*This article is applicable to both operators of VR Arcades and operators of VR labs & maker spaces at educational institutions.*

We use many different terms here at SpringboardVR. Below is a breakdown of SpringboardVR's Software Terminology to help you understand the different aspects of our software. This list will grow as we continue to add new terms.

Desktop Client

The Desktop Client is what we call our software that you run on each of your PC stations. It consists of two parts:

1. The Background Service which is the heart of the Desktop Client. It notices things that happen on your station and communicates those to our web services. This results in you seeing the current state of the station in the Station Monitor in your web browser! It's also what allows you to control the station from the Station Monitor remotely.
   
   To ensure you can remote control your station at all times the Background Service starts up with Windows by default and can be found in your tray icon area on the Windows taskbar. Keeping this part of the Desktop Client running at all times, even when SteamVR shuts down, allows you to always have an up-to-date view of your station on the Station Monitor.
   
   
2. The Launcher is the VR environment that allows your users to browse, find, and start VR titles they want to experience. The Launcher is started automatically whenever VR is available on your station (i.e. SteamVR is running), your user stops playing a title, or when you explicitly start it up using the Station Monitor.
   
   To prevent using your station's hardware to render this VR environment in the background, the Launcher is not running when it's not used. For example, when you're in another title, or when you don't even have SteamVR running, the Launcher is not rendering. Instead the Background Service takes care of that - being the brain of the Desktop Client it knows when to show the Launcher. The Launcher handles the content browsing only.