steveg

Is it when running on battery power that it does it? Try: Go to "Network Connections" > Local Area Connection Properties > "Configure" > "Power Management" tab > Make sure "Reduce link speed during battery operation" is unchecked. Steve

Maybe its worth looking into pursuing who is hosting their DNS records for the site? - If they are changing who hosts the actual files regularly, the chance are they are just changing the ip that their domain name points to but their DNS host should be the same? Steve

I've never understood why people in different public sector jobs get different cost of living rises? - Surely its just that, a cost of living rise so it should be fixed for everyone - support staff, teachers, doctors, nurses, policemen and politicians etc. If we (as a country) can't afford a pay rise this year then ok fair enough (we'll ignore how we got in this mess) but surely that means no one in the public sector gets one. What annoys me is if we don't but teachers get 2 or 3% and MP's get 6 or whatever percent. Steve

Mac OS whatever version is on the mac we got given. I have tried, I've given it a fair chance but we just don't get along! Steve

We've used a lot of acer aspire one's here, and have been really impressed with them. The latest ones the 751 has a 5 to 7 hour battery life, full size keyboard and 11" screen, and was coming in at around £211 with xp home. Steve

Have you considered leaving one of the domains active? - Most likely the curriculum one as this will have most computers / users in. Set the new server up as a domain controller in this domain, and migrate all the roles over to it. Then all you've got to do is move the few admin computers and user accounts to this domain, and move sims etc to the new server (which isn't that hard if you follow thier guidlines) Finally re-build the admin server as a member server. You can then re-build all the client pc's when you have time. It wont be quite as clean as starting from scratch, but would mean you can do it slowly a bit at a time. Steve

We've only got a 2 meg connection here, and it often gets a hammering from 50 - 150 users at the same time, and always seems to work, so you should be fine. Steve

Do you have more than 1 copper cable between the comms cabinets?

So you've got about 60 client computers at this location? What link have you got back to the main comms cabinet? Is it just gig over copper, fiber or something else? Steve

The netgear switches are great value, - the 24 port gigabit smart switch is £161 on ebuyer at the moment. Steve

How much of a 'main' switch is it? - Is everything conencted into it, or does it just serve a lot of clients? What else is connected to it, how many other switches do you have, and what are they? Steve

There was another thread about this a few days ago. Steve

Are they going to really last more than 10 years though? The bulbs may not go but I'm sure other stuff in them may. Also what sort of resolution will be standard for projectors in 10, 15 or 20 years time? I'm sure we'll have moved away from xga being the norm by then. They look like they represent good value, especially when you factor in the time it takes to clean projectors or replace bulbs, but I think to expect anymore than 5 - 10 years from one is unrealistic. Steve

Is there any news on an ultra short throw version coming out anytime soon? We've just started replacing all of our projectors with USF ones, and there is no way we would go back to a traditional type projector now, but a 20,000 hour bulb life would be great! Steve

The main reason is it will be a trial for this school year, so if it doesn't work we just delete the aliases. Steve

We've decided that it would be useful if parents could email staff directly. We dont want to give out each staff member's actual email address so we're going to create a second address for each staff member along the lines of teacher4a@school..... etc. We use exchange 2003 for email, and don't want each teacher to have more than 1 mailbox, as its hard enough getting them to check one, so I was going to add the new email address to the same email box. Now the problem comes when a teacher replies to an email they have recieved from a parent, they will reveal their actual address. (we want to leave this as the default from address for all other communication) In the same way that you can send on behalf of someone else, is it possible to pick in outlook which of your email addresses shows as the return address on an email by email basis? Any other ideas gratefully recieved! Steve

I like the microwave idea! We normally smash them up and cut the tape up a bit - if you've done quite a few together then I recon it would take years to get enough bits of the same tape together to recover the data. - Especially as ours were mainly the old dds tapes - it was hard enough getting these to read sometimes before smashing them up! Steve

Thanks, I wont trouble you with plans and that at the mo, thats enough info for now, I'll be in contact when we're ready to start ordering. Steve

Great, thanks for all the replies. So assuming I cut back on the number of access points a bit it should be similar pricing. I will be in contact with a few companies nearer the time to get an accurate quote - don't want to waste your time at the moment as I know I wont be placing an order for a few months yet. Steve

Anyone? I've got to submit this later today. Steve

A quick google brings up one supplier who i've never heard of selling it for £7,628 which is about what I'dexpect for a touchscreen of that size. Most likely be under half that price within a year though. Steve

Is anyone able to let me know some very rough figures for Ruckus wireless kit? Everyone seems to rave about it so I thought it was worth investigating. I don't need any accurate quotes at this stage, as the project wont happen until the summer, but i need to submit a budget proposal by the end of the week. At the moment I have priced up for Netgear kit, and have gone for: 3 x wireless controllers (1 redundant) 20 x light A / G access points The total for this is just under £5500 Is ruckus kit to cover a primary school - 14 classrooms and 2 halls going to be vastly more than this? Thanks Steve

There are 2 parts to xibo - the server and the client display part. If you only have 1 screen these can both be installed on the same pc, pretty much any old computer will do. Then connect this to the LCD, most likely via a vga cable if the TV has that input. Have you already purchased the TV and computer? Steve

I'd def look at around £20 an hour for all the extra work. - Remember if this isn't just a small job for a mate but one that you're going to be invoicing for then you will need to register as self empolyed (if you aren't already) so after you take tax etc off of your £7 or £10 an hour, you're not going to be left with a lot. Also worth checking with you're employer if you're ok to do the work - some contracts don't allow second jobs. Sure it wouldn't be a problem for most employers, but worth covering yourself. Steve

Be sure to check insurance quotes before you buy anything, and dont get too hung up on engine size with regard to insurance - When I was only just 19 I went from a 1.3 Accent to a 2.0 litre hyundai coupe and my insurance dropped by over £300 a year! Then 2 years later got a 1.8 diesel mondeo and the insurance almost doubled! I think it's pretty much based on whatever boy racers are smashing up that year rather than engine size or insurance group! Steve Steve