Espada

That is very similar to the way I would do it, though I don't know vb that well. Is there an easy way in vb to get the name of the user on a remote machine, that way it could be controlled from my laptop and I don't need to worry about setting up timetables.

Right, what is the best way to do this? I want to be able to enforce seating plans in my classroom by either preventing users from logging in to the wrong machine or by logging them off. I could easily write a script to do this but that would require a lot of time and I was wondering if there was an easier way.

Great, this time you can block out drives rather than the kids being able to save to C.

Actually, yes, I do think they will be good for this. 1. The Internet, I have few problems using it on my Eee. The screen is 800 wide and it is the width which is most important, it is also very clear. The only place I have seen them struggle is on games sites but this is a bonus really. 2. What better if you are going to give kids a laptop, they are solid state so will take some banging around, they will slip into a bag quite well (if you are not giving them to kids to take home, the teacher will need to count them back in). Really though these are for kids to take home with them.

I have seen these in the past and they didn't really work very well. Much better to get a normal IWB. The only advantage is that you can still write on the board with normal pens.

Well as it is me and only me who knows how the blocking works, I do effectively have unrestricted access.

I blocked it for the kids but deliberately kept it open for staff, I thought they might appreciate it, oh okay I wanted access.

The DPA states that any personal data could be adequately protected. If that data is just saved on a HD then it is not adequately protected. At the least they should be using something like truecrypt to protect that data.

@mmoseley First things first. Discipline is not your responsibility, if you can't handle it ask a teacher, the more senior the better. They have a responsibility to support you there. If you know their names disable their account, when they come running saying they can't logon tell them that if they mess around again then you will be referring it to the scariest teacher in school. If they do it again, then refer them. Whatever you do don't make promises you cannot keep and if you make a promise keep it.

You might find that because the kids know you well they may give you some more respect and so do what you ask them. It could however go the other way in which case don't struggle alone.

Oh dear! Another nice app bites teh dust and goes down the activation route.

In my room, damage runs close to zero. Whilst I am in the room it is zero, the kids know I can ban them from the computers and the Internet, it is not worth the risk. The other rooms are a different story with mice and keyboards being damaged daily. We use almost 100% optical mice and they are all cable tied in place.

Sounds ideal.

Price isn't the issue. Rather capacity and lifespan. I am thinking about using one in the car to provide mp3 playback, sat nav etc... Another idea is to retire the laptop that is currently my mail server and replace with something not much bigger than a pack of cards. Maybe one of the 1.8" Toshiba jobs would help.

No but I want one! The only problem is that a 2.5 inch drive would double the size of the PC so it would have to be a CF card.