Lee_K_81

Ok, out of interest. If i use VM server to create the image, and vm player to run the image. What happens if i want to connect to the domain. The machine name is set in vmserver........ virtualisation on a big scale with domain connection seems as though it is going to cause me no end of trouble!

£1.75? Where you getting them from... we paid 1.05 for ours.... I believe that the cals dont just apply to the owa. They are used for mailboxes, so to stay legal you would require a cal for each mailbox that an application would connect to. I'm afraid you will probably have to stump up for the cals. Or try an open source alternative, but then migration might be a pain the a$$.

D'oh! Don't say that. i've just ordered 20 of the dx5150 SFF........

Very good article. Found it especially funny that the mac vs pc ad is next to it! They harp on about restarting every 10 mins? I havent restarted by tablet in over a week. Also, they harp on about it being a pc.... erm doesnt linux run on a pc? Anyway, before i incure the wrath of mac users everywhere, macs are good for somethings, like graphics and video editing and...... erm....... hmmmmm....... anyone? help?

Sorry, typo. Ok, from what you've said i think best option is to create an image and copy to all machines. that being said if i wanted to connect this to the domain so the kids can access their folders would that cause any problems with them not being able to adjust the image. or would it do the changes in memory but not save them.

Forgive my ignorance, i'm not as up to speed with linux / virtualisation as i would like to be. So in theory I could: Install VMServer - create a server and very basic client image with LTSC installed on. Before rolling out a new windows image across the network during half term, install vmPlayer and copy client image to hdd. Run server image. pupils can then run vmplayer with linux client which could then connect to server allowing me to update the server image at any time. :scratch: Or would it be best to just create the image in vmserver, and copy it out to the machines every time i do an upgrade. Bit of a hastle but at the moment seems the best idea. Most annoying thing is the size. Or did i miss understand LTSC and you can get a version to run on windows and connect to a virtual linux server? Thanks for the responses so far....

I want to be able to offer our students an open source alternative to windows. I am particularly keen on the ubuntu / edubuntu flavours of linux. As i see it, i have three basic options open to me. 1. Dual Boot - however, this could be time consuming with constant re-starts to load new OS. 2. M$ Virtual PC - is there a way to lock down the image, control exactly what the kids can access, provide access to their home directories. But it's Free! 3. VMPlayer and VMWorkstation - Same as above really. But the VMworkstation needed to create the images costs money. But the VMPlayer would mean the image was read only. Also there is the issue with bandwidth with the 2 virtualization methods. I would prefer a networked image that I could update as and when, but the image/ virtualHD would be a couple of gig. How do you get around these issues in your schools? Recommendations, suggestions, experiences greatly appreciated.

Network Setup - discuss your individual network, are there two (or more) domains, what applications are networked, shared drives, mapped drives, networked teaching resources (talk to specific department heads) Issues arising from management - Password security, data protection, not allowing pupils to use staff log on, security i.e. they may not be allowed access to certain areas. Keeping ICT up to date - possibly mention vista, open source alternatives, backwards/forwards compatibility. Plannin for the future - what trends you see in the next 2-3 years i.e. whole school increased ict provision such as networked / linked dance mats, exercise bikes linked to games in PE, etc Good luck. If they have any ICT background they should be pretty much up-to-date with developments but may be interested in where you envisage the school going with ICT.

IF i remember correctly even if you are using a dynamic disk you cannot extend the system partition/drive.

I have been wondering this myself. Lol. My understanding is that it has been blocked for the moment. I understand the concerns, but surely that decision could be put into the hands of individual network managers. We can block it on our internal networks if we so choose. It's just sometimes useful for communications with each other in the ict dept, as well as people in other schools, industry, etc. Sorry to whinge eduabncs, i'm sure it's not your fault. It just gets frustrating when things are filtered as false positives and decisions about what we can and cant use on the network are taken out of our hands.

Saw one earlier. Problem is though I dont think it;s compatible with my MultiDock II, and there's no mention of price. Bet it's going to be 1.5 - 2k easily.

I have been wondering this myself. Lol. Yeah not exactly the type of thing you can call up EDIT, i mean LandCIT, i mean Link2ICT about. Even though i purely use it to talk to other IT people.

Hopefully getting around £20k, although there is another budget for infrastructure, if i need any extra. Plus we have a technology status budget which somebody else holds the purse strings for.

Surely the student toilets would be safer?! 8O Well I know one of our regular posters here from Brum has his server/ICT support room in an old converted toilet area. At one point they had a blockage in the sewerage system. Guess where the raw sewerage came out.....! Dont say that. We're about to convert some toilets. Although they are never used, but still. eeuw!. BTW eduabncs: have you blocked msn / windows messenger again? for some reason i can never connect... Not sure if it's bcs of our imimic server though.

Was that the M400 or M200? The M400 is much bigger than the M200, bigger screen, CD-RW, etc. The M200 might be suitable if you can find any. Good luck with that though as it's been discontinued, and i doubt the head would want second-hand . I think most are now either very small and not suitable for use as an only computer or two big for the general usage they need. If you want to buy an M400 i'll swap my M200 for it. Only one careful owner.

oH NO....... Not the whole chocolate thing again!!!!!! Thank goodness it's friday.... mmmm crunchy.... no..........

I'm currently using a toshiba M200, found it to be great. Especially when connected to the docking station and a second monitor! I think the M400 is the current model though.

I would personally go for the first one. Second one just defines everything as "field" and sets a tab order and id.

Yes - all the time; Windows XP, Server 2003, Visual Studio 2005, IE7, Office 2007, Exchange 2003, IIS; But i also use: Firefox, cutePDF, moodle (investigating anyway), mysql, etc. So i'm not against the open source movement, it just doesnt necessarily make things easier. I have to admit that at the moment we dont have any Linux or macs in school. I've tried pushing for macs for graphics, but it comes down to the fact of staff and student capabilities. If we had a suite of macs but a teacher who couldnt use them, the kids wouldnt be able to get the most out of them, which would be a waste. I make no bad comments about macs, but like localzuk says: We as technologist can use open source if we choose, but we send it via email to a teacher or senior manager and they either cant open it or they dont like the fact its not M$ and looks a little different, and ask you to do it in excel/powerpoint/word (delete as appropriate). For years we had star office on our system. I can count on one hand how many people tried to use it. That being said, I am going to ensure that open office gets on our system, and hopefully used. I'll ask the ICT co-ordinator to build it in to the OCR course.

Sorry to drag this topic up again but thought i'd give you all the heads up: our IT services have warned us not to create the 2007/2008 financial year in build 2.80. I believe the problem lies in that no ledger codes are created. I also understand that a new upgrade should be with us sometime in the next few weeks. Oh joy! I doubt this problem is local to Birmingham schools but i would suggest checking with your own IT services. Good luck!

Not really. I actually quite like M$. They are majorly targetted and persecuted because of their success. If M$ released bespoke hardware (excluding xbox before somebody chips in with that one), or tied their software in to certain hardware they'd put hundreds of companies out of business. They'd be sued, anti trust complaints would be filed, etc. I'm not defending M$, it's just they walk around with a huge target on them. The biggest measure of success is that some people really dont like you.... or so i keep telling myself.

but "Microsoft Works" is the biggest oxymoron around.

Also is matching standards (e.g. valid html, xhtml, css, WAI, etc) more important than flashy stuff? As government organisations I personally feel we should be ensuring that our websites are not discriminatory to people with disabilities.

i believe it was the blue smarties that cause the hyperactivity, my lil bro suffered badly with it, - i used to kick the sh1t out him.... just kidding... honest. Funnily enough i actually commented on the hyperness the other day when i saw they advert.

errm first paragraph at head office in Reading... Russ Damn, i knew i was being thick. Should probably not apply then...... I'm blaming the fact i've been looking at CMIS reports in high res on dual monitors. tired eyes.......... Dont I feel a bit thick now!