedcarnz]

... and you could try something like monit to detect a crash & restart everything.

Good luck.

[mitis2010]

you could put your program with respawn in /etc/inittab for monitoring and auto-respawn

i like Plymouth for boot-splash screen, but thera are other good alternatives (bootsplash,usplash ...search Google)

my advice would be to think about a starting distro:
- a light one -> easy to configure, but might be a hassle to get things started
- a bigger one -> easy to get started, but a hassle to slim down to what you need