webman

@Gatt: Here we go http://www.edugeek.net/forums/comments-suggestions/44081-username.html

This feature was requested/suggested a while ago. I think it's beneficial.

We have two storage pools on our 7110 - one mirrored and one double-parity raid. We're also using NFSv3 to (currently) a single XenServer 5.5 host. Mirrored volume: Read: 99.96 MB/s. Write: 24.65 MB/s. Double-parity volume: Read: 94.19 MB/s. Write: 19.82 MB/s. I don't know if that's "standard" for our configuration or not. If Ric_ comes back with figures twice our write speed I think ours might need investigating... As a comparison, my workstation SATA disk benchmarks at 60.94 MB/s read and 11.62 MB/s write.

There's an error with the poll. It's lacking a 'NO' option

That's about the going rate, depending on media & size. I've used CBL Data Recovery before and their service was great, especially with their no recovery, no fee policy. If I remember rightly, Edugeek member Midget is involved with data recovery - if not, apologies for getting wires crossed with someone else Whoever you choose - do a bit of research first. I know of one person who struggled to get their drive back from a company after receiving a quote but deciding not to pursue it with that company.

Just because someone plugs their keyboard into a speaker socket doesn't make them an idiot. That's just stereotyping.

It's my boomerang's birthday today! Many happy returns.

A network build option - do you mean to install the OS over the network? With SmartClient, it is up to you how you install Windows. So you can use CD, Acronis, Ghost, FOG etc. to get it installed and up to the requirements for SmartClienting (local admin account password, empty disk label...). Yes, the Netac USB drives are fantastic and are what we have been using for about a year. They are special in that they have a switch on the side of them which alters how the drive is presented to the computer. FDD mode emulates a physical floppy drive + disk, so all computers should be able to boot from it. They also double-up as a regular USB Mass Storage Device when the switch is not in the FDD position. Highly recommended for hassle-free building. So depending on how long you're going to be with CC3 and how many machines won't boot using other USB methods - will determine if it's worth while getting a few Netacs

If only football was exclusively on the telly. Or if there was an OFF button when you go down the town, into shops, on the web... it's everywhere. There is no escape.

Booting from USB is very hit and miss due to differences in USB drives themselves and also the way computer BIOSes see them. I used to use the HP Drive Key Boot Utility which formatted the USB drive properly and copied files to it (from an actually floppy disk, or drive emulated via an image using VFD). Try all the different boot options in the BIOS, too. USB-FDD, USB-HDD, USB-ZIP to find the right one. If the USB drive is being recognised as a hard disk though (C: drive, as you've shown above) then there isn't much you can do (as far as using USBs are concerned). The build process relies on batch files and DOS applications and will only work from media which it identifies as floppy or a removable device. The build files are located in the RMRebuild share of the DC (e.g. \\RMT-SVR-001\RMRebuild). The Build Manager folder is to do with the build disks themselves and the drivers; and the XPBuild folder is the contents of the XP source files. If you do do any slipstreaming in to there, that's the folder you will want to ensure you have backed-up in case it goes pear-shaped; as slip-streaming isn't officially supported. This isn't likely to make a difference in your situation, but just as an FYI... If you are unable to boot from USB or floppy, there is another method you can use - SmartClient. With this, you: Install the OS yourself using preferred method, run a program from the server, enter network credentials, and then it will be joined to the domain and packages will be installed as per the usual process. Instructions on how to do this are here on my wiki.

Even if you don't have paid support, you should still have basic access to the Knowledge Library on their website. The CC3 build process is rather smart. In principal, once started, it: downloads XP setup files to hard disk, installs XP + drivers, joins it to the domain/sets security/policies, then finally installs software packages (all automated and unattended). Drivers can be added using the RM Workstation Build Manager. In the tree on the left, go to Drivers > Windows XP and choose the hardware type to add a driver for. Click the Add Driver button, fill in the fields, and browse to the path where the drivers are - the folder containing the .inf. Then click OK or Import. What do you mean when you say, "customise the builds", exactly? Once workstations are "built" as CC3, it's pretty difficult to go back to a working state just by removing the RM packages. A full re-install of the OS would be required.

Yes, only time will tell. But I'm fully behind a review into value for money in BSF - that alone can't be a bad thing. But the alternative is still relatively an unknown quantity

You can't just look at the figures alone - one must take account of the total cost of ownership and what value it has to the school, in terms of staffing, features and so on. We hardly spend any money with RM - we buy no hardware from them, no support contracts, or other stuff - just the CC software and appropriate licenses. This is the flexibility that we have and for us, it works great. Regarding the upgrade strategy - I'm going to do a Grumbledook here and sit on the fence. RM are a business and need to make money. They can't carry on supporting older systems forever - and this is the same stance that Microsoft take with certain products (Windows). However, it would "be nice" to be able to have the option of running Windows 7 and Server 2008 with maybe CC3. If this doesn't work for you - don't go with RM. If you don't mind RM's pace of OS/application support, then it's not a problem.

I like the ideas and innovations of fitting things in to small spaces. But are they realistic and practical? During your daily routine, do you really want to be re-arranging furniture and moving objects off of surfaces (where to?) to get at a seat, table, or bed. Take the bed example near the end. It seems you had to adjust the shelve fronts, swing the whole thing round, then pull the bed down. Then - where are the sheets and pillows? Where do you store these when the bed isn't made up? Maybe it's just me being lazy and don't want to apply extra effort to access basic furniture?

Excellent. Mr Gove, have a beer on me.

This has been recommended on EduGeek a couple of times: Trellian WebPage - Trellian Software

This any good? How to Remove Shutdown Button on Logon Screen | PCRemiX :: PC Tips, Tricks and Tweaks Refers to a local policy but I'm sure it will point you in the right direction.

danrhodes: Having RM take away a lot of fiddling, it leaves us extra time for development and implementing Linux solutions and other nice ideas, as well as needing less tech staff. Saves us money and time and headaches. YMMV.

*sigh* Here we go again... Very disappointed with the narrow-minded attitude shown by zag.

gwendes: Unfortunately the chances of it arriving before the holidays is unlikely at the moment

john: On the website, each choice in their library of food has 4 options: Bin, Try, Like or Love. You will never be sent binned items, and you can specify whether you get more stuff you like, or more stuff you'd like to try. Give it a go

russdev: I think nutritional information is included in the box you'll get; either on a bit of (recycled) paper or on the top of the plastic punnets.

Hightower You're probably right there fella

The reason for that is because there is no pagination on the listing pages (so it loads all data in the DB for whatever aspect you wanted to load) - this will change in v2

@tech_guy A call to the council planning dept is in order