Bromcom_John

We experimented with Fingerprint readers back in the day too.. Have to agree with Phil about the parental backlash and everyone else about the high maintenance level.. For some reason that no-one can explain the readers get very very dirty very very quickly Go figure!

Well some of our customer who have taken the option and used our "folder" devices have essentially been able to use the same devices for a significant number of years as they remain compatible with even the most recent software releases. We've always provided a folder repair/reconditioning service as well, which does, reduce the carbon footprint from new hardware production. Beyond this our users have always found PDA's a more attractive proposal than laptops, both on a costing front and a size/convenience one. Laptops have generally only been chosen in those schools where the teachers already have a significant degree of technological investment in the devices they have already been using. Not sure if any of them have made this decision by considering the ecological impact before now though. Whatever you get and where-ever you end up getting your units from check what your after sales options are for maintenance etc. It would be terrible to make a well reasoned choice on the units based on usage eco-viability only to find out that your only options, should they fail, are to chuck it away and get a brand new unit. Repair has got to be better for the environment than replace.

GrumbleDook: "Yes, Bromcom is very good for allowing this tunneling of a client or device to a specific service on a specific box. " Thank you - Its nice to get "some" credit. However we need to put the record right on a couple of points. 1. Proprietary part of Bromcom was only RF network used in early part of the product life in the years 1992 to 2002. The RF Network is totally replaced with Wi-Fi and GPRS. 2. The patent case has been settled in Dec 2005 ( http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=pd&rid=11027&wn=1 ) In fact the Education Department (DCSF) liked the patent so much they wanted to have it 3. There is nothing proprietary in the client software communications what so ever and the latest WinFolder software runs on any laptops and PCs (soon on iMac & Linux) and WinFolder-PK on any Pocket PDAs with Windows Mobile 5/6 and of course the Bromcom server software runs on the schools existing network. 4. Latest infrastructure used is also totally industry standard Ethernet, Wi-Fi and GPRS and of course TCP/IP. It seems that there is still a misperception of of Bromcom (1) Technology being proprietary and (b) Patent being still an open issue. @DMcCoy - I am going to have to talk to the Southern Helpdesk Team about the issues you are reporting here as the current versions of BroDIS should really not be exhibiting the problems you have mentioned, out of interest which version of SIMS are you currently running? We have been working closely with Capita to improve the link and SIMS November includes code specifically designed for us to use. As to the requirement of web. file and SQL access, the system can be set in such a way that access from the curriculum network to the Bromcom server is largely unrestricted while not providing any capacity to tunnel across into the Admin network via the Bromcom PC, which is still by design attached to the Admin network for reporting purposes.

Huh? I assume he means not physically connected at all.. My own term would be "whirlwind proof", a term from the Sci-Fi works of William Gibson.

It is a fact that current direction of BECTA and DCSF policy is encouraging the use of Flat network design, which is in direct opposition to "popular expert opinion". We have recently enountered the same antipodean amazement that Tiger experienced, when we recently had some comms with an Australian VLE manufacturer. There reaction to the UK school situation of even having seperate networks "connected" across any means, let only a truly flat netowrk, was simple disbelief.. anyway... This is the precise reason why we have endeavoured to develop non-standard/secure comms methods. Where we do use standard network Comms we now advocate the addition of hardware based route blocking on the server to prevent unexpected attacks on common ports. Attendance registration pretty much functions on the basis that your collection occurs in the Curriculum environment but your reporting occurs on the admin side, they need "A" link to be truly effective. Our clients therefore run on a variety of comms - 802.11, Radio signal, even the browser based registration has a software solution in place to prevent direct connection to notorious SQL ports.. But we avoid anything running on the usual port suspects. Very soon a Java version of the attendance interface is beingt released to run on any Linux PCs/Laptops or iMACs. Much more secure as far as netowrks are concerned. On tht last point contact me if you want to know more (not the right forum to disucss that )

But there are the new API's that you have implemented on our behalf which should reduce significantly the number of calls required to retrieve the student data (for instance). Priya and Simon on Third party support have been very helpful and co-operative on this. They are a credit to your team.

Well it was only released late yesterday, give your LEA guys a chance.

We are hoping that the November release of SIMS will correct the DB Log Growth. Nothing we, as a third party, can do to correct it. We can however help reduce the frequency it occurs. As the log files are growing in concert with frequency of communication we can try to reduce the frequency of said communication until the problem is fixed and the logging is returned to pre SIMS 7.96 levels. PM me with your school details and I will get the helpdesk team to take the appropriate action.

Bromcom’s e-Cover will be available from Quarter 1 '08 and has been specifically designed, with the help of educationalists, with the Workforce reforms in mind. Staff cover is built around time (hours and minutes). Statistics are provided in time as well as number of periods, registrations, breaks, lunch times, pre-school and after school sessions (particularly useful for Examination invigilation). Like e-Timetable, e-Cover is extremely intuitive with drag and drop features, helpful visual indicators and coloured cells to support the user. It is an extremely simple exercise to add Agencies, Agency Staff, Support Staff, Exam Invigilators and Cover Staff to the database. e-Cover electronically sends ‘cover notification’ to members of staff via e-mail, to Bromcom’s ‘My Page’ and to ‘Winfolder’ where the cover appears on the teachers timetable for the day. Cover slips can be printed. e-Cover is one of a number of modules designed to be part of the new Bromcom MIS system, ‘Platform 3’. As with Bromcom’s registration package it will also work with SIMS. If anyone wants more information then by all means drop me a PM off thread.

Well it was either one of the Might and Magic series or... and this is the big daddy of the dungeon crawl genre..it was Dungeon Master.. If it had a splash screen as it loaded that had a wooshing FTL with speed lines then it was that one. Great game, get those Ninja levels by climbing ropes over and over and over and over, Fighter levels by hitting a wall with your axe etc... of course that wasn't how you where "supposed" to improve.

Has anyone found any games in the last 10 years even remotely as tough as the games that where coming out 20+ years ago? I think that as graphics improve the challenge seems to drop... Case in point Manic Miner - 20 levels, each level one screen, enemies move backwards/forwards/up.down on set paths. Chances that you are someone (or at least know someone) who could complete the game - very Low Halo (1,2 or 3)- Gorgeous graphics, ground breaking enemy AI, cutting edge storytelling techniques. Chances that you (or someone you know) completed the game 48 hours after it hit the store shelves. Almost 100% certainty.

Never played the game but did read and very much enjoy the Novel.

Crysis - Got involved in the multiplayer beta of that. Its an amzing game, however I doscovered one main thing. I SUCK... Seriously, the guys playing these games now are light years ahead of what we where like when Quake etc. first hit the scene. I humbly bow to the superior skills of todays unemployed Gamerz.

Geeks and Nerds, both individuals who possess extensive knowledge on subjects not normally exhibited in the general populace... Geeks however also possess social skills ps. I also am not planning on buying an iPhone, but I am also one of those people who thinks a phone should be good at making and receiving phone calls, everything else is pointless

Well it does say "PARS Training Officer" under occupation on her profile Personally I have my company affiliation posted over here <======= under location

Maniac - A lot can change in 2 years and it most certainly has.. but this is not a sales forum (and I'm not a salesman ) so I won't bore you with that. If your interested in the product development just check out our website (http://www.bromcom.com)

I remember shouting at people a number of years back during the intiial development of our SQL product. that "Yes, it is extremely expected that o'Donnell and the like is going to be a valid name. It needs to cope" We keep finding little things in SQL that are still not completely happy with that sort of thing. In a related but much older fashion.. Anyone ever tried having anything use a teacher abbreviated as PRN or COM and run a Command line parameter including it

I'll get you the proper answer to that one. Its on my list of things to chase the software department for an answer to

Apparently the best barcode was on a packet of freeze dried japanese noodles.. Books of the best barcodes and where to get them where also published. No wonder Pokemon became so obsessive..

Muhaimin - Its precisely for the reasons that you have highlighted in your post that we (Bromcom) endeavour to have technical personnel on our 1st line helpdesk. I personally hate phoning any support line with a technical problem only to be confronted with someone who is in essence a answer phone with some scripts to follow. That being the case I have a support team who can all design and execute SQL script, have an in depth knowledge of not just our own products but to a large degree those products we interface with (SIMS, Phoenix etc.) and as a result its only the most extreme data issues or actual honest to goodness bugs that ever get escalated beyond the helpdesk team.

Thought I'd show you a few screenshots of the Winfolder software I mentioned in my last post, just to show I'm not making it up The primary application screen http://www.bromcom.com/images/wf3/WinFolder.jpg and the actual registration screen http://www.bromcom.com/images/wf3/openregisterwithinfobox.jpg This is the same interface we'd be looking to implement on a Mac/Linux platform. Might look a little different...

Can't help on the Instant wealth and Early retirement side, but... We can and already do have this, just not yet on the MAC platform. The WinFolder software (been around on Windows since about 98/99)obviously runs off of our own database structure , but that structure can be, and in lots of school already is, populated and updated regularly from the schools SIMS system. We pull the data from SIMS on a daily basis. It doesn't use csv or xml format as we atually use the Third party interface components that Capita themselves have written. The attendance that is collected is then pumped back into SIMS on a slightly more frequent basis, in most schools it will transfer back changes every hour or so. Job done.

Due to the nature of the emergency situation it is not advisable to rely on anything that needs wireless communication to be active at the time of the fire. As previous users have stated it may very well be that hardware that started the fire, or at least the fire may very well damage the comms network. To that end here is how the Bromcom wireless system copes with the scenario. Each user has an assigned fire drill group, we find that most schools elect for this to be the tutor group but other procedures exist, the user sets this group on their PDA. Every time that user calls a register on their PDA the system also retrieves the most up to date attendance mark for the students in that users fire drill group. This information is then cached on the PDA. In the event of a fire the users take their PDA devices out of the building with them. They then perform the roll-call by selecting the option to do a Fire drill register which retrieves the information from the PDA's memory. This way they have a list of attendance that is as up to date as the last session marked by that teacher and it is not reliant on being able to retrieve a signal from a potentially fire damaged communications infrastructure.

"Will a doctor please report to the Bloaty Head clinic, patient waiting!" ah, wonderful game.

I hope it will be able to provide a solution to your problems ManxDan. One of our major design goals with Winfolder has always been to provide a bridging product that allows for secure curriculum use without any risk to the Admin network. We've implemented a browser based registration in our own MIS system but, like any browser based product, without a fully implemented secure ssl layer, dedicated firewall or other form of lockdown security it still lays out some risk to the otherwise split network infrastructure. The Winfolder software does not (and will not) use port 80, 8080 or any other standard browser port. Its data is encrypted and is handled prior to the SQL processing layer, so no direct link across admin/Curriculum to sensitive SQL ports either.