mb2k01

I've just had them again for the first time in a good year or so! "Simon from MCS" when he managed to get his way through to me, but when I took the transferred call it was back to "Simon from Millennium" Apparently, and I quote, they "have won a contract to supply toner to the whole of the Premier League!!" I stopped him in his tracks and said "I know exactly where this is going - you're about to offer me a T-Shirt aren't you", to which he replied "Umm, no" He tried to wrap the call up by saying "Ok, I've got your details I will send you out all of the info". I replied "What info?" to which he replied "about toners and t-shirts!" Needless to say I finished the call by instructing him to remove my name + the school details from his database, and to only call me in future if he wishes his company to be reported to the relevant agencies!

@PaulHuges I'm assuming you work for ParentPay. What is your role there? I'm in the position of having to decide which provider I sign our school (in fact, our brand new complete build non-BSF school) up to. Currently this had always been anticipated to be ParentPay - but after reading this thread I'm quite concerned. For us, the kind of issues reported here would be disastrous and not just give a negative perception of your product, but actually on the school / IT in general also.

I would echo everything that broc has said - very good write up with little else to say! The latest Epson model is the 455wi. Both models are also capable of 16:10. That's pretty much all I can add! Again, I'd echo the software point too - I've spent months 'discussing' the situation with both SMART and Promethean - at a quite senior level with one of them - neither willing to budge on license cost for alien hardware. All very disappointing and short-sighted in my view! The Epson software isn't the best, but is somewhere between "ok" and "good"? I'm planning on evaluating the RM universal product which will allow a consistent interface for all staff.

And those of us in Cornwall! Maybe we're all missing the obvious actually.... why does a large internet service provider need to create a large physical conference at all? Why not run the entire conference accross their very expensive infrastructure for us to interact live + watch later?

@ZeroHour I understand the tech reason both 'thanks' and 'rep' can't have the same value now then, but with that in mind why do the two separate entities exist when one isn't as significant? Wouldn't it be better to just have one? Possibly remove the 'Thank Post' link and just have the star - or remove both and have a 'Thank/Rep' link which adds only rep when clicked?

Is there a reason that the 'Thank Post' and 'Rep' systems can't replicate eachother? I've been on the site for years and never actually realised that 'Rep' was any different to 'Thank' - if I had known I would have probably 'thanked' those who helped by using the higher value one.

For me the issue was not so much finance, but time + lack of interest after looking at the advertised info. Distance was the other major issue for me... South West Grid for Learning holding an event in one of the furthest possible locations from most of its users rather than somewhere central?

Most (if not all) of your questions look to have been answered, but just to add... The other option for 'interactivity' is an Interactive Projector - Epson 455wi for example. The technology used is pretty similar to e-Beam apart from the e-Beam 'part' of the solution is incorporated in to the projector. This can also be used to make any surface interactive - a pre-packaged solution demonstrating this is the RM/ISIS Ver-Table. (I have no affiliation to either companies, but used both and compared to e-Beam myself so thought I'd add it here!)

I have Indesign CS3, but the file refuses to open - references a lot (about 12) plugins which aren't present on my system.

750 pupils, approx 80FTE and approx 350PC's on site. Head of service (me) also responsible for outsource support (currently 2 primaries) and a load of other things which are either vaguely connected (or only very loosely connected) to IT, and was originally developed to work onthe above + pick up additional strategic work relating to a complete new build - non-BSF/PFI and almost complete!)

Historically we've worked that way with an Assistant NM. We had the NM in a wider-reaching role with the Assistant NM undertaking more general day to day supervision of technicians / ensuring things were logged etc. At the min we've not got an Assistant NM position due to changes and promotions - set up is currently a Head of IT Services (imagine a cross between a non-teaching supervisory/strategic NM with some Director of IT type roles) line managing the NM, a Senior Technician and a Technician. In this scenario the Head of IT Services and NM work closely and both manage the lower team.

48 very low risk. Quite happy as before I got the score I thought I had done quite badly - timed out on the same shape matching slides!

Really up to you depending on the additional features being useful or not. Check the comparison chart out here (better than the MS ones I've seen before): Windows 7 editions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Edit: PS Enterprise my pref due to bitlocker

You need to use a digital pen to interact with the projected image (as with e-beam), and as far as I am aware it is only single touch. Could be wrong though, I haven't specifically looked if I'm honest!

I had one down on evalution / demonstration with a member of the Isis team for a large event I was putting on last year. You're basically looking at two products rolled in to one. The first is a table which converts to a whiteboard and the other is an Epson interactive projector. Both together give a product which is fairly useful in some circumstances, however you could arguably reproduce the product yourself as a project using a cheaper projector + e-Beam etc. It got good feedback from staff, and surprised me how much the pupils actually wanted to interact with it. Ask a student to do something on an Interactive Whiteboard and a lot will be put off, but they seemed to feel much more at ease with the table. We've ended up ordering two for two art classrooms - both to address the interface preference and the fact they needed a mobile solution as the rooms had no suitable wall for a traditional projection solution!

I like the layout. I use an adapted Newbury College one too! One quick question, what is the bar at the bottom of the screen - looks interesting!

Probably worth stating I have no connection with the above job first... If it were me considering applying I would apply regardless. Try and demonstrate within the application / CV / covering letter what you would bring to the role... maybe drop things in which somone from an entirely academic background may not bring. It's always worth a go. Personally, whenever I advertise positions I never mention these kind of specifics... or at least state they are only desirable. I would much rather spend my time sifting through a wide range of interesting, multi-talented candidates than mull over a handful of people that just happen to have the same qualification.

Zip drives! I remember Jazz drives and LS-120 drives too!

The vacancies link at the bottom doesn't appear to work. Working link seems to be here

We uploaded staff using the same naming convention used for AD accounts and set a default password for staff to log in for the first time. I dare say that some of our staff decided to use the same password - although I have previously recommended using unique passwords for separate services to minimise security risks etc.

Hi Mark, I see you've looked at one of my threads! The Theatre project mentioned in my thread was a specialist booking/ticketing project which doesn't have to be complete for about 6months. For general classroom / area booking we ended up going for a separate product - http://www.schoolbooking.com - very 'cheap' in comparison to the paid ones. We actually organised a long trial first and sought feedback from staff - all were very complimentary, so we opted to buy. This also does fill your sims export/import requirement too - you can upload all rooms/all staff if you wish! Hope that helps?

Generally, you should have regular complience checks to verify files stored on your servers are in line with the AUP and any other internal/external policies which apply should pick up this kind of thing, and/or highlight content you need to question users further about? To answer in the context of the Teachers TV issue, they are not expecting you to do anything. It is no longer their problem. It is your responsibility to make sure only copyright material exists on your network (I should say 'probably' your responsibility as I am only assuming you are the Network Manager / most senior person with administrative control of your network?) The best rule to adhere to is.... If there is no proof of copyright, no license information, and you are ultimately not sure... delete it! If you aren't sure on the validity of content

Completely agree with what you are saying about teaching staff, but.... If unlicensed content is on "our" servers, it is our responsibility (and a nightmare!)

Stupid question time... how do you install that app? Does the iPhone need to be jailbroken?

Lol well. Personalised, but vague enough to be able to claim otherwise to avoid being laughed at in the real world!