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You mean software surely? I'm using El Capitan and had the same problem with Yosemite.

Absolutely! I'm not anti-Mac - I have one at home, and have used Mac OS X since the first OS X iMac (the lampshade model). I prefer Windows personally, and moved to a Windows desktop as my main machine after Windows 8 came out. I am now on Windows 10. As ICT Coordinator I like a mixed economy - at school we have Windows, Macs, Surface tablets, iPads and a couple of Android tablets. All have their uses. I just hate the 'Apple is best whatever' mentality of the fanboys. I personally instigated Macs in our music department because I felt they were the best solution for music. Yes, mrbios, I absolutely agree that technical staff should not be making decisions about teaching and learning. They should support and implement what the school decides, giving advice along the way.

Yes, about 25. They have been a PITA, but the techies will not accept the problems and always blame the fact we have Windows servers and say AD is the problem. I see that a lot - Apple users are happy to dismiss all sorts of problems with iPhones, Macs and iPads that they would bitch and moan about were they any other brand of devices. It's almost comical. Now we have Casper Suite they reckon all our problems are gone . . . . Personally I have found OS X is not as robust as Windows. At home I have a Mac and a PC and the Mac will lose connection to network devices like my NAS and these need to be manually re-mounted. I have tried various scripts to check for a connection and remount if one is not found, but Apple seems to change things at a whim stopping the scripts from working. If Windows loses a connection (say because or a firmware update on the remote drive) it will re-connect automatically. IMO it's about the brand and some people think they are somehow superior by buying into the brand - Apple is very good about cultivating the perception that its products are better with no justification in reality. Anything OS X or iOS doesn't do is countered with 'I don't need that anyway' or 'who needs more than 720p on a phone?' or 'an SSD is so fast anyway you really don't need the extra optimisations Windows offers' and so on. You can never win an argument with an Apple fanboy (well you do win, but they never accept it!).

As the original poster I completely agree! Currently they are using Casper Suite to run 25 iMacs and they feel this is robust enough to run a full network of 300+ machines. Unfortunately (lol) I'm taking early retirement at Christmas from my job as ICT Coordinator so my influence is currently minimal. I need to let go! It's the usual case where an individual likes Macs in their personal life and feels driven to converting over an entire enterprise.

Our network manager and technician feel it would be far less troublesome and easier to manage than the Windows network we currently have. He feels that Mac OS X is far superior to Windows.

We are looking long term at moving to a full Mac network and would appreciate any comments on this - any schools running such a network?

I have had a number of internet radios because I like to listen to BBC's Listen Again on demand service as well as live radio in my kitchen. In my experience, Internet radios are let down by a limited LCD display, and they don't easily refresh available programmes without rebooting. I have a Squeezebox in the lounge and use this to stream music from my Mac to my HiFi system. The Squeezebox is not so good for on-demand services and needs an add-on to make this work (Alien BBC). I have found the ideal solution for me. I bought an iPod Touch - I started using my iPhone, but kept having to stop listening to answer or make calls or texts - and a Bose SoundDock. Any speaker dock would do, of course. Using an iPhone/iPod Touch means that you get an excellent display and can use the BBC iPlayer for on-demand radio. Install the free Fstream for live radio from around the world, allowing you to pause and record radio, and Stitcher for listening to PodCasts and you have all bases covered. Lots of other audio apps too. On top of this you have access to your music library in iTunes. In fact you may already have all the kit you need!

Exactly!! I have Apple TV and it doesn't run a full version of OS X - it isn't meant to be used like a computer, it is set up to do a specific job. I have this unit and love it - I have a US account and rent the latest movies in HD for less than I could get them at Blockbuster and a darn site easier too.

It is Microsoft which has the bizarre idea that we need Windows on everything. They don't get the Apple paradigm of making things easier to use and using a sub-set of OS X to achieve that. The Windows they want on everything is of the full blown variety, hence we get the ridiculous start button concept on a mobile phone, and a media centre which is full-blown Windows with a few extras. An end user has certain things they want to do on a connected device - they don't need all the extras a full OS would provide. After the iPad was announced I sat down and thought of all the things I do on my laptop - practically all of them would be covered by the iPad with fewer overheads and an instant-on OS. 10 hours (claimed) battery life too. I know of several almost computer-illiterate people who have embraced the iPhone and are doing all sorts of things with it they couldn't hope to do on a PC (or Mac) unless someone carefully set things up for them. What Apple do very, very well is that interface between human and machine. Why make it more difficult than it needs to be? We don't expect our washing machines or TVs to need so much setting up and maintaining as the average computer.

I would be using it myself. There is no way i would voluntarily use Windows - I hate it. Shoddy, klunky mess that it is. Currently I use my own MacBook Air at school because I won't accept a school-provided laptop, so the iPad would do what I need perfectly.

Groan. I knew I shouldn't have bothered posting in a geek forum. Geeks love Windows. There's lots to do to keep it working. It gives them a feeling of power because they can sort out the virus-ridden PCs all around them, earning the respect of those who do not have the knowledge. Pah!

I'm excited by it - I will use it to assess pupils' work. I prefer to do this by getting the pupils to show me their work on their computer where I can ask them questions. The portability of the iPad and the fact that it will run Apple Numbers (which is largely Excel compatible) will make it very useful indeed. I already store school docs on Dropbox which will run on the iPad so it is already coming together . . .

In a geek forum such as this there will inevitably be a lot of support for devices such as the HTC which can be tinkered with ad infinitum. That's what geeks like to do. I have a mate who was quite put out when he got his iPhone because everything just worked. What he was used to doing with Windows Mobile devices was to find something didn't work, then spend quite some time researching, asking around, working it out and he felt quite elated that he had 'got it to work'. Very odd. Now he's found out about jailbreaking he is happy again and keeps ringing me to tell me how he got this and that to work. I like the Apple paradigm. I like a phone that does what you want it to do. I like the fact that a computer novice can work an iPhone with minimal help. All good stuff. I have had numerous smart phones with a range of different OSs on them, and the iphone is far and away the best, even though it doesn't always look that way on paper. In June when the iPhone 3GS came out I used a credit card to buy it PAYG. I then put a contract SIM card in it. O2 do a Simplicity SIM with 'unlimited' internet access and 600 mins/1000 texts (or something like that) for only £20 a month with a one month notice to quit. Quite a bargain! If you do the maths, comparing an 18month contract with a PAYG iPhone and Simplicity SIM, the Simplicity route works out considerably cheaper over an 18 month period. What's more, you're not tied in and can buy the new iPhone in June 2010. You would get a good price for your old 3GS too.

We use It's Learning and have done for a couple of years now. We are in Oadby, Leicester, so if you fancy coming over for a look you are most welcome.

What we do is subscribe to OpenOffice Enterprise - it costs us around £200 a year but slots into AD and allows easy upgrading, configuration etc. through AD policies. Well worth it. Have a look at Open Office Technology | Group Policy and registry-based management for OpenOffice