maniac

As they quoted you for a replacement screen, they have presumably seen and examined the unit. That means that it's lost on its way back to you, so they should be obliged to replace or at the very least find it! I'm presuming they asked you to send it to them in the first place, and you had an authorised returns number etc? Mike.

I'm slowly phasing out my HP projectors, luckily I think we only have 2 left, one is used as a portable unit in the hall etc. and the other is in a french room and is due to be replaced later this holiday. I have a right mishmash or other units on site thou; CTX, Hitachi, Viewsonic, Sanyo, NEC and a couple of other obscure makes I can't remember. Most work ok, but the older CTX units are getting a bit poor now. We're currently buying NEC units when we have new ones installed, they seem to be good value for money, offer an excellent image quality and good warrenty on them as well. Mike.

If you use office 2007, you can install this add-on for your users to allow them to save straight into PDF format from word etc. Saves using any 3rd party tools, and is much easier for your users. Download details: 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF Mike.

Not sure about the caption competition, but I never did receive my prize for winning the Edugeek Christmas Competition http://www.edugeek.net/forums/general-edugeek-news-announcements/13366-edugeek-christmas-2007-competition.html I'll forgive you thou, it was shortly before BETT 2008 and just around the time you launched the new website as well. You can just hold onto it, and give me an even bigger prize when I win this years one. Mike.

This is my Home desktop, photograph is of Rochester Castle (Taken by me) Mike.

Group policies can generally only apply registry changes to a machine (and do things like run scripts etc) I think there's a more than just a registry change when a DLL is registered on a machine so I think a script is your only option AFAIK. However instead of calling a script, you could probably put the regsvr32 command directly into the startup or login script box within group policy, that would save it calling a batchfile, and run it directly. I think this would work. Mike.

I presume you want to go back to the XP welcome screen instead of the Windows login box? If so, you should be able to change this under 'user accounts' in control panel there's an option for 'change the way users log on or off' which you should be able to set to welcome screen. This only appears when the machine is removed from the domain.

This Guide explains all about vista roaming profiles, and also how to use them in an XP mixed environment. Mike.

Yes, it is expensive you can't deny it that. The 'access points' aren't really access points in the extricom system, they are more elaborate 'aerials' for the controller, the controller its self is effectively the access point. To the wireless device it appears as it it's associated with the same access point anywhere you are within the building, and you are, you are associated with the controller, not the individual transmitters. The controller then simply switches transmissions to the transmitter nearest to the device which it knows because it keeps a real time track on devices within the range of each transmitter. If you have two transmitters close to each other, the system will load balance between them by forcing transmissions from different devices to be sent/received by a specific transmitter. The device doesn't need to associate with this transmitter, its association is with the controller so the controller can choose any transmitter it likes to send the data to the device. As long as the device is within range of the transmitter the controller has chosen, then it will receive the packets sucessfully. It completely and totally controls the wireless traffic within your organisation to a very precise level, I've yet to find any other wireless system that can do that to the degree that the extricom system does. @dhicks, yes you're right the available bandwidth will eventually run out, there's only a certain amount you can cram in any single air space, just extricom makes much better use of the available air space than most other systems can, and when you're deal with hundreds of wireless laptops in a building, that can't be a bad thing! So I agree, there is a small flaw in the keep adding Access points arguement. Mike.

Taken from the Extricom FAQ; A common misconception in cell-based WLANs is the belief that just adding more APs and re-using the same channels will increase capacity. In practice, however, the very mechanisms of 802.11 (e.g. the Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) algorithm, rate adaptation) prevent channel re-use from providing appreciable increase in capacity, let alone bandwidth (throughput). In contrast, the channel blanket eliminates co-channel interference, the inaccuracies of CCA, and edge users stemming from rate adaptation, to ensure that the maximum throughput is delivered throughout the system, a function only of the density of APs. Simply put, in an Extricom system the more APs you add, the higher the system throughput. Extricom - Coverage, Capacity, and Bandwidth I know I sound like a sales person for these guys, but I can assure you I'm not! I was just really impressed with this product, the technology behind it, and the pratical demonstration that just worked brilliently! With developments like 802.11n wireless coming into the marketplace, the need to use as fewer channels as possible will be even greater in the future, and I think that blanket coverage systems like this will be the only way to deliver the faster standards of wireless connection on a large scale that users will demand in the not too distant future. Mike.

I'm sure if extricom could make their particular system work with the transmitters connected across traditional IP networks then they would, but the system works in a totally unique way, you really need a demonstration of it in order to appreciate how well it actually works. Personally I believe the future of enterpirse wireless systems are in a system like the extricom one. You can cover the entire building using just a single channel, no roaming problems, no interferance problems and you don't even have to be too careful about where you place the transmitters, you can put one per classroom and know they won't interfere with each other. this is totally unique even the likes of Cisco etc. still need a seperate channel for each Access Point as far as I know. The only reason extricom can get away with doing this is because the transmitters are directly connected to the controller. Mike.

Because they are all controlled centrally, the unit can work out which transmitters are near each other, how far apart they are positioned and vary the signal strengths to ensure there are no gaps in coverage. If you think of the transmitters a merely 'arials' for a big access point (the controller) then it makes a little more sense. The coverage from each transmitter is allowed to overlap, the controller is clever and chooses in realtime which transmitter to use for a particular device. The laptops wireless adapter doesn't have to associate and deassociate with access points unless you move between different controllers The company I contacted did a brillient demo for us. Because the extricom sortware has the capability to show you what transmitter a device is talking to in real time, they had 3 connected to a controller and couple of VOIP handsets. Me and my network manager roamed around the room talking to each other and you could see the software changing the transmitter that each phone was talking to quite frequently according to which one was closest (They were all within 5 metres of each other as it was!) there was zero dropout on the conversation while we walked around. I was impressed needless to say. We didn't buy it unfortunitely as it was quite pricey (including installation) for our building because it was a large school on 3 floors with 3 different buildings to cover, meaning we'd need more controllers than normal, the controllers are what add cost to the system. The communication between transmitter and controller on the extricom system definitely can't traverse switches, I specifically asked this question and was told no. They explained why as well. Each transmitter has to be Directly connected as the communcation between the transmitters and the controller is not done using a 'traditional' IP system, they are dumb, don't have an IP address or simelar and effectively 'talk' in their own language back to the extricom controller. The only bit with an IP address talking on your actual network is the controller itself. On a more 'traditional' managed wireless system, the access points are still intelligent in their own right, and generally have an IP number each and could (in theory) be administered seperately. They can be connected into whatever switch you like on your network as they all talk to each other and the rest of the network in normal IP packets. The controller unit with these just 'oversees' the wireless network, sends and retrieves information from them all and monitors them so you have a central point to control them and get information from. I would get a demonstration of the extricom system if you can, as it's a pretty unique type of wireless network as far as I know and I expect their sales or technical people could do a much better job of explaining it! I was certainly impressed as you can tell! With a more 'traditional'type of wireless system I would agree, but that's why I was so impressed with the Extricom system, as it is doing something totally different and unique and solves easily a fair few problems you can get with a traditional wireless system. It also works well and can be seen to work, that's why I was so instantly impressed with it, and why I don't mind raving about it on here! Mike.

With the Extricom system, the whole building is effectively covered by one access point with multiple outlets, the controller intelligently increases or decreses the power of each outlet to create a blanket coverage. You can flood your building with as many of these outlets as you like, and the system will simply work everything out else out for you. One advantage of this is you can run 3 seperate wireless networks within your school, on channels 1, 4 and 12 so you can have seperate wireless networks for Students, Staff and wireless VOIP services which in turn can be routed to different V-LANs etc. You can also be sure you will suffer no interference from access points using different channels like you may get with traditional wireless systems. It also means roaming problems become a thing of the past because to the device it appears as if its connected to the same access point no matter where you are in the building, the controller intelligently routes the traffic to the nearest outlet to the laptop, and handles all the switching of traffic as you move around the building. The main limitation to the system is each outlet must be directly connected to the controller by CAT5 cable as the outlets are effectively 'dumb' (all the work is done by the controller) the traffic to and from the outlets cannont traverse switches or media converters etc. However you can have more than one controller in a building, and these can communicate with each other over a network. If I were building a new build, I would definitely consider this system as the building could be wired for it easily. If I was fitting in an existing building a lot would depend on the ease of being able to run each cable back to a central location. If that was a problem, then a 'traditional' managed wireless system might suit your needs better. Mike.

Actually I've just done that, and what do ya know, enabled TODAY! Now I'm happy :D Samknows Broadband - Sittingbourne (NDSIT) Exchange Mike

You lucky sod, you can have Be Unlimited from your exchange, and I've heard good things generally about their service. I think there are a few members on here using it. They were supposed to be coming to my local exchange in June, but AFAIK they havn't done it yet! Mike.

Ahhhh, that's what I'm doing wrong!

If you're wearing a suit and you're feeling really lazy, you can get away with ironing just the front of your shirt. The house always wins.

Come on, we're all intrigued!!

Sounds good on paper, but I know the sort of stuff you have to deal with as a manager of one of their stores (not me, but a close friend worked for them for a while) it's not the most pleasant of environments or jobs, that's why they pay so well! Retail management in general is not as easy as people think, I got as far as a deputy store manager for a well known company, and the amount you had to do even at that level was astounding. I left and took a massive paycut to work in IT support instead, not sure which is the lesser of the two evils Mike

Yep that's working properly. Couldn't even time it on my connection it was almost instant! (Virgin media 10mbs) Mike.

Have you tried it on a different server? If you tried it on IIS and apache and got the same results, I'm leaning towards some sort of hardware problem like a dodgey NIC interface or simelar? Maybe drivers for things like the NIC need looking at, they could hold up proceedings if they were handling traffic badly. just a thought, Mike.

For troublefree operation of interactive whiteboards, connect everything up and turn the projector and board on first before turning on your computer/laptop. Internet running slow? Try loading a common site like the BBC homepage, if that comes up quick chances are the website you are using is at fault, and not your schools network. Computer running slow? Try closing down un-needed programs. The more you have open at once, the slower you computer can get. Student password not working? A commn mistake students make is typing a space at the beginning or end of their username, it can be hard to spot. Laptop typing numbers insted of letters? Most laptops have letter keys that can double as numbers if the NumLock function is switched on.

Not sure precisely what you mean, do you mean a manitenance schedule for CCTV like daily, weekly, monthly etc? Mike

To make your word document files smaller, try using the 'compress pictures' option from 'tools' within the Save As box. It's always best to run your laptop battery low before charging it back up. It will help it keep working better for longer. Save your school money print in colour only when you need it! Believe it or not printng a page in colour can cost up to 10 times as much as printing it in Black and White! To prolong the life of your laptops power supply, try and avoid winding the cable round it, they break easier than you mght think. It's always better to shut your laptop down properly rather than just closing the lid and putting it in standby mode. Any of those any good?? Mike.

How about these; Using a wireless laptop and can't access the network? Ensure the wireless adapter is switched on and connected by checking the tray icon {Add pic of tray icon here!} You can fix a lot of problems by right hand clicking it and selecting 'Repair' Long student logon times on wireless laptops? If you have more than 10 in the room, try logging them on in small groups. Do not rely on USB memory sticks for your important documents, they are easily damaged by static in clothing. Always keep a copy on your network. Outlook running slow? Try emptying your deleted e-mails folder, you'll be surprised how much builds up in there!