Fazza Posted March 17, 2021 Author Posted March 17, 2021 Geobooks aren't appropriate for any environment - except maybe as prop fake laptops in a play I was wondering what we were going to be able to do with them when/if the Pandemic is over and now I have a use for them!
Norphy Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 (edited) It seems to be a real crapshoot when it comes to PXE booting these things. It's dependant on the model of Geobook you've got and the ethernet adapter itself. In the end, we built most of ours from USB sticks, but even that had its downsides as the USB stick had an annoying habit of taking device 0 then getting wiped by our task sequence. We had a lot of fun with these :\ I was wondering what we were going to be able to do with them when/if the Pandemic is over and now I have a use for them! Taking them to the clay pigeon shooting range and using them as targets is still my preferred option. Edited March 17, 2021 by Norphy 2
Cazab Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 I feel like I'm cursed, I turned fast boot off and now it won't boot at all!
WannabrewUK Posted March 17, 2021 Posted March 17, 2021 Found some screens at PSA Parts https://www.psaparts.co.uk/laptop-screen/geo-computers/geobook-1e-laptop-screen.html Used PSA a few times in the past and never had any problems.
WannabrewUK Posted March 19, 2021 Posted March 19, 2021 We've just gone to the Computacenter support portal to sort out a replacement under warranty and seen this at the top of the page. Anybody got details of how to get in contact with the manufacturer (Geo) Thanks
WannabrewUK Posted March 19, 2021 Posted March 19, 2021 Found the Geo website, went to support to find this. I wonder what's going to happen after Wednesday.
MrEprise Posted March 24, 2021 Posted March 24, 2021 Recently had a bunch of these back from Students, one of which has come back with a glossy screen! Since they all had matte screens when they were given out I suspect one Student has had an accident with one and the Parents have clearly gone to all the trouble of replacing it.
Norphy Posted March 24, 2021 Posted March 24, 2021 We had a mixture of glossy and matt screens, is it just possible that it went out with a glossy screen and you didn’t notice? 1
MrEprise Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 Yes, I forgot how 'frankenstein' these laptops were. I was fairly sure none had glossy screens but then it may have been one I was in a rush in getting out to a Student so didn't notice.
DrCheese Posted March 25, 2021 Posted March 25, 2021 Found the Geo website, went to support to find this. [ATTACH=CONFIG]61216[/ATTACH] I wonder what's going to happen after Wednesday. haha, they're going to vanish and disappear into the abyss once they don't have the DFE stamping on them. "ongoing support" won't exist. 1
DavidG1818 Posted March 27, 2021 Posted March 27, 2021 Folks, I am involved in a project attempting to recover refunds from companies who may have overcharged on governement contracts during the health crisis. If anyone is happy to estimate the wholesale price they would expect to pay for laptops that met the governement spec for the "Help with Tech" scheme that would assist me in my conversations with Computacenter and the Competition and Marketing Authority. No names or references would be used, we are just looking to get the figures right. Best estimates are that the laptops have cost £206. I appear to be able to buy one that matches the spec from Argos for £180. What would you folks expect to pay if you were ordering in bulk for your school? My email tubbyewe(at)gmail.com I have no intension of clogging up your forum, this will be my first and last post. Admins please delete if I'm out of order. Thanks for your work. David Goff 1
Boredguy Posted March 27, 2021 Posted March 27, 2021 humm had we been buying the DfE laptops ourselves, the models we got would unlikely have been thought of as they were so far below our minimum spec, but we didn't pay for them directly so no point in "what if" from our point of view. Just have lots of devices now sat there that won't get much use if/once things get back to normal
Tefters Posted March 29, 2021 Posted March 29, 2021 (edited) Well we had a new allocation of 49 about 3/4 weeks ago and ignored it as we currently have 150 now sitting in a cupboard as the students are back in school. We went with the DofE managed ones as I predicted they would be a steaming pile of dung and more of a headache to build ourselves, which going by the forums since last May was true. Just received an email from the head with a smiley face saying "ordered", thats now another 49 devices to go into a cupboard... I hate to think what this is going to cost us via taxes in the coming years... Edited March 29, 2021 by Tefters 2
grahamd22 Posted March 30, 2021 Posted March 30, 2021 We have a Geobook with the backlight gone ! The support from Geo is now that you pay to send them back to get repaired under warranty !!
atcoates Posted March 30, 2021 Posted March 30, 2021 We have a Geobook with the backlight gone ! The support from Geo is now that you pay to send them back to get repaired under warranty !! So basically pay for someone to take them away...I've got a few they can have!
JJonas Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 Got one that is stuck in a boot loop and wont re-image How do I boot it from a USB stick? Are there Bios changes I need to make? a secret key combination?
itdep Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 A quick test with a USB pend drive shows it as the F7 key that you need to press 1
sonofsanta Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 Oh good gods no, I've just had a cold email from someone trying to sell me more Geobooks I’m getting in touch because you recently showed interest in our GeoBook for Education devices and would love the opportunity to answer any questions you might have and understand further your learning device needs The only question I have is "what's the deepest darkest pit within 100 miles that I can throw these into", thanks 1
foofighterjim Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 I have actually seen 1:1 schemes (including parental contribution) with these as one of the device options.
MrEprise Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 Oh good gods no, I've just had a cold email from someone trying to sell me more Geobooks The only question I have is "what's the deepest darkest pit within 100 miles that I can throw these into", thanks The only place I can think of suitable (although not within 100 miles) is the landfill site where the E.T. Atari 2600 cartridges and the overstock of unwanted Apple Lisas ended up.
Norphy Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 The only place I can think of suitable (although not within 100 miles) is the landfill site where the E.T. Atari 2600 cartridges and the overstock of unwanted Apple Lisas ended up. No, don't do that! We could at least send them to a recycling facility to harvest what useful components and materials they have.
MrEprise Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 Which begs the question: Why didn't Atari or Apple do that instead of shoving useful materials into the ground?
Norphy Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 Which begs the question: Why didn't Atari or Apple do that instead of shoving useful materials into the ground? Because it was coming on for 40 years ago and the facilities and/or techniques required for it didn't exist back then? Not to mention, weaker environmental protection laws as well.
sonofsanta Posted June 16, 2021 Posted June 16, 2021 No, don't do that! We could at least send them to a recycling facility to harvest what useful components and materials they have. ...given the specs and build quality, probably about the same outcome at the end of the process 1
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