Needed a fast, easy-to-use solution for our employee timeclock system

I was tasked with getting some tablets ready to act as the time clock kiosks for the new payroll system we were implementing. After some web searching the name KioWare kept popping up so I checked it out. The software was easy to set up, easy to manage, and has worked flawlessly. Needless to say payroll and HR were very pleased as the launch of our new system went very smoothly. I'll definitely come to KioWare again in the future if I get put on a project that requires a kiosk.

Pros

The configuration options were extremely intuitive. I didn't have to look up very much in the documentation in order to get a prototype up and running within 30 minutes. Copying configuration files across multiple devices was a snap once I had everything set up the way I wanted it, and licensing them was extremely reasonable price-wise. I've had virtually no issues from the software in nearly 6 months. The security audit feature was a nice touch, and really helped me out! I almost locked myself out of my device permanently if not for that!

Cons

I think the only thing that was a bit disappointing would be a lack of mixed-mode attract screens. It'd be nice to be able to pull up either web pages, videos, or images. But to do that you'd need to be able to set up some kind of attract screen custom list, and then the software could cycle through that custom list as opposed to just cycling through local files. Very small gripe, though.

Kiosk made simple

We use it for sign-in when guests visit our office. It presents a web form and does not allow access to any other sites, so by using our web form patrons are signed in easily with little to no intervention from us. We also use the "attract screen" feature to send an uninterruptible slideshow to a nearby monitor on the wall sharing news about our office.

Pros

Kioware offered the features I absolutely needed in kiosk software at a price that made it hard to say no. In addition to the basics I knew I was looking for it offered some advanced features and the configurability that we were also able to use it to solve the need for a rotating slideshow in our lobby and manage the assets over our network to easily swap out slides.

Cons

The setup was a bit confusing at times, mostly using terms/phrases that I wasn't familiar with (being new to kiosks in general didn't help). But after some trial and error we got it up and running in a few hours.

Where do i start

Pros

I like that it is seamless after install.

Cons

Where do i start, crashes all the time, super expensive.

Complete Kiosk Solution for Windows

This is an excellent solution for Kiosk creation and management on Windows.

Pros

This review is for Kioware for Windows. Using Kioware you can completely lock down a Windows system allowing access only to a browser which can be configured to load a specified web page/web application on startup. Kioware has been very well designed in that it makes use of a dedicated Windows (non-admin) account to provide kiosk access. This is a very secure approach and Kioware enables keyboard sequences and keys to be blocked (including Ctrl-Alt-Del, Alt-Tab, and the Windows key) which prevents users from exiting the Kiosk mode. It also hides all toolbars. Advanced functionality is provided in the form of logging statistics, scheduling tasks (such as Kiosk sleep, startup and shutdown), crash detection and restart, and remote monitoring.

Cons

The only nitpick that I have is that the kiosk exit sequence, which requires you to tap all four corners of the screen can inadvertently overlap with the buttons of the app running within the kiosk. This isn't an issue for kiosk users (who will not be entering the sequence) but it does require kiosk administrators to use pinpoint tapping.

KioWare Kiosks on our Retail Sales Floors

The support team is off-the-charts awesome. I configured and installed our three kiosks (and two users) myself. It was not easy, and complicated by the online manual. I needed to interact with their support folks about six times. In every instance, my call was handled promptly, and I got the answers I needed quickly. They were able to login to my screen when needed and see exactly what was whacked. Absolutely top notch tech support.

Pros

The functionality. It is far more useful than we expected. The KIOCALL function, in particular. has assisted our store staff to interact with other stores to help customers who are right there with them.

Cons

The setup and configuration. The online manual is tough to negotiate. Posting photos for merchandising through the "Attract Screen" process was one of our prime objectives. It works... but I wish it was easier and quicker to do.