witch Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 This is a whole new world for me Never in the 8 years I have been doing this job have I been asked to spec up quite so much equipment at once... The HT wants to put a new budget together and needs me to price up the following: Wireless network (done already - Ruckus) Something to hang off it - that I can put on my network - Netbooks? I was leaning towards the Sanyos but would like some input An IT suite full of computers - 35. He quite likes the all in ones. Anyone got any thoughts? ( we currently have Dell 170Ls which on on their last legs). We are a primary school with about 350 pupils. thanks
tommej Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 We got some lenovo ideapad s12 netbooks recently which are very nice!
witch Posted March 8, 2010 Author Posted March 8, 2010 We got some lenovo ideapad s12 netbooks recently which are very nice! did you put them on your network? the boss wants them as stand-alones but I don't think that will work very well with all different children using them. I forgot to say that we would need a proper case or something for the netbooks. I like the large suitcasey ones as the teachers could probably cope with them
tommej Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 They're all on our network and we have 2 lapcabbys to move them around. They're really nice as they have 12 inch screens. Much better to read and type on.
TronXP Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 we are looking at the new lenovo all in ones, we have been using lenovo for almost 4 years now and we have enjoyed their performance and reliablity. Lenovo A70z at insight
john Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 Did you mean Samsung Netbooks rather than Sanyo Witch? As for kit, for all in ones is it not worth perhaps going for the HP and Dell style where the base units bolt onto the back of the TFTs so you can keep swapping the base units over the whole things (thinking green and econess here myself) Personally I just got for HP SFF PCs for my main areas and then normal mini-towers for specific areas such as my Media Editing rooms. You say cases for your netbooks, someone at Bett had a really good moulded solution for them that was like a big suitcase on wheels that was also for charging but I've forgot the name of the firm again I may have the brochure in my bag at work though.
witch Posted March 8, 2010 Author Posted March 8, 2010 Yeah Yeah - sanyo, samsung -potato potarto!!! I've got the suitcase brochure but I think the man there said that if I bought the netbooks from some suppliers (RM, I think), they would include the cases SFF or all in one? Opinions please!
torledo Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 Yeah Yeah - sanyo, samsung -potato potarto!!! I've got the suitcase brochure but I think the man there said that if I bought the netbooks from some suppliers (RM, I think), they would include the cases SFF or all in one? Opinions please! I personally would go with all-in-one. But then again i don't know how good the PC all-in-one's actually are. Don't have any experience of them other than they're not hideous looking. But there seem to be more options available now at keener prices.
glennda Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 I had a guy in from NovaTech down in Portsmouth today, he was showing off there new netbook/tablet stuff to us - they looked good but i don't think they will work for the older heavy handed students but would be good for the young students. they also had leaflets of the desktop pc's - take a look at their website although the machines on there website are just examples they will make the machines you want to order. he also bourght with him lots of free goodies including nice doughnuts!
witch Posted March 8, 2010 Author Posted March 8, 2010 (edited) I shall look at them, ta Didnt realise you were in Pompey - Edited March 8, 2010 by witch
glennda Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 (edited) I shall look at them, ta Didnt realise you were in Pompey im not he just drove up to us but then the business he is trying to get off us is for nearly 240 machines which is lots of money!! im in the middle of sussex! Toby Edited March 8, 2010 by witch
witch Posted March 8, 2010 Author Posted March 8, 2010 oh I see, they are in pompey, not you! Note to self - dont post when exhausted I'm looking for 35 machines and about 30 netbooks so I dont know if it is worth his while
glennda Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 i did that the otherday - after 3 hours in the pub - read it the next morning then deleted it! Our account manager is called paul something! ill dig his number/email out n pm it to you
Mr.Ben Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 I debated over which netbook to buy for ages, consulted a couple of friends at a previous School I worked at and decided on the Dell Latitude 2100's. The reasons for it were: Cheap Spare Parts, A three year parts warrenty for £30 per machine, Easy to take apart (But not easy to damage!), I've also found the rubber on the outside of them to be invaluable, after a year they are in much better condition than the Mini 9 Dell's or ASUS netbooks we had - these seemed to get trashed quickly.
featured_spectre Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 witch, PM me your work number, I will be happy to discuss everything I did at my school as last year I was in exactly your position. You can learn from my mistakes 1
Jobos Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 Our HP7900s seem to be holding up well. As long as they don't go faulty! I was on the phone to the HP Indian call centre for 33 minutes last week. Something I can do without
john Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 If you know the HP Protocols you can jump the gun and just log it online, basically the way to do it is use the website and say you have swapped everything with each other, reseated everything, everything you tested with is known good etc etc and that you have diagnosed its a dead X and they just ship it out no questions asked and saves time. I used to have the script in a document somewhere that you needed to cover so I just pasted it in and filled the blanks every time I used it and it was great.
glennda Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 If i know whats wrong/or think i do i just make up the answers to the questions aslong as you get the answer right and it ticks the boxes on there screen they will send you the parts!
witch Posted March 9, 2010 Author Posted March 9, 2010 and...back to topic..... SO....netbooks - Several votes for the the Samsung? Please can I have your opinions of the ones you have PCs: Generally all in ones seem OK but will be pricey to replace and would waste all our screens. It has been suggested that I do my own with brackets but not sure - anyone? We are a poor primary and do not need to go for a top-of-the-range machine, so what I am going to do is amass 2 sets of info - one for the mid-range and one at the expensive end. I suspect that the boss has no idea how much this is all going to cost him! Also - suppliers? I use CP but will need more than one thanks 1
Edu-IT Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 PCs: Generally all in ones seem OK but will be pricey to replace and would waste all our screens. It has been suggested that I do my own with brackets but not sure - anyone? I don't like all in one systems. A pain, usually, if you do have to carry out any repairs. That could have changed in recent months though.
srochford Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Some all in one makers use a standard motherboard inside the case - this means that if the PC bit fails then it's relatively easy to replace the MB. You could also upgrade it at some point in the future without throwing away the monitor (which will last longer then the computer bit) Are you looking at all-in-ones for space saving or "niceness"? If it's the former then, as has been said, several companies do a unit which can be fixed on the back of the monitor but watch out for ones which have a separate power brick. The Dells I looked at a while back had a nice compact unit on the monitor (so you got good looking, space saving) but the power brick really was a brick!!
penfold Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Personally I dont like all in ones. We have some Viglins here in a couple of rooms and the first thing I was told is that a few of them have had power issues which has resulted in them being out of use until replacement parts where ordered. Had they been standard desktops (as there are in the rest of the site)I'm sure there would have been spare parts knocking about. The other thing I dont like is the fact that different users may need to move the screen but users tend to be a little heavy handed when the equipment isn't theirs. Maybe it's just the all-in-ones I've seen & used, but the appeal seems to come from teachers who like the look but the practical side of them are not right. Of course newer models may have improved.
Tricky_Dicky Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 I personally like the Toshiba NB200s netbooks. Small, well made, webcam and excellent battery life. For the PC's the one's where they sit on a cradle at the back are probably best due to being a normal PC where you can easily service them if needed. Rich
witch Posted March 9, 2010 Author Posted March 9, 2010 (edited) The HT just likes the look of all in ones and is thinking of space - but we arent too bad so I would like to turn him off that idea. Are there brackets I could get? As I said, we have the screens already. Next question is - what sort of spec would you look at? I am presuming that these beasts will have to last 5 years but they dont have to be whizz-bang as this is only a primary. Dual core? Not? Def dont need big HD as everything saved on to the server. I'm trying to strike a balance between something that will last but wont be TOO expensive. SFF would please the boss. *edit: boss has just come to me and said that another HT has got these: http://www.trustedreviews.com/pcs/review/2009/09/24/Mesh-Cute---Small-Form-Factor-PC/p1 Anyone any experience of them? Edited March 9, 2010 by witch
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