jimmy_2k

make a list of all titles we need converting, post them on EduGeek and to save reinventing the wheel post the copies we have already made to each other. Will have to work out how to cover our backs when it comes to copyright but hey why reinvent the wheel!

There are a few bands @ Kendall Calling I wouldn't mind seeing, and plus I've got family there so I'd have somewhere to stay. Green Man was also mentioned to me which also looks good, but alas, I have no one to go with and I'm replacing our domain controllers and re-imaging the whole site this summer. :-(

I have a set of 14 exams laptops (retired trolley laptops) which are used in exams for word processing purposes. We get them to save to a USB stick and write their name and candidate number on each page in pen.

Hi all, I have a few software packages which run from the local server but only allow a limited number of users to open these at any one time. Is there a way I can restrict access to this software so that only the specified number of users can open this folder at any one time so I can add the shortcut to all computers onsite without worrying about non compliance? I know you can restrict the number of users on shared folders within Server2008. I'm using 2k8R2 for my apps server. Thanks

Hi all, Thanks for your input on this one. I like the look of the Dell 9010, though I can understand some of the impracticality. The majority of PCs at our school are the Dell Optiplex 320s and they have a habbit of dropping the USB ports causing users to plug the keyboards and mice into the front ports or taking the perhiperals from other computers leading us to believe these have been stolen. I take it the Optiplex 790 doesn't have this issue? The admin computers were Dell 745s and the other PCs would have been the same but I think my predessors went for the 320s because of price. I agree with Localzuk, I need to get some demo units in, I am sold on the idea of an all in one PC as our space constraints warrant it. I did like the RM ONE as we had these in my last place and the RM Eco quiet in a mount, however the quality of RM hardware went down a bit so I am not so sure. Cheers

I know this might sound like a retrograde step but, does all the ICT funding monies need to be spent at once? The one thing that I have see happen with some new builds is they purchase thousands of pounds worth of equipment/software and don't use it all and wish they had bought somthing else to reflect their teaching etc. In my opinion departments should be allowed to grow into their new building and decide gradually how many new computers/laptops/devices they would like and what software packages they can start using rather than buying a lot of fancy equipment and then wondering what to do with it. The schools should be driving the technology and not being forced to adapt to someone elses specification (This is one of the pitfalls of LEA designed Managed Service rather than a direct agreement with 1 school and the provider). I would concentrate on getting the infrustructure right and then work with each department to see what enhancements you can make and that they require within budget. I could go on about this for ages but I hope this makes sense.

Chris Jury - Eric Catchpole from Lovejoy and director (Eastenders, Crossroads etc) Was a colleague at the University where I worked, nice guy. Lord Richard Rogers - Architect (Used to go to school with this son) I've also met one of the regional reporters for BBC Points West when they were filming in our school, I was on the bulletin for 5 seconds. It was one of the GCSE results days.

Ah yes, lets say no more than £500 per workstation. I'm more interested in reliability and ergonomity at this stage as I might get more money if I can justify less technical time spent fixing the PCs.

Hi all, I am looking to replace two or three ICT suites soon and I am looking for workstations which offer good performance, build quality but most of all take up the least ammount of space. Our ICT suites must have been designed for laptop use as the desks and workbenches are quite small so these don't allow the students the flexibility they should as they can't get their books out in the same space unless there isn't anyone sitting on the computer next to them. I like the look of the slimline RM Ecoquiet which can be bolted down to the classroom desk or the HP Pro All-In-One 3420. All suggestions welcome!

GX745's are good machines for the school office but then again if its for stuff like Kudo (games programming software) and anything that needs to render 3D then its not worth it. I know some people would now start suggesting thin clients.

Don't they also make the ALAN testing software?

Replacing our Active Directory with 2 new Server 2008R2 domain controllers. Reimage 600 workstations and rebuild the file server to Server 2008R2 with quotas and restructure the shared folders.

I haven't seen this one being done for years. I know some schools used to get computers from local businesses and one leading highstreet bank but I know when people became more aware of the DPA hard drives were often stripped out and as the schools didn't have the money to buy new drives the computers were essentially worthless. Then the WEEE directive came in and organisations decided to stick with disposal agents. Then again it can't hurt to ask, also consider contacting a local university or college.

Hi all, Just a quick update on my situation. I spoke to Pearson Publishing about this and was told that because of .net 1.1 compatibility this won't work with Server 2008. In the end I rebuilt a resonable spec workstation with 2003 (don't update .net whatever you do) to run the full suite and thats solved the issue for me.

I'm stood at my Apps server right now about to reinstall this and i'm getting the good ole doesn't work with Server 2008. Has anyone spoken to tech support or are they just saying sorry its not going to work?

I inherited a system without quotas so I am a bit stuck at the moment because to implement these it will impact on all users as they are well over the proposed 500Mb proposed limit. The issue isn't space on the SAN its just space on the backup service we subscribe to.

haha, these are leased devices and I had just as many issues with Server 2003. Firmware update is what I was thinking. I have logged into the printers and checked the error logs. It is coming up with memory overflow issues. The printers appear to have 1Gb RAM and the photos not getting though are 45mb in total so I thought that would work. This is a lovely random issue :-(

Hi all, I've got a bit of a baffling problem with colour printing. I have a series of Ricoh MPC8000 Printers running on PCL5c drivers using Papercut's FollowMe. The print server runs Server2008 R2 with both 32 and 64 bit drivers. The computers are running XP with Service Pack 3. Students print using either word or MS Picture viewer. If they send colour prints either 1 full page print or 3 etc (basically in any order) Sometimes the colour printer will print these as expected, other times the MPC8000's will send out 1 blank page and stop printing. If you send these to a Lexmark b/w printer, these come out as expected each time. This has been a PITA to diagnose as i've spend a whole afternoon printing images without any issues and the next day some students randomly get this issue. We used to have an old 2003 Print server that was a mess so I rebuilt it to 2K8 with the latest PCL5c drivers (I used these as the other printers seem to work best with these) The only other option I can consider is rebuilding the classroom machines from scratch but after justifying 1 days printing downtime to do the printer migration and the leased printing provider spending 2 days with me trying to diagnose the problem with this working each time I don't want much more egg on my face. Especially as these are exam print outs and the deadline is due!

I can see where Localzuk is coming from. I have the same situation, 30+ switches which are approaching 5 years which were installed by a managed service provider. We currently have two physical networks, one for the main school network and one which is solely for FM systems. (Door controllers, BMS etc). Both systems are Cisco. We are planning on replacing our door controllers to a wireless system therefore the FM network is almost redundant so I will move the hard wired stuff over to the main network and VLAN it off. The FM Switches which are slightly lower spec than the main network may work as spares or these can be sold to another organisation and the money used to buy one or two spares for my site. The Data Networks team at the LEA suggested I bought HP Pro Curve switches which will work with the Cisco kit but were half the price so I am looking at both options. Needless to say I have no spares the moment.

I'm in a similar situaton and my kit hits the 5 year mark in July when all warranties expire. Currently planning our future for the next 5 years but until 2013 I think we will keep everything going as it is and by then we will know what monies are available and be able to start enacting our development plan.

I'd try permissions on the teachers PC. Personally I hate PC based shared printers, they always cause issues with the PC that they are installed on and I managed to remove all of them from my site. :-)

We had this sytem setup when I worked at a University. We had to remove this because we were using Microsoft Office and in the Microsoft licensing agreement, any machine which you use Office on (wether it is installed on the PC or not) requires a license of Office for that machine. E.g. Teacher uses Office on a PC at home, school has EES or Campus this is fine but a teacher could use the terminal server on say a webcafe machine without an office license, this would be a breach of MS licensing. This may have changed in the license agreement as this was a while ago and personally I would argue that if they have a login and you have an agreement then they would be covered anyway. Good idea though, I want to put SIMS on TS for Mac users. At my school all staff have laptops and we have a VPN with a 25 user license.

At my place since taking IT inhouse we have started doing ICT Club which we have started doing programming and webdesign inconjunction with the ICT Teachers. I have been asked to start putting some input in but i'm too busy this academic year. Next year I will probably teach PC repair and some basic networking like that did when I was at college 10 years ago. I did do a motherboard swap infront of a group of students one lunchtime who really enjoyed it and their begging me to teach them the 7 layer OSI model.

I can't see the pic is its blocked on my WAN link. Is it a Lowe and Fletcher lock as I have a bag of 100 odd keys from some old cages that went in the skip from my old place and a lot are similar (don't ask why i've still got them). Is there a number on the lock?

Hey all, Well i've worked for 2 schools, 1 MSP and 1 University and been IT assistant, IT Technician, Senior Technician and now Network Manager. IT assistant can either be an apprenticeship who works for the IT Tech or someone who is more admin based. IT Technician and Senior technician are largely technicially based with the Senior technician having more technical experience and responsibility though as the others say this depends on the interpretation by schools and in some cases they are refered to as the assistant network manager. The Network managers job is entirely different in some respects to a techs job, you need to have more interpersonal skills and in fact your job will be 40% hands on technical and 60% people. You will at least have to manage a budget for consumables and be expected to spend time planning improvements (taking into account schools needs, available budget, expertise), keeping software licensed, telling people they can't have somthing, taking full responsiblity for the network uptime, managing staff (discpline as well as praise) etc. I know far too many people who have said to me that they would rather manage as it looks "easy" to them. If their manager makes the job look easy then they are a hell of a good manager and worth learning from. So if you are serious about reaching your goal of becoming a Network Manager then I would start by asking your current manager if you can start deputising for them and ensure you spend time understanding the role fully and learning from those above you really. Hope it all works out though.