michael2k6

Hi all, Possibly my first thread asking for help after working for Advanced Learning for a good few years and posting solutions to problems, I'm now in a new role in a secondary school and have an Ipad issue! We've got some Ipads in schools which are all connected to the same appleID and when the administrator downloads an app on one, the others automatically download. This is a nice solution to keeping them all up to date. Now we've got some coming in for the new arrivals team but they don't need the same suite of apps. So I'm trying to set them up with the same method but a different appleID. The appleID is created and verrified, and I can sign into the Ipad with it fine, and I can also get onto the internet on the Ipad fine. When I go into settings, then into Itunes and app store, it's signed in correctly. When I change the setting for automatic downloads for apps from off to on, within a few seconds it changes itself back. The only support I can find online is people suggesting to sign out and sign back in again from that screen, which seems to be working for most people, but not for me. I can go into the app store manually and choose to download an app without an issue. It installs and opens. Any ideas what might be causing the automatic downloads button to turn itself off? Thanks Mike Sanderson

Have to say I've driven an RX8-R3 for about 8 weeks and averaged about 15mpg. I had an Alfa Romeo GIulietta Cloverleaf and that was doing about 25mpg combined (1.8T) and I now have an insignia VXR - 2.8l Turbo V6 by far the most powerful and heaviest and it's getting 32mpg combined. Baffles me.

I can confirm the soundsticks with that sub are genius.

Awesome work.

Ours didn't come along until after 2am.

There might be a bigger question to look at, you're going to collect the data. Are you planning on using a markbook style system to generate a naturally acquired grade every half term with a markbook defined by each department and a common output grade or are you going to give the teachers an assessment template to complete every half term? Once you've got that answered (or posted back if you already know) then I can make a few suggestions Mike Sanderson

I went to Paris many moons ago and used the Metro without an issue, I bought a ticket while there which was valid for X amount of journeys. I'm daft as a brush with navigation and was at the time 16 and managed it fine, so i'm sure you will

@sonofsanta, I went to a small conference today held by Advanced to find out some more about the transition,what they've learnt from the issues seen previously,and what they're doing to address it. I'm impressed by the honesty and the attitude they have taken, and I'm hoping that the school I've just moved to will be live by September. So we'll see! Something to consider,is the recommended moving period will take up some of your time - by which I mean, your hardware doesn't just have to last until you decide to move but has to cover the migration period too of course. Have you done everything you can to optimise the environment it lives in? We're kind of hijacking the thread though so if you want to chat about it some more start one and mention me in it or PM me Mike

^ what tli said.

@russdev - Ha. Yes I do.BRING ON THE PAAAAAIIN. @FishCustard - I'm quite confident I know more about progresso than anyone in the country that doesn't work for advanced, so I know the risks but also how to mitigate most of them. It's all about calculated risk and the value of the benefits of moving. @vikpaw - as above, probably yes but I'm not sure whether I would If I didn't have the experience I do have, maybe I would,it's difficult to think about it like that. The software is coming along nicely now and the implementation process is changing, the bad press that it's had is a result of things which are either rectified, can be worked around,or will be rectified by the time it's live at my place.

Hi there, Time for a reintroduction. Some of you will know me from my previous role, but I wanted to say publicaly I'm now at a school in West Yorkshire full time. Still using Facility / ePortal and currently considering Progresso. I look forward to rejoining you all presently Mic

Facility has been SQL driven for the last 8 years atleast. Certainly in the UK. The server is probably backed up overnight and hopefully there's a SQL agent backing up the MDF and LDF too. Failing that, you can set backup jobs in SQL, and then cold copy the bak file as part of the server backup. What most people would do there is set a backup for each day in a fortnight or month, and set to overwrite rather than append. That way, you get say 14 files, the oldest is 13 days old, and the 14th is the newest. You'll take up 14 times the size of the database, though as there's no compression by default. The reason that you're told to still backup the database from within the software is because should you ring Advanced Learning support, they'll not be able to assist with restoring your server / SQL backups, as they won't know where they are, how they've been done, etc. If you give them a bdb backup, they can always get your data back from that backup. However, consider what you're backing up. If you have a backup of all datasets somewhere, and that is backed up to tape or disk (whatever method the rest of the network uses), then each day you backup you only need to backup the templates and the current dataset. If you're not fussed about the activity log either, then check the 'do not include audit trail' box when performing the backup and it will help keep the size down. That way, in the even of a catastrophe, you will have all the old datasets in one bdb file and your latest dataset in another, and your templates in another. Make sure if you ever need them to follow the correct restore procedure to do it in the right order. There is no way to schedule an automatic backup by BDB (to automate the process of backing up within the software).

I expect this system to be up all of the time, yes - I was in a hotel, trying to pay for a meal I'd just eaten. I couldn't pay for the hotel or the meal and was 350 miles away from home. Had I have been in a fuel station I'd have a full car of fuel with no means to pay, which is illegal. The whole point of having the debit card is so you don't have to carry cash, which means it must be a system that can be relied upon; if you're saying we're stupid to rely upon it @MatthewL then you've just said there's no point in having a debit card? I was absolutely furious... 2k in that bank account, and embarassed by my card being declined twice. It was only after a 20 minute call to natwest we discovered why and as it was fixed in the morning I paid then, after a night of interesting amount of sleep.

Everybody's been spot on apart from difinity, who is wrong, PCP isn't for business use as such, bainbridge is correct. I've had a few over the years and of different types, and i'm picking up a new one on thursday, sending back my current one on the 15th. As anything you like but i think it's just about been covered! Difinity - what you're thinking of for businesses is... if a company own or are leasing a car in their name it's company car. Then the employee pays company car tax. The whole point of having a PCP is so that it ISNT a company car - therefore the employee pays no tax, and the company pays no tax. There used to be two ways to do this; you could have a car allowance; which was taxable as a benefit (but usually cheaper than being taxed on a car, as the car you're taxed on list price too), or you could go through something called an ECO scheme (employee car ownership). That scheme was agreed by HMRC as being tax free so how it worked is the company gave you a set amount per month, and you owned thecar, but cosigned by the company. So you had to use a specific leasing company and conform to specific rules, the company would insure the car too, etc. But as it wasn't a company car you didn't have to pay tax. HMRC have now given notice to all companies signed up to this, that this must cease, as they realised they're being done out of tax left right and center. To resolve that my company changed to giving me a cash allowance - but that meant I was taxed on it. And as that left me out of pocket, I made them gross up my salary to cover the tax I was then paying (and the tax i'd be paying on the gross up). Everything worked out fine. So yes... PCP isn't just for business. You were kind of right, but thinking of something else. The only thing I'll repeat is excess mileage figured, and check out whether it's a maintained lease, or not (IE any out of warranty faults are covered, tyres might be covered as long as you're sticking to the mileage, etc). Mic

Right you are. I believe we spoke about this last time, and although the salary is probably apropriate, it would have been a cut which I didn't want to take, so I decided not to waste your time in applying. I will be applying this time round. Thanks for clearing that up. Mic

May we ask why it was readvertised?

Is it the case that the network manager position has been advertised several times in the last 6 months or so? Forgive me if i've got my schools mixed up.

Peoples opions can differ greatly, I guess, I've not known them now in quite a few years, but I know a lot of current staff.

I thought this looked like an attractive post until I understood the size of the trust and expansion plans, if someone goes for this and you can't get the increase with the expansion, atleast look at it as experience and you'll be able to get something similar elsewhere

I can vouch for this team, too

Oh i'll be sure to I might pick your brains a little about E-Safety at some point soon too - I'm a governor at a local secondary and have an interest in ways in which we can improve the knowledge of our youngsters. Ciao for now

Hi all, Not an introduction thread, but a good bye - for now. I seem to spend a lot of my time on forums at the moment, when I should and could be doing far more proactive and fulfilling things. Those of you who have helped me, provided me with amusement, or generally conversed with me in the past 6 years, thank you. Those of you know now know me better, please do keep in touch, and you know where I am outside of the forum if you would like to contact me for any reason. Shalom Mic

I'd get it anyway. Bear in mind that you don't have to cause the issues, you only have to be blamed for it!

If you're changing the name and IP you'll need to reconnect ePortal and the client machines which use Facility. Support can help you through that, or there is a document which tells you how to connect to the DB, which you can download from the support site. Please bear in mind when you change it, the clients wont work, nor will eportal until, until they are reconnected. The other option you have which is a little messier but less work, is if the clients are connected by name and not IP, you can create DNS entries for the old name to point at the new IP so that you don't have to change the connection.

Ah- I almost forgot, it's a good way also of knowing who's actually interested at this stage, rather than just knowing who 'can' log in.