scgf

Thanks, Clodhopper. Adelix have since suggested the following spec: Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 3050 Processor at 2.13GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB, 1GB RAM (preferably 2GB) Censornet v4 is expensive though - £5 per concurrent user per year. We were also looking at Equiinet's Cache Pilot. Does this also have a yearly cost? Thanks again.

Sorry - I posted the question on Saturday - it's now Thursday. Please do a search on my username scgf or scgf01 or my real name, Phillip Deackes, and see just how much help I have offered Linux (and other OS) users over several years if you doubt my sincerity, or lest you feel I am a leecher..... I understand your irritation - there are usually many more takers than givers.

Can anyone recommend a forum frequented by users who might know about suitable hardware to use with Linux? Thought this might be it :-(

Yep. We're trying to negotiate a decent price on Censornet v4 - they want £5 per concurrent user - on that basis even 200 users means £1000 a year. Too much for us, unfortunately. Does cachepilot have a yearly subscription? Maybe we should stay with Censornet v3 and hope some of the v4 features make their way into the open source version. I can't see anything compelling in v4 as opposed to v3 - apart from the transparent authentication which everyone seems to want. OK guys, give me a details of a current Dell machine which would run Censornet v3 - I gather it uses quite an old version of Debian Linux. Serial ATA is not going to work, is it? I used to be a dab hand at running Linux, but finding suitable drivers is going to tax me way to much now. I'm used to Apple Macs, for heaven's sake! Cheers.

Very good. You must know my technician! This bit is so accurate: "Other belief systems are openly, often viciously, derided (Linux, Acorn) or at best tolerated as having some merit but not being quite right for all occasions (Mac). There are frequent wars and deep, lingering resentments on all sides." You wouldn't believe the furore my use of OpenOffice with the kids is causing - because it's not a Microsoft solution.

We are about to purchase Censornet v4 and a new server on which to install it. I am concerned about buying hardware which is too recent for the Debian version Censornet use. Because we are buying for a new school we are required to use Dell as they have the contract for ICT hardware. A rack-mounted server would be perfect. I would be very grateful if anyone could suggest a suitable spec. We will have no more than 350 concurrent users and are a high school (10-14). Our broadband link is 10MBit through our regional broadband consortium. Many thanks.

Thanks everyone for your help. I have implemented the login script that plexer suggested. It works a treat. Apeo - I have made a note of your VB script - thank you very much for this.

Thanks, NetworkGeezer. On our system, user folders on the server follow this pattern. Take John Smith in year 8: E:\Data\Users Home Directories\Students\04smithjo John's My Documents folder will be inside 04smithjo. All student folder are inside the Students directory and year groups are differentiated by the initial two digits - representing the year that cohort entered the school. How would your script work with this path? If you need a UNC it is \\Server1\Students\04smithjo - we share the Students folder, not each individual user's folder.

I sent a PM to Kyle back in January asking if he'd mind sending me the script, but he hasn't got back to me :-(

Thanks for your help guys. Just found our Outlook 2003 CD is cracked :-( Awaiting a replacement.

Any chance of doing something similar with Outlook Express? We won't be getting Office 2003/7 until the new academic year when we move into a new building. We are currently running Office 97 (does Outlook come with all versions of Office? We have Standard as opposed to Professional). It might be that we can get up and running with OE in the short term. Thanks for the replies folks - they are all very gratefully received.

What a quick response!! Thanks very much, Kyle.

A few years ago I set up a set of empty folders in all user home areas to encourage them to file work according to subject. So each user had /My Documents/ICT, /My Documents/Science etc.. Unfortunately I have lost the script which accomplished this. I know it was something I had to type in a terminal window, but that's about it. We are using MS Server 2003/XP Workstations with Ranger. Any ideas? Cheers.

We have recently moved to an Exchange 2003 server and currently users use IE 6 to access their mail, but we would prefer that they use a proper email client in school. Is there any way Outlook/Outlook Express clients could be auto-configured for each user? Their network username and email name are identical as are their passwords since the information comes from AD. Surely there must be a logon script or some other utility which would set up Outlook for them? We currently run MS Server 2003 with Ranger. We had this auto configuring happening years ago when we ran RM Connect 2.x so it can't be rocket science! The idea of talking year 6 - 9 pupils through setting it all up manually would be a nightmare! Any help gratefully received. Many thanks.