Smart Notebook 11 being discontinued.

[Rob_D]

I don't know weather people have already seen this, but it was passed to me today and I thought it might be worth sharing for anyone still running Smart Notebook 11 under the perpetual licence.

 

After July 1, 2020, customers will not be able to activate any new installations of SMART Notebook version 17.0 or earlier, SMART Meeting Pro version 4.3 or earlier, or SMART Bridgit (all versions).

https://www.smarttech.com/support/discontinued-products

[sted]

well i can see that going down like a lead balloon most of my schools still run 11.x as they have older boards and dont want to pay yearly for it

[DrBeaker]

You wanted Software-As-A-Service (Saas) People.

 

You got it. You fools. Biggest con in the IT world since the Millennium bug.

[KoolTech]

All of our schools use Version 11 as well and the licencing cost is way too expensive for us. Will need to source an alternative asap but teachers love SmartNotebook!

[Primus]

Smart Notebook 19 Basic is free.

[sted]

Smart Notebook 19 Basic is free.

kind of. if you dont register a user for a free account it wont even load it just asks for a username and quits if it dosent get one (after the trial period). so you are going to have to get staff to create accounts or do it for them

[Cat_Jam148]

Well...it was good while it lasted. For those who are looking to license the new version of SMART, don't forget about purchasing your "1 Year Non SMART Hardware License" for each device that you use SMART Notebook on interactively but isn't a SMARTBoard or Panel. It's only £690 each device every year....

[Primus]

kind of. if you dont register a user for a free account it wont even load it just asks for a username and quits if it dosent get one (after the trial period). so you are going to have to get staff to create accounts or do it for them

 

They can use their O365 or G Suite account to sign in - then there's no need for you to create an account specifically for Smart.

[DJ-1701]

I don't know weather people have already seen this, but it was passed to me today and I thought it might be worth sharing for anyone still running Smart Notebook 11 under the perpetual licence.

 

 

https://www.smarttech.com/support/discontinued-products

 

Yeah, it's been discussed in another thread, brought up by @PyROm.

 

Might be worth noting that after 1/7/2020 you wont be able to activate notebook versions before 17.0 - https://www.smarttech.com/support/discontinued-products

[mavhc]

No one wanted SaaS, except the people selling software of course.

 

The main problem was people created resources in a closed format, never waste your time doing that, you're just working for the owners of the format for free.

[sigma]

The are plenty of other better free software alternatives for touchscreens. Free touchscreen software was being pushed quite hard at BETT this year. Knowing that nothing is really free, I’ve not looked at any of the Ts&Cs or Privacy Policies to see what’s really going on though. My impression at BETT this year was that all of the touchscreens and the software was much of a muchness, and I feel that both the boards and the software have become commodity items.

 

All this tech and I still see so many teachers just displaying PowerPoints.

[free780]

Use MS Whiteboard or PowerPoint your going to be paying for it anyway. We went with Lynx which can open smart files.

[CyBeRkId2002]

@sigma - Do you have any examples to hand? Never really delved into it as v11 just worked and staff were happy but looks like we may need to investigate a little more now.

[sigma]

Offerings from Prowise and VeiwSonic spring to mind, but there were others.

[mikeprice]

I glad I have retired - I tried to wean the lot at my old school off the old version of Smart Notebook but they 'couldn;t teach without it'

 

when we had a discussion about moving from ancient SmartBoards to Interactive panels one of the main criteria for the new ones was that they HAD to be able to run Smart Notebook

never mind if this put £x00 onto the price - it was essential

and I bet that if I had implemented new Smart panels they would have complained about getting the new Smart Notebook instead of the very very old version

 

we ended up just getting a few refurbished IWBs and some new projectors

[Mr.Ben]

I don't see what the issue is. The new versions allow you to use all of the features that existed in v11, even when the trial has expired. Teaching staff have to click a max of three buttons to login if using a Microsoft or Google account.

[LeMarchand]

I don't see what the issue is. The new versions allow you to use all of the features that existed in v11, even when the trial has expired. Teaching staff have to click a max of three buttons to login if using a Microsoft or Google account.

 

Given how they moan about having to move the mouse/click a key to avoid the screen locking after the set period...

[mikeprice]

I don't see what the issue is. The new versions allow you to use all of the features that existed in v11, even when the trial has expired. Teaching staff have to click a max of three buttons to login if using a Microsoft or Google account.

 

Err - you are asking 'those teachers' to change

[free780]

Or someone has to give the magic money tree a shake? Every year.

[strawberry]

Or someone has to give the magic money tree a shake? Every year. [ATTACH]56587[/ATTACH]

 

step 1. make it a technological problem. Whine

step 2. whine some more

step 3. Wait for someone to actually have a problem.

step 4. Appoint said person chief solution architect

step 5. Apply money.

Step 6. Blame fiscal issues on IT. Vow to never inject money ever again.

[Mr.Ben]

Given how they moan about having to move the mouse/click a key to avoid the screen locking after the set period...

Ha! :-) sadly I have no been doing this job long enough to not care too much about unreasonable expectations.

 

Generally, the conversation goes like this:

 

I have no control over the support lifecycle of a multi million pound business. It will either cease to function, cause something else to cease to function, create an expensive technical burden (are your department paying for that?) and/or will become a security risk.

 

I'm fortunate enough to be working in a Trust that sees the value and reasoning behind ITIL compliance and how consistent approaches to ICT improve the learning experience for everyone!

[mike_ash]

Anyone know if you can opt out of the free trial when installing the basic version of notebook 19.1? Wouldn't want users to create something they then can't use after the 45 day trial

[Griff]

Google Jamboard might be a good alternative? I saw a demo of it at BETT.

[Vegas]

I emailed Smart as we have a range of 580, 680 and 880 smartboards and are still using 11.4 this was their very useful response:

 

I have read your e-mail and I understand that you have a number of SMART board® interactive whiteboards still using version 11.4 of SMART Notebook® collaborative learning suite and would like to know what your options would be going forward.

 

I am happy to provide some options for you.

 

Let's focus on the best options for the SB680 and SBX800 series SMART Boards first as we have good news for those. The SB580 series boards create a unique situation that I will address last.

 

First to recap. version 11.4 is a legacy version which SMART Technologies has not supported for a number of years and have been encouraging customers to upgrade. However this version has continued to work for the most part on Windows 7 and MAC editions up to the launch of Mojave and Catalina.

The issue is actually with a part of our software called the SMART Product Drivers and ink. This part of our software manages communication for touch and writing between our software, the operating system and the controller on various SMART boards.

 

Customers using version 11.4 on Windows 7 are faced with the discontinence of support for Windows 7 which means an upgrade to Windows 10.

 

Windows 10 will not recognize legacy versions of SMART Product drivers and ink. SMART Technologies has been working to update our drivers to the point where drivers fro version 16.0, 17.0, 18.0 and now 19.1 remain compatible.

 

The controllers on the back of SMART board models SB600 series and up which includes SBX800 series will recognize SMART product drivers from those editions.

We reserve version 16.0 for teachers who have SMART Notebook files containing flash objects since subsequent versions do not support flash. Users needing version 16.0 will need to purchase a SMART License in order to keep the version active.

 

All other versions of SMART Notebook (17-19.1) would be compatible with your SB600 and SBX800 series SMART boards.

 

We have learned that quite often educators choose to remain with version 11.4 because at the time of this version's release (2005) activation was done with a one time license purchase. After that SMART Technologies switched to an annual subscription in order to subsidize software re-writes to keep up with changes in computer operating systems and to add new features.

 

Based on customer feedback SMART Technologies learned many educators do not need or wish to access the premium features and in 2018, launched a free version of the SMART Notebook. It was called Limited mode in version 17 and modified in version 19.1 and re-named Notebook Basic.

 

We are recommending that you uninstall version 11.4 and upgrade to version 19.1 basic version. This is free. Of course you can certainly subscribe to the premium version and we would be happy to review the annual subscription options as well as the benefits of the premium features.

 

Here is a link to a video that highlights many of the features in SMART Notebook Basic. Your teacher will be pleased to learn that the layout is very similar to version 11.4.

 

Use this clean up tool to uninstall 11.4

 

Use this link to install SMART Notebook basic. ( be sure to click in the empty field and select "I'd like a free download fo Notebook Basic)

 

As we mentioned this will work great with the SB600 and SBX800 seris SMART boards.

 

Now for the SB580 SMART Boards.

 

Unfortunately, the controller attached to the back of the SB500 series board will not recognize current SMART Product Drivers and ink. Therefore the only option is to continue using version 11.4 on Windows 7 or Windows XP.

 

Some customers have reported that version 11.4 does work on Windows 10, in the sense that touch and writing work, for a period of time. The issue is related to Windows 10 security updates. Whenever those automated updates run, they delete the SMART Product drivers. That means you would need to store a copy of version 11.4 and use it to continually re-install.

 

In the medium term, we would suggest giving consideration to upgrading these 12 SB580 boards as the budget permits. Your local SMART re seller can work with you on this. Be sure to mention the SMART trade in program for additional discounts.

[CHiLL]

Now for the SB580 SMART Boards.

 

Unfortunately, the controller attached to the back of the SB500 series board will not recognize current SMART Product Drivers and ink. Therefore the only option is to continue using version 11.4 on Windows 7 or Windows XP.

 

Some customers have reported that version 11.4 does work on Windows 10, in the sense that touch and writing work, for a period of time. The issue is related to Windows 10 security updates. Whenever those automated updates run, they delete the SMART Product drivers. That means you would need to store a copy of version 11.4 and use it to continually re-install.

Our site is mainly SB680 with a small number of SB480 and SB580 boards. We've been using Windows 10 since 2016 and SMART Notebook 11.4 until summer 2019. Currently we have deployed Windows 10 1909 and SMART Notebook 19.1 and all of our boards appear to be working correctly.

 

SMART Notebook Basic 19.1 is actually pretty good for a free product, it does most of what 11.4 does...bar a couple of things. One thing that has been brought up is the transparant background is not included in the free version, you need to license it for that...which has upset our maths staff because they use it a lot.

 

One thing to note is that SMART Notebook Basic requires the user to register for a free SMART account (preferrably using their work email) and it does have Office 365 SSO capabilities. Without registering for and also signing in, SMART Basic only runs on a 45 day free trial. After that it nags you to sign in. However you only need to sign in if you wish to use Notebook. If you want to simply use the touch/draw on the board - that works without signing in.