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.

8O

Gatt > Your first task must be to get this guy off PC World. Get him making network cables until he repents.

In NetSupport you can overide the machine name for that purpose. Naming them after the room they are in.

Just a warning with these. The amount of power supplied is very much dependant upon the machine you are plugging into. I have one of these and it will not work through my USB hub (not host powered) and I get a message popping up saying there has been a surge on the port. It works fine elsewhere though. - What a waste of my 100th post.

Belgium. Beer, chips & chocolate. The Belgians love the English, aren't sure about the Dutch, hate the Germans, and don't even regard the French as human. But have you ever tried their banking system. Makes ours look friendly.

and you call yourself an edugeek!

Yerushalayim

A standard multimeter will do the trick. Just measure resistance. You can get them from Maplin which aren't too pricey, I am sure you could get them cheaper elsewhere. It is worth the investment for a decent one though as it can help trace faults on the network very quickly.

It will just be a patch update. Maybe a bit of DRM thrown in for good measure. They won't want to improve the user experience in XP as it would lessen the incentive to upgrade.

I would like working cables at the end of it. Admittedly, the idea of working sixth formers is quite a novel one. They do even less work than our network technician who won't make cables because it takes too long. I could make one in the time he spends on the phone ordering one.