I'm very proud to announce Webconverger 11, with the following improvements:
- Firefox 9
- Ability to change browser chrome options at boot time!
- Quieter boots
- Several enhancements on the Firefox Webconverger extension, many thanks to Mike Kaply
- Security tweaks to make the control script harder to override
- New logo and site design, thanks Patric!
- Networking interface naming bug spotted by Stewart and fixed by Matthijs Kooijman
11.0 package changes, compared to the previous release.
sha1sum: 1b709cac372bfdffb2893551e4fd92700cad037b webc-11.0.iso
md5sum: 7d2984d03a7375b04af5f38859988636 webc-11.0.iso
Do have a look at our new public statistics site http://ping.webconverger.org, detailing Webconverger usage.
New users please download Webconverger and test out if it's a good public kiosk solution for your community. We have a friendly support group if you have any questions!
Commercial users, please place your order on the brand new, easier to use, order form. Thank you,
Happy new year 2012! As I prepare a Firefox 9 based release which is already available in daily builds for testing, lets introduce a feature I failed to document on Webconverger 10 release, USB tethering in this 10.2 change.
When you plug in a suitable USB network device that comes up as usb0 and has a simple dhcp mechanism, like the Android USB Tethering feature, Webconverger will detect and use this network interface.
This can unfortunately be a little fiddly since Android disables the USB tethering if it doesn't detect the USB connection, for example when a kiosk is turned off. Therefore on Android you need to turn on the tethering feature everytime on booting Webconverger. Other USB dongles might have a better experience.
Nonetheless with a USB stick with Webconverger, a microUSB cable & an Android phone (with a data plan) you can setup a kiosk pretty much anywhere. Think outdoors during a public fête, a local community site could be introduced from a laptop.
Next year February will mark oddly the 5th year of this opensource project and software business.
Without further delay may I present Webconverger 10 with an accompanying site redesign by Patric Schwarz. If you notice any issues with the site or Webconverger, please use the feedback email address at the bottom of the page.
At 9.0-10.2 you will notice the usual flash update, Firefox 8, additional firmware for ralink wireless and quite a few removed packages.
The removed packages are mostly unnecessary for trying Webconverger. I think it's better to customise Webconverger with your chosen locale than altering the boot menu and then choosing the appropriate dictionary once Webconverger is booted. Likewise printing is best left as a customisation option, as it makes the initial download a bit too bulky otherwise.
10.2's sha1sum is 8f0770175c2b237814715ce7e4ccd99044502d10 and you can
download it here.
There are a couple of other additions in this release that warrant blog posts in the new year. 2011 has been a very busy year for me personally. The good news is that I hope to spend much more time with Webconverger in 2012.
Here is to a successful 2012 for you and Webconverger! Cheers 
Webconverger 9
Between 8.5 and 9.0 there are several updates such as:
- Webconverger's build configuration now is based upon Debian Live 3.x
- Linux 3.0
- Broadcom firmware included for better wireless hardware support as requested on the mailing list
- Firefox 7
- Adobe Flash 11
Download webc-9.0.iso from the usual Webconverger download
location and do check the sha1sum is
3efce617a908726490c76ef16bddc0c2567f987e to ensure its integrity.
Source code can be downloaded from http://src.webconverger.com/.
Please support Webconverger by ordering a customised version or by offering a testimonial!
Webconverger 8.5 brings better old hardware and wireless support
Between 8.0 and 8.5 there are several improvements such as:
- Firefox 5 !
- Added lots of non-free wireless firmware
- 2.6.39 486 linux kernel, meaning ancient machines should be able to boot Webconverger
This ISO's md5sum is 357843174354d886d1d63a43daded81a. USA mirror: http://download.webconverger.com/ Germany: http://download.webconverger.org/
If you notice any more issues please report them to the mailing list. I'd be especially interested in any detailed reports of the browser failing to load. A browser strace & hardware details whilst in debug mode would be useful.
Many thanks especially to Daniel, Guttorm, Jamie & Ari for helping with this "pre-Mongol Rally" release.
Lastly please support my adventure from London to Mongolia over at http://geekout.org.uk/ by donating and / or subscribing to the news feed.
Webconverger 8 based on Artax
Webconverger 8 allows you to deploy Firefox 4.0.1 in a kiosk environment. This release uses a lot of upto date Debian packages from Progress Linux.
Between 7.2 to 8.0 there are several highlights such as:
- Firefox 4.0.1
- Updated Adobe flash to 10.3.181.26
- 2.6.39 linux kernel
- A few extra locales, like South African English
This ISO's md5sum is 66456a5a4dc0dcbf5024f849f59a6dc3. USA mirror: http://download.webconverger.com/ Germany: http://download.webconverger.org/
Security has been tightened up by removing terminals. If you can figure out how to download a terminal and break out of the browser, please email security@webconverger.com.
There is a two known issues that might affect you.
1) Rarely Webconverger boots without loading the browser. I can't reproduce it, so if you can, please tell me how you did it. The work around is sadly to try booting again.
2) Sometimes Webconverger can time out loading http://portal.webconverger.com/. I think this is due to the network not being quite ready, or the homepage fetch has a short TTL. The workaround is to refresh or use a homepage URL more local to you installation.
If you notice any more issues please report them to the mailing list.
I will personally have problems fulfilling Webconverger customisation orders between the 23rd of July and the beginning of October, due to the Mongol rally I'm undertaking. Please consider donating money to Mongolian kids I'm raising for and wish team Geekout luck!
However if you email sales@webconverger.com, Daniel should be able to help
you whilst I'm away.
The last 2 year key (7EEFD8EC) expired before I should have updated it, before it broke the builds with "WARNING: The following packages cannot be authenticated!"
Apologies for that. 
Now we have a new key that expires in 5 years.
:r !wget -q http://debian.webconverger.com/archive-key.asc -O /dev/stdout | gpg
pub 2048R/AB9E8DA9 2011-04-16 Webconverger Archive Automatic Signing Key <key@webconverger.com>
sub 2048R/B8E27CCA 2011-04-16 [expires: 2016-04-14]
The webconverger-archive-keyring package has been updated and so has the live-helper configuration.
This message comes from the London Hackspace.
Webconverger 7.2
7.2 is a minor security update which fixes two issues raised by François Audirac. Many thanks François.
7.2 should also fix a problem with Intel GMA 3150 cards confirmed by Alex Garza.
Other changes are itemised in 7.1 to 7.2 changes and the
md5sum is 1986001c342066cfe1c6ec8db3c8206f.
I've quickly analysed the ping logs and it looks like ~75% has made the upgrade from 7.0 to 7.1, which is better than I expected. Unfortunately the user base of Webconverger seems roughly stable month by month at around ~1200.
My time on Webconverger is limited due to several other parallel projects I'm
involved in, so if you can help out, get in
touch. Be good if someone could fix the default language for
spelling.
Webconverger 7.1
7.1 is a security update featuring Firefox 3.6.13, with several other updates described in the 7.0 to 7.1 changes.
The webc-7.1.iso sha1sum is
db70cf1bda1a89ef5950f16d4244db392a5432e5 and ready for you to
download and image to a USB stick.
I encourage you to all update and I will be monitoring your progress doing so.
Please comment on this webc-users thread if you spot any issues.
I would like to thank Daniel Bauman for making this
release possible and for helping me get more involved in Debian
packaging (I think!).
Happy holidays everyone and give the gift of Webconverger!
Webconverger 7
7.0 marks a huge milestone for the Webconverger browser only operating system, since the Debian base system has upgraded from "lenny" to "squeeze".
Between 6.2 to 7.0 there are several highlights such as:
- From Firefox 3.5.8 to 3.6.12
- From Splashy boot animation to Plymouth
- From Adobe Flash 10.1 to Flash 10.2
- Faster booting thanks to Debian Live's live-boot and live-config
There has been a community discussed privacy change, whereby Webconverger 7 reports its version to a ping service.
Download now and burn to CD or image to a USB stick to boot your machine to just a browser.
New customisation services
For those who offer their clients only a webcfullscreen experience, Chrome can be used instead of Firefox. Further chrome options are not yet implemented by Google. Firefox is still recommended, since it's more stable.
A Google checkout alternative Paypal form is now available on the basic Webconverger customisation purchase page.