richardp

Hi, the first question would be do you manage your own firewall etc... or are you within your local authority network which puts you behind their corporate firewalls etc... If you are on the local authority network then really you should be having this conversation with your corporate IT team as they will have to approve any system you want to implemented as it will be routed over their network. Richard

Hi, I would say it all comes down to how secure you want to be or how secure you can afford to be. Really any remote access system (VPN etc...) should really be a two factor authentication system using at the very least a password and physical authentication such as a crypto card etc... Also the whole issue of the security of the data once it leaves your local systems on the laptop and where it can then end up has to be taken into account. I would say that really this is where your learning platform should be used as this should already be a secure approved system that staff and students have access to inside and outside of school. If they need access like they do on your LAN remotely then you need to look into SSL VPN ideally such as the Juniper SA4000 etc... A solution can be achieved on the cheap using software such as IPCOP and OpenVPN for example however the full security implications of using such systems would have to be investigated. I am no security expert and would suggest you talk to your LEA as they may already have a system in place. Richard

Hi, by shutting down do you mean logging out and returning to the login prompt? Going to sleep or actually powering off completely (not sleeping or hibernating)? Have you checked the Security option in system preferences, in there you can set a log out after X number of minutes of inactivity. Also do you have a mac server managing your macs? If so then it may be set on the server so no matter what you do on the client mac it will revert back to what the server has set as it is supposed to do? Richard

B.Sc. Hons in Information Technology + HND in Computer Studies + 14 years of on the job experience in the private and public sector = really rubbish wage (but at least I've still got a job for now!)

Hi, I don't have any hands on experience of the "active glasses" 3D systems but from what I understand the projector alternately projects the two images one after the other very quickly. The glasses are synced with the projector so that they block each eye in time with the projector so the left eye sees the left projected image and then the right eye sees the right projected image. This system is supposed to reduce any ghosting effect which can happen with the other more common systems. What you will find however is that everyone is an individual and no matter what system you use some people either can't see the 3D effect at all or it is not as pronounced. For example people with colour blindness often don't get the full effect. Richard

Hi Ric_, Basically the way that stereoscopic 3D systems work is by displaying two images overlayed one on top of the other. The second image is slightly offset from the other which is created either digitally in the case of a software application or physically in the case of shooting video by having two cameras mounted 65mm apart from each other. If using a PC as the source system, which is the most common way of doing it I believe, all you need is a bog standard system with a graphics card that has two outputs as most do these days. Of course the more powerful the PC and Graphics card the better, for example the two new systems we just purchased run from a shuttle PC with a Q9550 cpu and a nvidia geforce 9800gtx graphics card. Our old system is a P4 3Ghz with a 6800gtx, this system can't run the more complex applications fast enough so it results in very jerky playback. On the PC itself all you have to do is set the display adapter for "horizontal span" which expands the desktop across the two displays so you end up with one massive desktop spread across the displays. In the case of a projection system as the projectors are projecting onto the same single screen one image is behind the other in a sort of wrap around effect. This looks odd when running windows normally but when you run the 3D applications it looks correct. With the 3D TV it has a couple of different display modes so it looks normal in "line by line" mode and if you run a 3D app you see two versions of it displayed. When you turn on the 3D mode "side by side" it does the same as the projector and overlays the images, I believe it basically alternates columns of pixels or something like that. Both systems use passive glasses however the projection system is linear and the tv is circular which gives better viewing angles and less problems with moving around while watching it. You can get software that can turn 2D applications such as google earth and kar2ouche etc... into 3D and it works quite well. The software we use is called "more3D" and it effectively creates the two images by duplicating the single image and shifting it slightly. I hope some of that was useful ! Richard

Hi, we have developed 2 major 3D applications, one is based around the human heart and circulatory system and the other which is just being finalised is based on the respiratory system. We also use 3D for history and english subjects using tudor and shakespeare based modules. It is expensive for both the hardware and software and I would definitely recommend trying it before you buy it. Richard

We have been using a 3D stereoscopic dual projection system for approx 6 years now and we have just bought a portable version to loan out to schools. We have also just purchased a JVC 3D tv which uses the same system as Sky have started to role out to pubs and clubs, it uses a slightly different system to allow for greater viewing angles. Content is the biggest problem as there still isn't that much around really, have a look at Amazing Interactives: The 3D Experts who we have worked with a lot. You can also get into 3D filming by using two cameras on a mount that puts them a certain distance apart which created the 3D stereoscopic effect, this is something we are just getting into now. The projectors are really just bog standard DLPs so depending on how big you want the projection will dictate the cost. the TV alone cost approx £6,500 then of course you have to buy the 3D software and applications. Richard

Hi, although I do not use my DroboPro with any sort of virtualization the website does say they have achieved certification for use with VMWARE Data Robotics, Inc.. I cannot comment on the performance when used with VMWARE, I use it with BackupExec 12.5 and 4 bog standard windows 2003 servers. I am happy with the performance especially when I factor in the costs. Richard

Hi, have you looked at Drobo hardware? Either the DroboPro (1xiSCSI connection) or the DroboProElite (2xiSCSI connections) easy to manage and can take up to 8 disks with single or dual disk redundancy. Also rack mountable when you buy the separate bracket. Will take any size and any make of sata drive with drives able to be swapped out with bigger ones as they become available. Richard

I would also recommend HP Procurve. Used them in my previous job in industry and replaced a hodgepodge of old 3com and cisco unmanaged 10/100 switches as soon as I could in my current job in education. Replaced seven switches with two HP Procurve 4100gls (current equivalent model is the 4200vl I think) for approx £12,000 (about 4 years ago) with all the slots filled with Gigabit cards giving me 280 available ports, which works out at about £43 per port. But again as already mentioned you also need to look at your servers and client computers as if they don't have Gigabit cards then they would also need upgrading so that cost would also have to be included in the project costs. If you can afford Cisco (the annual subscriptions and training as well!) then go for them if not then I would not hesitate to recommend HP with their lifetime swap out warranty. Richard

Hi yes sorry I do understand that there are plenty of resellers out there that can offer great support (we use one ourselves) but I just wanted to point out that apple do not provide that service directly (although some of the info on their site can give you that impression unless you read the small print). Also that it is something else to take into account for any budget proposal etc... I also completely agree that we should be promoting the fact that there is more than windows out there as an option and that it doesn't really matter which OS or Software/Hardware you use so long as you can achieve your objective/project. From my experience the students are really not phased by the fact they are using OS X rather than Windows but I do find the teaching staff reluctant to use them as they do not have the experience / confidence. However since we have had our mac suite here and a number of schools have been to use them we have had two secondary schools purchase macs because they were impressed with how the students got on with them. Also we have even hosted a Final Cut Studio training session with some teachers and staff from those schools which seemed to be well received, with one of the schools coming back to do a video project off the back of it. Richard

something like this happened to me last year where all the disks looked fine but just would not go beyond initialisation. it turned out to be the raid card itself that was faulty. This was on a Dell Poweredge 2850 which when I contacted Dell about getting a replacement for the built in card was told it was a very old model. They then sent me a pci-e addin card after I had ordered a pci-x card which I got the details for from their website. They were adamant it was the card I had ordered from the code number, finally they admitted that the dell website was wrong and took the card back and sent out the right one. Did not leave me feeling all that impressed especially when the card cost £390 !!! as the server was out of warranty. Richard

yes as far as I know this is the case since 2003 server, no pdc bdc just dc. It is still best practice I think to designate one of your DCs as your primary server for changing domain wide settings such as user accounts and group policy etc... Richard

Hi we have 30iMacs for users and 4 laptops for staff here. I would say that the old argument for getting macs that they are better for multimedia stuff doesn't really hold up much these days. A lot of the applications now have windows versions (comic life, i can animate etc...) plus they do crash and do as many "funny" things as windows does when you are trying to manage 30 of them in a mixed network environment. For example I believe it is still the case that safari cannot access https pages when you are routed through a proxy (not used safari for ages because of this so maybe it is fixed) so any sites that use secure pages will not be usable unless you install another browser. Also I have had problems with the time getting out of sync for some bizarre reason so it prevents you from logging in with a AD domain account until the time is synced as local admin. This was much more regular when we were dual booting them with windows, which we have abandoned for now until imaging a dual boot system becomes easier. Also randomly I will sometimes have to unbind then bind some macs back onto the AD domain for no reason to allow login with an AD account. I have definitely found that once you go beyond a single user environment with a mac or go outside what apple have predefined for you (such as idvd templates etc...) things get more complicated and therefore prone to problems. Even if everything runs smoothly you are adding in a completely new system which means more work. Having said all that the primary and secondary kids we have had in using the macs seem to get a real buzz out of using them also I believe it is a very good idea to expose them to other operating systems and software. I personally like OS X as an OS but not to the point where I am blind to its problems. It also can only make your CV look more impressive with imacs and os x server on it. There are problems with support as it seems almost impossible to get any kind of onsite support from apple in the uk. I know of one council who spend approx £40,000 to get better support from them but that still does not get them onsite. If you can justify the expense and see real benefits for the students and can cope with the extra work then go for it. Richard

I have to agree, for important systems you should always go for the tried and tested option. I used to work with Digital VAX systems running VMS (still available from HP as OpenVMS) in a cluster with a shared storage array, while Microsoft and Novell fought over the workgroup server market. I have to say in the 8 years I worked with VMS it barely had any problems at all and only went down when I shut it down. I believe at the time the Tornado Jet Fighter used a vax/vms system for its weapons or navigation systems (I forget which) and most Nuclear Power Stations used the same. I certainly would feel a damn site more nervous if I found out my local power station was running Microsoft 2008 server and 7 workstations now !!! Although I agree windows 7 is an improvement over vista it is still only newly released and therefore going by past experience more vulnerable and prone to problems. Its very similar to the situation with windows 2000 and windows xp a few years ago.

I use a DroboPro with 5.4Tb of available space and room for 4 more drives when I need it. It can only be accessed through a server no matter how you connect it (iSCSI/Firewire/USB). Using iSCSI you can plug it into a switch (should be a dedicated one really) but still have to "attach" it to a server for access. It handles the raid setup all you have to do is decide if you want 1 or 2 drive redundancy (tick box) and how you want to format the available space (dependent on host operating system). I have it attached to a Windows 2003 server and use BackupExec 12.5 to perform backups. Works really well and could even be considered as a cheap main storage solution if the performance is acceptable for your setup. It cost me approx £850 for the chassis then approx £600 for 4 drives (2Tb Western Digital), so a grand total of £1500. The drives do not have to be the same size or make / model but you get more immediate space available if they are similar sizes. Richard

You are very correct about that however no cost of living increase at least is actually the equivalent of a 2.9% pay CUT due to the rate of inflation (Bank of England figures). So not only can you buy less with your wages but if you have any savings they are slowly loosing value every day for the same reason. Richard

Hi I have 30 iMacs however I decided not to go with the wireless option for that exact reason. I was concerned that they may interact with each other and cause problems so went with the wired ones instead. However I have no proof that this is a widespread problem and so long as you are syncing in some way the keyboard and mouse to a specific iMac then it should work. Have you had this problem from day one or has it only just happened? Could it be failing batteries or a system update of some kind? Richard

Ha ha Hitler not best pleased with Steve Jobs !!!

Something like this ? Motorised Octagonal - Ergo Computing - Full-scale ICT solutions provider Don't use them myself so no recommendation but if its the right price could be exactly what you want. Richard

Disappointing and too expensive for what it is however I am sure they will make a fortune out of them. I am sure the interface is a dream to use and the screen will be of high quality (although NOT HD no matter what they say) but still no flash, no multitasking, no removable storage, no camera ... Typical apple not putting in features they could easily do ( iPhone has a camera! ) so they can release a "new" version in six months and make even more money. Still they are a business and making money is what they do so more power to them. Richard

Hi, I used it very briefly for a proof of concept on a remote access project I was doing which ended up using expensive commercial software in the end. I liked it very much, seemed easy to setup and performed a lot quicker than MS VPN on XP. Also once setup seemed a lot easier to use for the end user. Richard

I would recommend getting a case that can take full height pci cards as you will find it a lot easier to get what you want, I have spent ages in the past trying to find the right graphics card before to fit a half height slot, also getting new psu for small cases that are powerful enough can also be a pain. Also silence is the key, get a fanless heat sink based graphics card, I can also recommend the silverstone fanless power supplies (been running one now for about 3-4 years with no problems), also get a cpu cooler with a large fan or no fan at all, also lower powered versions of cpus are another good way of keeping heat down. Also a good automatic fan controller and the largest fans you can fit into the case are another good way of keeping the noise down. I have 3 spinpoint hard drives (2x250gb + 1x500gb) and can confirm they are very quiet and have given me no reliability problems. Also dont expect a low end cpu and graphics card to playback 1080p video smoothly, you need mid range stuff really to be able to do that and other things at the same time. You could always go the other way and have a big ugly, loud, powerful pc hidden away under the stairs or in the loft and just stream everything to the tv using an Xbox360 or PS3 or other media streaming appliances. PS: you can always run boxee as well as windows mce (windows7 mce is what I run now and I am happy with it) PPS: dlink boxeebox £126 spring 2010 (http://www.dlink.com/boxeebox) Richard

Surely what you need to be using is a pac file for this ? Proxy auto-config - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia