Busybub

The SX270 and GX270 capacitor issue is a well documented problem. I have had a SX270 mobo replaced under warranty within 24hrs, and the same with one GX270 which was out of warranty.

No problems here. I use MagicDisc 2.5.74 to mount the ISO locally.

Ours uses a Xeon 2.0 with 1gb PC2100 and 3*36gb SCSI drives. It's about 4 years old. We have about the same number of mailboxes so I can't imagine you will have much problem with any of the more recent servers.

Cheers Nick! It's amazing that they can get away with charging this on a bit of moulded metal...

Nick, have you got a price and part number for the height adjustment widget? Looking into this for one of our rooms next year... Saw a pic of it last month but neglected to take a note of the info at the time as I wasn't expecting anyone to start throwing funds my way!

Sorry, had to scrub that last post. Must have been taking stupid pills yesterday (either that or the coffee isn't strong enough) as I managed to get myself in a proper muddle after multitasking a number of different things, getting constantly interrupted then coming back to the wrong input on my monitor and banging on the wrong keyboard, DOH! *slap myself* Oh well, if somebody manages to get the other one working, do tell...

Depends on ACPI compliance of your keyboards and motherboards (as Geoff mentioned) but it may be possible to do it using a custom scancode map which reassigns the function of the keys. Try this: Copy the following (between start and end) into a text file, save it with a .reg extension: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout] "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,5E,E0,00,00,5F,E0,00,00,63,E0,00,00,00,00 Log in as an administrator and run the .reg file. Reboot. If that doesn't work, try it again with this: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout] "Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,37,E0,00,00,3F,E0,00,00,5E,E0,00,00,00,00 It may or may not work despite these being the standard codes for power key mapping - I use a different one for doing other stuff and it works fine but I've never been able to get this one running...

Wouldn't be coming through a graphics card by any chance? I used to get this from the DVI outputs on all of our ATI based gfx cards until I started fiddling around with the video output settings...

Do Backup Exec or Arcserve allow you to back up individual Exchange mailboxes? Still using NTBackup over here...

Dell one looks like a regular KVM scenario rather than dedicated one-to-one system mapping which you get from extenders. http://www.nti1.co.uk/rackmount-extender.html This is along the lines of what I was looking for (and I guess this is close to what Nathan is talking about) but it doesn't handle USB2 at the desktop. If Nathan knows of another unit that does it all then I'm all ears as I can't find a solution other than to run USB over CAT5 in parallel to this, which means more cable, more power plugs required, and more money

13 for the powered one is about as cheap as I've seen, they used to go for 30 when I last looked. On the other hand you can get a PCI-E dual output graphics jobbie with passive heatsink for 18 quid which will work in standard slots or low profile with adaptors, and you don't need to find an additional power socket on your wall or an extra VGA lead to the splitter. http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=396319 AGP jobbies are a bit more.

I would be very interested to see what solution you have come up with

Only thing I would mention about the graphics cards if you decide to go down that route, is to make sure that any DVI output is dual standard and will support a VGA output (DVI-I). This is important as many monitors (especially 15" jobbies which match the resolution of most projectors) only have the VGA input. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#Specifications

I make a point of no longer using them as I find that they introduce a faint double image into the picture. Used to use powered VGA splitters, but I find dual output graphics cards are cheaper these days! PM me with an address, I have a spare one you can have.

Wasn't expecting such a positive response from my teachers! Cheers for the info. Sounds like I will have to try and arrange a demo of a couple of them so that the peeps over here can evaluate them. Cost could become an issue, but I think we'd rather have a couple of decent ones than give everybody a piece of...

Thanks chaps, Sounds like it should be OK, though the mechanism for pairing up the devices seems somewhat vague to somebody who has never used one! Good idea about using an Airliner with projector, never considered that before. Could be a means to justify sneaking in a few projectors with a view to full Smartboards next year *droooool*

Pokey 2 by 2 metre room with pitched roof, no window and crappy flourescent lamp, air-con, 6 servers, 2UPSs, one workstation, 6 monitors, 3 desks, a book cupboard filled with somebody elses books, comms cabinet with two noisy switches, 2 dead computers, 1 spare printer, boxes full of stuff that you just can't throw away... I have 10 dedicated mains outlets and I'm still running 2 4-way adaptors to power all the rubbish in here... For the last term I had to physically climb over servers and CAT5 in order to actually sit down, I have so little space in this hole that I have to move papers off my keyboard in order to type! *grumble grumble* The thing that really gets me is the constant whining noise coming from the UPSs and servers, I feel like give these SCSI drives a seriously good kicking... One of these days I will have to prepare a risk assessment but I have no idea what a safe SPL is, although I'm sure that ringing noises in your ear isn't a good sign. Anybody got any info regarding noise at work? I would have thought if some of us made this a health and safety issue then management would have to take notice and do something about it.

Just been asked by one of our teachers about getting a wireless pad for the Smartboard in her room. I have no doubt that once she gets one, everybody else will start to ask! Just wondering if anybody has experienced any interference problems with using multiple Airliners in neighbouring rooms? Cheers!

Does anybody use one of these things? General comments on staff utility of such devices? I have info on th RM Eye and AverVision 300 jobbies but nothing too detailed.

There are number of devices which do this, Lacie ones and Thecus enclosures for example. Fujitsu recently released a 250gb 2.5inch SATA laptop drive. Bung this into a SATA enclosure and you have a solution. Only problem is that the drive alone will currently set you back over 100 quid.

http://www.rackmountmart.com/rm1u/rm1007.htm http://www.icp-epia.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=226 Seem to be a few options using mini-itx boards.

Depends on the kids. My ones go at the screens with the pointy bit of a compass, scratching them up and puncturing them in some cases, so it won't make much difference to me, they will just put more effort into destroying them! Not aware of any from Dell. Even their larger ones are regular types.

The AIO monitors that I have will only fit the USFF models as there is a retaining hook at the top of the stand in addition to the two screws from the bottom which stop the unit from falling off the back. I have seen pictures of the SFF unit mounted on an AIO stand but presumably it would require some sort of modification (which I have never seen in reality) as the SFF unit is taller: SFF Dimensions H: 12.45" W: 3.65" D: 13.4 H: 31.63cm W: 9.26cm D: 34cm USFF Dimensions H: 10.3" W: 3.5" D: 9.95" H: 26.3cm W: 8.9cm D: 25.2cm The "brick" for the USFF is about 8*4*2 inches. Main difference other than size is that the SFF has two low profile expansion slots: 1*PCIe graphics, 1*PCI. Useful if you move to Vista (for Aero) or for eSATA. The USFF uses one drive-bay slot which is interchangeable. You can use CD/DVD including re/writers, floppy, and hard drives. These are identical to the ones used in many of Dell's D series Latitude laptop range.

Some interesting comments. In my experience any inkjet is just a pile of pants regardless of who makes it. All of our HP, Epson and Canon jobbies constantly jammed and had driver issues. Never had any complaints about Brother. Had one board fail on us and it was replaced by on onsite engineer the next day. The other nice thing is that the toner for the HL2070 network model (which is relatively inexpensive) is the same as for the stand alone HL2030/2040 so there is less expense in maintaining spare stocks. I get more problems with HP color laserjets constantly asking for paper from a different tray... *grrrrr*

Managed to get rid of all of our inkjets and despite some initial resistance, everybody is glad to see the back of them as the mono lasers they have are more reliable and quicker. Having a paper tray also makes a difference as they don't have to faff about aligning the paper in the slot, and there are fewer jams as a result. Physical intervention is significantly less, and toner costs are paltry compared to what they used to get through. Heck, I've even started to charge per page on colour network printers and they are getting used to it!