mb2k01

I'm still using them yes. I think my previous posts on here are probably fairly positive and praise filled, and still represent my current thoughts/feelings. Still baffled by the very negative responses by some here - so, so different to my experience over 5 or 6 years of using them!

A huge thanks to you for this - I had never heard of it until your mention, but it looks awesome. The fact it is opensource makes it even more of a find!

I guess it might depend on your background / experience in using certain applications, but I would probably opt for AutoCAD or maybe Google Sketchup. If you are looking less along the lines of CAD/scale drawings then to be honest, most vector drawing packages? For the floorplan side of things, it might be worth asking your LA for floorplans. Most LA's would have them in some form of electronic format which might mean you can export in to something? (A long time ago I did this and got given what appeared to be corrupt AutoCAD files, which I managed to get most of the data from and imported in to Corel Draw - bit of a mission, but saved me time in the long run!) **Edit** Visio is a great shout teejay - should have throught of that one

Always good to know I / we've helped!

Thank you for your swift reply / PM / action - greatly appreciated.

I'm assuming from the last part of your name you are from Phoenix Software...? If so, can you confirm whether you have pricing yet - I have been in touch with my latest replacement 'account manager' who seems to be giving me the run around.

To be honest, cert requirements are something that will change from school to school, and potentially area of the country. When I first became a Network Manager I had no certification at all, only experience. When I have advertised / interviewed for Network Managers I have heavily favoured experience and versitility over a list full of certifications. To answer the question you asked - any of the above suggested courses are great ones to look in to. The only extra thing I would add is, don't get hung up on them - if you are doing the work, experienced and have great feedback from potential references why not try your luck applying for roles ahead of passing certs?

Sorry for the long delay - nope, can confirm nothing in spam / server filter list.

The way I did it was via Bootcamp which downloads a driver pack for you to save to a USB disk which can then be used once Windows is up and installed. It also installs the Bootcam client on Windows so you can access and tweak setting (like tap to click) from the tray, or right-click it and ask it to reboot to Mac OS. All nice and seemless. Everything works fine and dandy.

If you read my original post carefully you may have understood. As I said, I purchased a Macbook Air - that means I wanted the decent build quality and footprint + wanted the OS. If I didn't want the OS I would have not used it for 3 months before changing it. The reason for mentioning Win7 running on it in the first place was the connection to the OP stating that they had never used a Mac before - I was letting them know they didn't have to compromise on OS if what they really prefer is the device itself. If anything, the fact that I mentioned using Bootcamp (so keeping the Mac OS on the device as well as Windows) shows that it isn't 'defeating the object'. If I want to use the iLife suite or something like that, I still can. For me however, Win7 on the Mac just makes sense - the hardware is able to run it, it gives me all of the benefits of the device without restricting myself to one OS.

I have the new Macbook Air and after about 3 months of trying to achieve decent video projects results in CS4 (and ultimately finding my £300 home PC was far more reliable for video editing in CS4) I was disallousioned.... Everything I wanted to throw at the Mac was either too difficult and needed extra programmes / fiddly configuration or just didn't work (remember I was using idential software on both PC and Mac here - Mac's which are mean to be the professional platform of choice for media?!) All of this was until..... I decided to put Win 7 on the Macbook Air! I can't comment highly enough on how much better this makes the experience of using the hardware. Rather than Parellels I actually installed Windows via Boot Camp and have set it to boot to Windows rather than the Mac OS!

Just to add on to the MCAS discussion with resin1 and Griff. I am a SIMS MIS site and we had MCAS installed at the same time as TWF. MCAS seemed slightly more fiddly for them to do, and this did look like SIMS database linking/syncing issues (I was watching as I facilited remote access for them to do the install!). I would say I had it up and working within a week - but based on a couple of hours per afternoon max. (I was quite keen to watch the install so only allowed them to do it when I was available, I dare say if I just left them to it they would have finished sooner!)

I / we've run vanilla and managed ourselves for about 5 or 6 years now. Like irsprint84 we opted for CSE Education Systems. As a company CSE were actually started by ex-RM managers and offered an affordable alternative to CC3 for us which was based on a vanilla system and gave us a platform to build upon. PM me if you would like my contact with the company.

I use the Bromcom solution. They have to separate products which offer the featureset of SLG. Teachers' Web Folder gives teaching staff external access to SIMS data to be able to do assessments, registration, profiles etc. My Child At School is the parental reporting solution from them. Neither solution is SharePoint based.

When I click on the above link I get the following: Wednesday 26th January 2011, 3pm. Thank you for previously registering for this webcast. You will be sent an email with details on how to access the webcast.

Not actually used them, but have been HEAVILY pestered by them and all of their sister companies in the past (although to be fair, not too many times in the last 2-3 months) Their companies include Web Anywhere, School Anywhere, Radio Anywhere, Video Anywhere, I Am Learning, School Jotter - and probably more. After checking out their site they have had a significant design overhaul - maybe the lack of pestering may be part of larger changes.

Just to answer on the Bromcom Teachers' Web Folder questions, as I use the product alongside their My Child At School product. Both are web-based and externally accessible. Inside school you can choose to run TWF from the LAN so while technically using a browser, not using the net. I also have the mobile version of TWF which looks very nice in iPhones and gets used by a few of our staff. TWF is really an alternative for Capita Learning Gateway, not just registration etc.

I have done this for several years. Initial concerns from teaching staff were that it might be used to "spy" on them or used by Management etc. Pupils also initially felt it was 'unfair' as they were being watched while doing nothing wrong. Initial concerns were overcome with educating both sets of the population and making aware that recordings were only reviewed in the event of an incident being reported etc. More recently we have had teachers actually request CCTV cameras to be present outside/inside their rooms to monitor/evidence behaviour and also act as a safeguarding (child and staff) tool. If it is your first venture in to CCTV I would recommend that you visit the following website to make sure you adhere to laws etc. Guidance for Organisation using CCTV Cameras - ICO

I have a Mobotix M24 mounted on a pole outside with no shelter - has taken a battering of wind, rain and snow and been pretty reliable. Approx 180 degree view. I'm using it PoE, with a Netgear directional wireless bridge which can sometimes interfere with other kit around it, but the camera itself is pretty good. All together the kit and installation came to approx £2k. I have attached an image from the cam which is approx 80% quality

A Stack of Geeks? A Mainframe of Geeks? A Structure of Geeks? A Cluster of Geeks?

If I'm honest, I can't quite remember why I didn't go for it in the end - there must have been a fairly good reason at the time! My end solution was to negotiate cluster licensing and have SWGfL open up sufficiant ports to allow inter-school communication from the endpoint server (bit over-technical, but very cheap for the school concerned at the time + easy for us to centrally manage!)

I think it is potentially better than the old one (used for a good 10-20 years?!), but it does shout 'Smint' and 'Daybreak' to me.... Not sure that is the look they were going for - Minty poor immitation of something millions loved

This article gives good instructions on how to do individual mailbox restore after restoring a database via server backup to an alternative location: How to Restore an Individual Exchange 2010 Mailbox with Windows Server Backup - Exchange Server Pro Hope that helps?

My selection was 400+ and perhaps I hadn't read the first post properly, but that isn't really how I usually go about computer replacements. Generally with our rolling replacement programme we will look to buy a bulk allocation of high quality kit, nearly always replace the equipment in IT suites or other speciailist areas, then look to redeploy those stations elsewhere until eventually the oldest equipment is left without a home. In our specialist areas we would look around the 500 mark with the highest spec we can possibly get in line with budget restrictions etc.

The site that I've used now and again is Website Templates for Dreamweaver, Frontpage, GoLive, and Flash - 4Templates.com Most are $19 - $35, and decent quality/design.