AJWhite1970

Thanks everyone, looks like FormatFactory is my weapon of choice

Morning all I've got some mts files back from a Sony Handicam that I need to convert to mp4 and I don't have the luxury of access to a Mac on-site. Looking on t'internet there are thousands of software converters for the job, most of which probably come with "added extras" hidden in the installers. Could someone please recommend a piece of software that's safe to download and run that is up to the job? Thanks as always Andrew

Back in the day a large educational establishment I used to work at wrote their own in-house student tracking software. It launched full of bugs and within 6 months the code had become Frankensteins monster with all the patches, add-ons and quick fixes (yeah ok much like SIMS come to think of it) Ended up using it for nearly 3 years until thankfully the decision was made to dump it and go for something commercial. Of course then there was all the fun and games of exporting the custom data into the new package... Moral? Be careful what LT wishes for

We've run OCS with GLPI together for years and it's been very good. Just playing with Spiceworks at the mo but I don't think it does non pc assets or toner inventory? Could be wrong... There is also the free version of PDQ Inventory which is very good

SSD's are so light compared to an old drive we just used double sided Velcro on some of our machines to fix them in place when the holes didn't line up....

This was the link I followed to install it from scratch https://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/135184-installing-koha-ubuntu-16-04 Still looking for a good admin howto guide to follow for the library setup...

Morning all Decided to revisit Koha as an alternative for our out of maintenance library system now owned by Capita... Just wondering if anyone has an administrative howto document I can blag or knows a good one online? I've done the install on an Ubuntu VM and that all works, it's the setup of the library and books, the eleventy billion customisation options, how to link it to Amazon for the covers etc Just hoping to save time reinventing the wheel (and more than a bit lazy..) Cheers Andrew

This was part of mine with the CCTV. Was a 12 month project and the file sizes got massive towards the end!! goo.gl/g7r9xJ

That does look pretty cool!! Have you got any CCTV you can point at it? That's how I did mine by running the video through shotcut https://www.shotcut.org/

According to my Geography department its either a) the storm pulling in sand from the Saharan Desert or b) they are coming and using our satellites against us

The sky is a really eerie bright orange/yellow at the moment, obviously caused by the atmospherics of storm Ophelia. It's making a lot of students look up and comment. Or the airbase up the road has had a major mishap, one of the two....

We have a sign on our comms room door...

Nothing but for us it's convenience. I'd rather a teacher can quickly update their website by using twitter and an embedded widget on their curriculum webpage rather than expose them to the actual html code. If that was the case then a) they would tire of it quickly and never update the page and/or b) make a right horlicks of the update and potentially break the page

Correct. I have one account [email protected] which then has a smtp alias for each twitter account in the school. Teachers login using the handle not the email address. Works really well

Over 50 school twitter feeds here, all used heavily either centrally or departmental. The HM often walks round school tweeting fun things from his phone and the PE department are brilliant at covering all sports live. Many of the departments have 100's of followers. Rules of twitter for us? 1) Central email account for all updates for all accounts so I have one place to check for rogue activity 2) Never uniquely identify a student by name, so John from Y8 is OK, JOhn Smith from 8T isn't 3) No photos with anyone with their top off (sounds odd but the 1st Rugby team fell foul of that one a while back oh and we are a boys school) 4) Replies are turned off

Not sure what size you are looking to cover but over the summer I put astroturf over the top of my back patio, an area of 3mx8m and it cost approx £100 from an ebay supplier. 4 months later it's bedded down really well and we often walk from the hot tub to the patio doors barefoot without issue. Also has no issues with heavy rain. Used a hard wearing 6mm length grass.

Has anyone done or considering doing the Ubiquiti UEWA - Enterprise Wireless Admin Training Course? £320 for two days sounds very reasonable (especially if I'm not paying...) but just wondering how deep the content goes past basic setup. Other providers exist but here is an example of the Ubiquiti courses available in the UK https://www.msdist.co.uk/catalogue_Training-Courses.php?cat=Ubiquiti%20Training%20Courses Any feedback most welcome Andrew

Good point, well made. That policy is due for renewal this term, I'll make sure it's updated. The exact wording on the ICO's website is:- "You have the right to see CCTV images of you and to ask for a copy of them. The organisation must provide them within 40 calendar days of your request, and you may be asked to pay a fee of up to £10 (this is the maximum charge, set by Parliament). This is called a Subject Access Request. You will need to provide details to help the operator to establish your identity as the person in the pictures, and to help them find the images on their system."

From our Security policy "CCTV 41. The school is fitted with a CCTV system which is controlled by the ICT Network Manager. Having cameras in the School should provide parents and staff with an added sense of security without being intrusive to teachers, pupils or parents. 42. The colour pictures produced are recorded on a file server hard drive which can be monitored. Other than the ICT Network Manager the only personnel permitted to view any recordings are as follows:- Headmaster Deputy Headmaster Business Manager Site Manager Police Authority (on receipt of a written request). A parent, pupil, member of staff or governor does not have a right to view. "

Experience? Yes. Good experience? No We have one that is now an expensive coffee table that the art department used to use. Now we use AirServer (AirServer - The Most Advanced AirPlay, Miracast and Google Cast receiver for Mac, PC and Xbox One) in each of the classroom PC's which costs about £6 each and the staff walk round with their iPads and mirror it up to the projector if they want to show students work to the class.

Sadly not, that would be far to clever and just a little annoying after the first couple of times.... Turning red is as radical as it gets!!! I am however dining out on you calling it cool until at least BETT

Atomic clocks are fine unless you work in a building like mine where the 16th century brickwork stops the flippn clocks from syncing... We wrote a little taskbar app (one .exe and one .ini) that ties in with the bells and also turns red when there is 5 mins left before the next lesson/bell. Teachers love it

Friday 22nd is a viable option down here if that sits better for people? Didn't realise some schools were running that late into December this year!!

For those that use it, how does rdpguard.com compare against Malwarebytes Business which I'm currently using to protect all my public facing servers? Timing is interesting as my site licence is due for renewal in a few weeks....

Seeing as Poundland have just given me a Christmas carrier bag thoughts had better turn to organising the third South/Central/Kent Edubytes gathering. Here at Hogwarts we break up on Friday 15th December meaning if we stick with Wednesdays the 20th December would potentially be a starting point for peoples calendars and give some notice if you wanted to get cheap rail fares. As usual, I can host here if people want me to, free parking is again on offer that week etc. Also this year the Christmas market will still be open in the square until the 22nd for those who wish to partake in some craft festive shopping. However, I won't be upset if someone else wants a turn hosting. So in no particular order, @LeMarchand @elsiegee40 @BKGarry @witch @The_Oracle @daleksec @Tammie @failnator @Helen25 @DJ-1701 @newpersn @Oaktech @GrumbleDook @Devontechie and anyone else who hasn't been before and wants to join in, thoughts on the date? Andrew