Mr_Jiminy Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Sahara CleverTouch screen bundle the Lynx 4 software with their interactive displays, the software has the ability to open all SMART created presentations.
jmak Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 I have been told how essential to the running of the school it is to have Smart Notebook software - and then found out that most of the staff came from schools with Promethean boards... I'm trying to recruit a victim to try out Open Sankore. the software they come with is aparanntly absolute pants and its idea of loading smart files is converting them to a picture per page lol. As a result i think most of the staff want to lynch me I have had a quick go and and you can export from Smart Notebook into .iwb file format and then in Open Sankore you can import. The screens look the same - I can't vouch for how the interactive components work............ 'cos on the first few files I found, there weren't any interactive parts!
TechSupp Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 I have had a quick go and and you can export from Smart Notebook into .iwb file format and then in Open Sankore you can import. The screens look the same - I can't vouch for how the interactive components work............ 'cos on the first few files I found, there weren't any interactive parts! How did you export to .iwb as looking at same thing and just looked at SmartNotebook 11 and cant see that option?
Mr.Ben Posted January 27, 2014 Author Posted January 27, 2014 Reading this all with interest: At £24 per 'Classroom' (If a classroom is a room with an interactive device), then it's feasible to roll that into my budget - a total cost of around £1600 which I could pass onto department software budgets - does anyone have contact details for SMART to verify? I've looked at Open Sankore today - As far as the software goes it's great, but as mentioned most of the resources are still labelled in French - fine for Languages, but not so great for other topics! Perhaps we should all look at contributing towards the project to get it up to scratch for British Schools?
jmak Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 How did you export to .iwb as looking at same thing and just looked at SmartNotebook 11 and cant see that option? The option you need is CFF (stands for common file format). File>Export>CFF Anyone would think that SMART aren't very keen for you to find it. It was introduced in version 10 under duress - I believe it was mandated by the EU.
localzuk Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 Bear in mind that the .iwb format is a bit hit and miss when converting from SMART. The files I tried ended up with loads of malformation - text in the wrong place etc... Kinda like Powerpoint files to Open Office and the like.
icetech Posted January 27, 2014 Posted January 27, 2014 I'm new to edugeek - I was also at Bett looking for solution for Schools (I look after their AV/ICT) who have similar Smart Licensing issues and I've come across a solution that imports smart board files just as collaborative works on boards and interactive touchscreens and is a one off cost. Please PM me if you want to know more as I don't want to get banned for an offence of mentioning a Supplier...doh !
Mr.Ben Posted January 27, 2014 Author Posted January 27, 2014 I've asked Steljes to confirm pricing for the UK. I'll report when I have some info!
icetech Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 Does smart have any t+c's which would prevent Schools from using other Touch Collaborative software on their IWB's rather than cough up £££'s on their licensing ?
localzuk Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 Does smart have any t+c's which would prevent Schools from using other Touch Collaborative software on their IWB's rather than cough up £££'s on their licensing ? Nope. They can't have such terms and conditions, as they have sold you the device at that point. 1
fiza Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 Does smart have any t+c's which would prevent Schools from using other Touch Collaborative software on their IWB's rather than cough up £££'s on their licensing ? Do you have any in mind? I haven't found one that comes close to having all the bits that Smart does.
Mr_K Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 SMART are changing strategy and are going down the software route. Personally I think it’s still the best software available for white-boarding but SMARTs hardware has been lagging behind for several years. Makes sense to me that they are starting to work with other hardware manufacturers. Steljes don't seem to fully understand the licening changes themselves, so I wouldn't read too much into anything said at BETT. All the staff on the SMART stand actually work for Steljes so I wouldn't expect them to be fully briefed on any changes. Worth noting BenQ also work with Steljes in the UK and can also provide touch screens with a legal version of SMART Notebook. Prices are in the clever-touch range. They were hidden upstairs at BETT, so likely missed by most people.
free780 Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) @locaIzuk need to do it unauthenticated which is a pain. Out of curiosity how long does it takes stejes to get back to you. Edited January 29, 2014 by free780
fiza Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 They were hidden upstairs at BETT, so likely missed by most people. Was there an upstairs at BETT? I thought it was all on one floor? Did I miss something?
Mr_K Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 Was there an upstairs at BETT? I thought it was all on one floor? Did I miss something? There's gallery rooms upstairs. Invitation only. Top secret squirrel stuff that's not launched yet. Smart had a whole second stand up there full of Canadians
fiza Posted January 30, 2014 Posted January 30, 2014 There's gallery rooms upstairs. Invitation only. Top secret squirrel stuff that's not launched yet. Smart had a whole second stand up there full of Canadians Ok - So anyone on Edugeek get an invite? Is it all secret handshake stuff?
OxfordBlue Posted February 1, 2014 Posted February 1, 2014 There's gallery rooms upstairs. Invitation only. Top secret squirrel stuff that's not launched yet. Smart had a whole second stand up there full of Canadians i went to an Avermedia presentation up there and popped into a few companies, didn't look too secret
dave.81 Posted February 3, 2014 Posted February 3, 2014 We've tired a few free options when we moved 5 classrooms to Epson interactive projectors over the summer and none of the teachers have been fully happy with anything other than Notebook. The annual subscription will work out much cheaper for us so am very interested in the idea, will have to chase up our supplier see if they've heard anything about it.
Mr.Ben Posted April 4, 2014 Author Posted April 4, 2014 As that stands my previous employer is in for a £7k bill maintain the smart notebook licencing :-(
StevieM Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Don't think we'll be taking them up on their offer. Let's just stick with Smart Notebook 11 for free... or even better, roll back to Smart Notebook 10, which actually works!
free780 Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Smart 9 was quicker but XP only, I think. 10 was a mistake and 11 seesm like trying to polish a turd.
LeMarchand Posted April 4, 2014 Posted April 4, 2014 Maybe the increasing sloth of the program was deliberate: maybe the 2014 release won't take ages to load...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now