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FAQ
Q: I have the impression that the Broadband Butler is to be left "Always On". What happens if I want to turn it off?
A: Nothing happens. You can just turn it off whenever you want.
Q: How do I turn the computer off?
A: Just push the button on the front panel to turn it off. You do not need to do a "software shutdown" as you are used to with PC software.
Q: What happens if I turn off the Broadband Butler while it is being upgraded?
Q: What do I do if the Butler do not work, go into a "freeze mode" or other strange things that might happen?
A: This situation does not occur in ordinary use. It may, however, occur if you have extra-ordinary many tabs or extra-ordinary many instances of the web browser and/or other programs running or if you are visiting maldesigned web sites. The reason for most "freeze modes" is that the system runs out of memory. If such a state occur, the computer will "heal" itself by a restart. Press the button on the front panel, keep it pressed in for about five seconds. The computer will then do a forced shut down. Then press the same button once to start the computer and in about 40 seconds the computer will be as fresh and fast as ever.
Q: How do I restart the Butler?
A: Just push the restart button or turn the power off and on. If the computer does not respond with shutdown on a gentle one push, press the button for about five seconds and it will do a forced shutdown.
Q: How can it be true that the Butler does not need any anti-virus software?
A: Security was built-in when designing the software.
- There is no way to write to the system software, so there is no way to get malicious software into the Butler.
- No intruders can access the computer by breaking user accounts and passwords. There are simply no user accounts available!
- Only pre-defined applications can run on the computer based on a system-controlled list.
- All system software run on a separate flash disk and is not accessible from any user or any program running outside the system. User data (documents, movies, pictures, music etc.) must be stored on external connected USB devices.
A: We do always recommend using a separate firewall at the Internet gate. A firewall is especially recommended if you have PCs or other devices connected to the Internet. The Broadband Butler does not require a firewall.
Q: If I use a firewall, can this make trouble for the upgrading mechanism?
A: No, the upgrading mechanism is based on a software download initiated from the computer itself and use the http protocol.
Q: How can I be sure that the upgrading mechanism is working?
A: If you have access to the Internet, then it works. As stated above the upgrading mechanism uses the http protocol; this is the same protocol you use when you surf on the Internet.
Q: Is there any way I can customize the Butler by getting access to the system software?
A: No, there is no way to log into the system because there are no user logins or any backdoors. This is part of the security design. If you want to mess with system software, you have to buy a PC.
Q: Can I download files, music, photos and videos to the Butler?
A: You can download whatever you like to a USB Mobile Storage unit connected to the station, for instance music directly from the Internet to your MP3 player.
Q: Can I watch movies and listen to music?
A: You can watch and listen to all standard-based multi-media on the Internet like for instance YouTube. You can also watch movies and listen to music from any external connected USB storage.
Q: Can I use text processing, spreadsheats, email and groupware solutions on the Butler?
A: The current version of the Butler includes an always present web browser, a media player to watch movies, a music player to listen to music, an easy-to-use word processor and a file manager. The new trend is "Software as a Service" (SaaS). This is Office suites and other end user programs provided directly through the web browser. You can get all these features from several vendors. Google is one vendor that provides all these services - for free. We recommend web-based email like Google's Gmail. This is an excellent solution providing an effective SPAM filter and more than 6GB storage space.
Q: I have heard that something called "AJAX" and "Web 2.0" will revolutionize the Internet. How does this fit with the station?
A: Support for these features are already built-in. The unique and automatic upgrading mechanism will provide you with the latest and greatest improvements in this respect.
Q: I cannot get any sound out of the computer! What is the problem?
A: Check that the Volume control is on by moving the mouse over the Speaker icon at the bottom menu. (The volume shows in % and should be more than 0%). Adjust the volume (You can just scroll the volume by using the middle wheel on a mouse).
If the audio still do not occur, the reason is probably that a volume control is set to zero. Click on the "Speaker icon" at the bottom of the screen. A window will open. Drag the PCM handle to the top. Audio will now be available.
Q: The browser does not show. What is the problem?
A: The browser can be "scrolled off" by pointing on the blue top menu and scroll it upwards to show the DeskTop. Just click on the blue top menu and scroll down to get the browser back.