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The simplest way to illustrate how Userful's Linux-based desktop multiplier software works, says Tim Griffin, is not to think about computers and networks. Picture your bathroom.

"If you were to have 500 people a day come through your home washroom, you'd probably want to make some serious changes to it, and it's the same with personal computers," the president of Calgary-based Userful/e-complex Inc. says. "If you were having 500 people coming through your home, you'd probably want to take down the towel racks and use a towel dispenser; bolt the garbage pail to the side of the wall; install soap dispensers; and you'd certainly take out your toothbrushes. It's the same thing with public computing."

He says the problem is that schools, libraries, Internet cafés and companies that have employees share workstations usually take computers intended for personal use and try to shoehorn them into a public or multiuser setting.

"The nice thing about a personal computer is that it remembers what you've done. It stores it all and tracks it, and so on," Mr. Griffin says by way of example. "But you don't want that in a public setting," he adds, noting this can lead to security and personal privacy problems.

Many information technology department administrators try to "sanitize" their public or shared desktops by adding things like lockdown programs to prevent people from changing computer settings, accessing certain files or installing unauthorized software. To Mr. Griffin that's a little like retrofitting the home bathroom for public use, which is why Userful developed software such as DiscoverStation.

"When people put these computers into libraries and they're installing as many as 10 applications," he says, "it can be a mess. Imagine how your bathroom would look if you retrofitted -- it's very different than if you design a public washroom. That's the same approach we take with DiscoverStation; we're designing from the ground up."

Besides features that protect the privacy of multiple users and keep people from messing with a computer's settings, the software cuts administrative overhead by reducing the number of computers needed. By adding Userful's Linux-based DiscoverStation software and extra video cards to a PC, one computer can be turned into as many as 10 usable workstations. Monitors and keyboards for each station all run off a single computer.

Userful launched its product line with an initial focus on libraries, but it is quickly expanding into other markets and signing up resellers. Its system can be applied to anything from call centres and Internet cafés, to database training, cruise ships and hospitals, it says.

Userful's software can be customized through a Web portal that allows administrators to adjust literally hundreds of settings -- from putting a time limit on the computer's use, to privacy protectors that clean the computer when a person logs out. Settings and updates are automatically rolled out to every computer linked to the system. Usage reports allow administrators to see how the system is running as a whole or drill down to one individual station to see how it is being used.

Allan Wilson, chief librarian at Prince George Public Library in British Columbia, says the software fit right into his organization's existing computer system. His library is one of only two in Canada that still run a very old system called Ulysses automation. Prince George staff had been looking for technology that would enable the re-engineering of existing software (which is almost impervious to virus attacks) in a way that would allow them to tweak it. They wanted to keep Ulysses but add new features and an interface that looked like the Internet to make it easier to use.

"Userful came along at absolutely the perfect time for us," Mr. Wilson says, adding it was very responsive, offering customized solutions. "The other thing is the low maintenance -- that you can run four to 10 pods off the same Linux server was perfect for us."

John Hartung, co-director of the Kootenai-Shoshone area libraries in Northern Idaho, also knew what his operation needed. "We were looking for a device that would reduce the number of physical computers, and through Linux reduce the number of threats to the software. The other thing we wanted was a system that was easy to use, close to Windows. So that was the design parameter."

Terminals in the Kootenai-Shoshone library system are often used by the public for Internet access. For this reason the IT department treats each Internet session as a circulation item, another motive for wanting to be able to track and control the amount of time that a patron is logged in.

The sales proposition of an expandable system is clear to prospective clients from the outset, Mr. Griffin says. "The 10-to-one advantage allows us to be competitive on cost, yet still provide a high level of service to our customers."

But in terms of return on investment, Mr. Hartung says the main savings for his organization have come in the form of the technician time necessary to keep the system running. "The cost is pretty comparable to buying PCs, so you really don't see direct equipment savings. There is a little bit, because the system is upgradeable. But our biggest savings is that we don't have to spend nearly the time babysitting [the network]."

Mr. Wilson agrees. "It's really freed up my technician -- we were looking at hiring another half-time technician just to maintain our public service computers, and now we don't have to do that. We can devote those resources to reprogramming some of our software."