Launchpad Entry: Time Management
Created: didrocks
Packages affected: gchildcare
Summary
Defined globally or by user, some access rules that can be put according to time/date managed in the configuration panel.
Release Note
Enabling fine-grained time management for accessing the Internet, and possibily other application is an advanced command for parent to control more the time that their children spent on the computer.
Rationale
Some people may want their children do not access the Internet all the time, making, for instance, their homework and limiting the time they will chat on all instant messaging networks.
Also, some people may want their child only acess the Internet some precise day and not everyday.
Use Cases
- Martin is tired that his child does not his homeworks before going online. As he can't be there when his son is back home, such a system would make his life easier.
- The marks of Alice's boy is getting down proportionnaly the time he is using the computer. She wants to refrain the time he spent chatting with his friend.
- Stacy wants to entrust his child and give the computer in his bedroom. She wants to be sure that he will sleep at a descent hour and not surf all the night.
- Mark does not want its child to access the Internet appart from the week-end. He wants this process to be automated.
Design
The resolution will be by step of 30 min. A window will enable the user to put the time management and define the hours within the Internet will be available. We can just specify one generic day will be copied all over the week (like a proxy setting for every protocols) or put day by day of the week the hours the Internet is available or not.
A deamon there or changing things in the crontab is needed there for switching at the right time the values. Maybe a python script can be launched every 30 minutes, deamon which will see the current needed state (it prevents to having on more deamon on the system)
Implementation
We could use the partitioning widget used in GParted for this. Or the calendar widget.
UI Changes
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Sorry, the captures are with non definitive names in french (the designer wasn't aware that this will be in a specification written in english).
The profile page discussed on [[|this specification]] will have a dedicated place with a checkbox and a button for opening a window for controlling hour access internet filtering.
A mockup of such a GTK window with a easy to use way of defining that is already in progress. (Taking into account the resolution of 30 minutes and the day by day design)
Test/Demo Plan
- Change the hours for the current user profile enabled to make it unavailable
Try to get access over the Internet -> Connexion refused
- Change again the hours to revert it back to be available
Try to get access over the Internet -> Connexion OK
- Wait for a switch time from available to unavailable and the opposite
- Try to get access over the Internet and check that the state of availability has been reverted.
Need further discussion
The current behavior is for, at most, a week (monday to Sunday) not precised day event (like the 1st May). Is it sufficient?