flyinghaggis

Thanks for the suggestion. In terms of the sync itself what actually happens to the data once it is extracted from the MIS system? Do you have access to a console which is installed on a local server so you can see what the sync is going to do and setup how it will work? Or is there a website login?

Our SLT are keen to find a way of syncing our MIS database (SIMS / WCBS) to our Google Apps domain so that pupil/staff timetables can be auto-populated and Google classes/groups are automatically created based the information contained with our MIS database. We've been approached by a small company who've offered to sync these two systems. I'm slightly apprehensive about the whole process as they've asked for a Google Super-Admin account in order to run their nightly sync between the two systems. Most of our other Google Service providers/partners just use an app which can be approved through the admin console for the specific areas it needs access to. I queried them on this but they stated they have to run several processes as part of the sync which could only be carried out with a super-admin account. I fear giving them a super-admin accounts robs us of any visibility/accountability of what they're doing within the domain and it gives us no visibility of the sync itself. I worry the sync may not run correctly and could bulk update users Google accounts with incorrect information/appointments/permissions or create spurious Classrooms/Groups in our Google domain. Has anyone else been in this position of being asked to provide a 3rd party company with admin logins to their cloud systems?

Just noticed Microsoft have refreshed this today with Kaby lake CPU's. The claimed 13 blue battery life sounds impressive and they've ditched the fan on the i5 model which is nice. Other than that it's much the same as before. https://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2017/05/surface-pro-2017-uk/ I really wish Microsoft would stop trying to sell £1000+ laptops/tablets with 4Gb RAM though.........

Lol, pretty much everyone else on here seems to be using it so I'm guessing it must be half decent! Which of their products is everyone using? Just the free edition or do you have Enterprise Plus. What are the rough ballpark costs for the enterprise version and is it worth paying for in your opinion? Quite a few people on here seem to be sticking with tape backups. Is that because of cost of do you feel it's most secure or faster to restore than server backups which are stored on a cloud solution?

We're currently running Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2012r2 for our backups but it's long due an upgrade to a newer better solution. The recent ransom-ware headlines in the news have caught management's attention so disaster recovery is back at the top of the agenda which is a actually a good thing I guess as it means we now have budget available I'm trying to work out what the best solution would be. Everyone on here seems to be raving about VEEAM so I'm guessing that's worth a look? From a disaster recovery point of view we definitely need some kind of offline backup to protect against ransom-ware and anything which could compromise backups on the live server. Tape seems like kind of an old school solution for 2017 so I'm think maybe cloud backups would be a better option though I haven't looked into the cost yet. Most of our servers are running using Hyper-V so we'd definitely want a solution that integrates with that. Is VEEAM the best best or should we look at another option? Is Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2016 any good? Any suggestions would be appreciated

That would make sense. I was thinking there must be some kind of link between their sites which exposed them over SMB/etc before they were all affected at the same time.

It does seem odd that so many NHS trusts were affected simultaneously. Are they​ linked in some way that allowed the worm to spread over SMB or was it just an attachment/etc spreading via compromised email accounts? It's horrible to think that someone would Intentionally target uk hospitals

Yeah, it makes sense as the main strength of Google Apps is the fact it's pretty much all cloud based so it's not surprising Microsoft is heading down that route. It's pretty clear the days of on-site servers are numbered. I was kind of shocked by it not supporting on-premises domains but I've got a feeling we're all going to end up being nudged towards Azure in the coming years which is why I was wondering what the rough costs would be?

Given this new requirement, if you want to use Windows 10 S,. what are the rough ballpark educational costs for running a basic Azure domain​ per year assuming you're using office 365 or Google apps alongside it and only really require it for basic domain functionally?

That's useful to know. It still feels like a bit of a faff as it means having to effectively review all of the groups policies we currently have for Windows 10 in an MDM format. So it basically becomes as much work as having to roll-out a completely different device/platform like chromebooks/android/IOS in terms of managing Windows 10 S. That's before we hit the issue of not being able to use existing apps we currently have installed throughout our school. Maybe, as @TwistedHelixis suggested, Microsoft would have been better re-branding it as another OS. Naming it "Windows 10 S" immediately gives people the expectation that it can run all existing software and will have all the features/functionality when this is clearly something very different from Windows 10. In fact you could level similar complaints against MS in general for slapping the "Windows" brand on every platform out there (Windows 10, Windows RT, Windows Phone) regardless of whether they're actually the same OS with the same capabilities. I think the "Windows 10 S" name is what's raised my hackles and why I'm sounding so negative about it I get why they do it in order to try and push brand recognition and continuity between devices but IMO using the "Windows 10" name carries too much expectation. How are we supposed to go to teaching staff/ management (or your average layman) and explain that we've rolled out Windows 10 S, which looks exactly the same as regular Windows 10 they have at home, but it isn't actually capable of running any of their existing applications or hardware? It's going to result in some very awkward conversations......

So Windows 10 S :- 1) Can't join an on-premise domain to apply group policy settings 2) Can't run win32 apps/drivers or anything which isn't available from the Windows Store 3) Won't allow you to change the default browser from Microsoft Edge .. and Microsoft believes this product is specifically designed to meet the requirements of the education sector. Did they actually speak to any schools/colleges

So is there anyway for us as domain administrators to get Win32 apps running on a Windows 10 S device? Or are we literally totally dependent on developers porting apps across to make them available in the Windows Store?

We won't be looking at rolling it out just now primary because of the requirement for an Azure Domain. We're also using Google Apps/Chrome very heavily so the Edge browser limitations sound like they'll be a pain for us. That and we'll need to wait to see how easy it is to roll out w32 apps which aren't available though the Windows Store. It feels like it has too many limitations and questions surrounding it for us to consider moving to it anytime soon. If you're using Office365 heavily and have an Azure domain ready to go I could see the appeal but it's not feeling like it's going to be a good fit for our school right now. Having said that we need to upgrade our servers and migrate from Windows 7 to some version of 10 in the next year or two. It looks like Microsoft is going to increasing push their customers towards Azure and off-premise servers so it's something we'll need to start looking into. Maybe by then Windows 10 S will look more appealing?

I guess we'll see how some of the budget devices pan out. So basically to get a mid-range Surface laptop (i5 / 8Gb RAM / 256GB SSD) you're looking at £1300 Also, I'm not really getting why on earth you'd want any kind of fabric material on a laptop keyboard surface? Surely it's going to get badly marked up, discoloured and will start to fray at the edges after a few months of use?

Yeah, that's going to be a show stopper for us and probably a lot of other schools I'm sure MS knows their market better than me but IMO the thing causing MS to bleed market share in schools at the moment is simply the lack of affordable half decent Windows laptops and tablets. Right now everyone seems to be buying either ~£200 Chromebooks or ~£340 iPads. It feels like a mistake on Microsoft's part focusing on selling £1000+ laptops when what educational establishments clearly want are budget devices that either pupils can buy or the school can roll out cabinets of for a class to use. Microsoft, or their partners, need to somehow bring out a reliable half decent laptop/tablet in the ~£300 range to compete with Apple and Google. Everyone knows if you buy a laptop for that kind of money it'll basically be junk (720p screen, slow hard drive, rubbish battery life, slow CPU, horrible trackpad, etc) which is what's driving schools to look at alternative hardware like iPads and Chromebooks. It's good to have more management options available to control Windows devices but unless the hardware itself, and the experience provided by budget Windows devices, improves dramatically it doesn't have a future in education or anywhere else in the mainstream generally as far as I can see.

I'm curious to see what they announce though the rumoured "Windows 10 cloud" sounds an worryingly like they've just simply rebranded Windows RT! Hopefully it's a bit more than just that

Likewise, got my copy sitting waiting for me at home! Never had a Wii u so looking forward to getting a chance to play it again.

Yeah, the whole interactive whiteboard proprietary software and formats is just a headache everyone can do without these days. The problem I have with ClassFlow is that it's yet another vendor attempt at locking-in their customers except using the cloud this time. As others have said I think the way forward is just to go with touch screens of some variety (and use the Windows/MS built-in ink functionality). That or find ways of wirelessly sending tablet/iPad displays to the screens using AppleTV's/etc or another more open protocol.

When you factor in the manufacturing costs and the retailers/suppliers cut Nintendo probably wasn't actually making a boat load of cash for each $60 console sold. I expect they figured that, as DosBox says, they'd make more money from selling NES games to Switch owners in an upcoming virtual console.. I think Nintendo only really ever sold the NES Classic as a pure way of generating hype for the Switch and to draw attention away from the Sony/MS consoles over the 2016 holiday period. I REALLY hope I'm wrong and there's a SNES Classic edition planned though.....

Same subnet?

We had the same problem. I'd guess it's an issue with the network traffic not traversing subnets/VLANS but I couldn't find anything in Google's documentation to indicate which ports/etc it uses nor time to investigate it in any depth. We ended up just buying a local wireless hub for the devices to connect to. You can use the service offline if everyone using it downloads the 'expeditions' to their device before connecting to the standalone Wi-Fi hub. Hopefully someone can suggest a better solution though as the local Wi-Fi hub is a bit of a kludge.

Useful to know as the STM Dux is the case we currently recommend to our pupils! There's a load of cheapo cases on Amazon/Ebay claiming to be for the new iPad but most of them appear to just be iPad Air cases unscrupulous merchants are trying to pass off as being made for the new iPad. Be careful what you order.....

Can anyone recommend any cases for the new iPad 2017? I believe they're a slightly different form factor to the iPad Air 2 and the buttons/camera positions are also subtly different so I'm not sure what will fit?

I've been feeling the same way with most phone releases these days. It's all basically moar cores, HDs, RAMs, Gigs, Megapixels, etc . I just thought the Galaxy S8 was worth of discussion because of the screen design. Or more specifically the lack of bezel and how easy it is to pocket and hold frankly ridiculous 5.8" and 6.2" handsets. I suppose they have cheated slightly as the phones are now taller 18.5:9 ratio displays rather than the more usual 16:9. That's probably better actually since it means you can have a very tall/large display whilst still being able to hold it comfortably. I do wonder if it might cause issues with some apps though? I suspect a lot of apps/videos will still default to 16:9 giving you black bars at the sides when using the phone in landscape orientation. Nice to see we're reached the stage of removing the front bezel in phones. Now if someone could just develop a battery that can actually last all day without dying on me. Oh, and if the manufacturers could put this tech into a phone that doesn't cost £700-800 whilst they're at it that would be splendid cause the price tag of the S8 is eye watering .........

Just tried out one in the phone store today and it's pretty impressive to look at given there's virtually no bezel on the front. Even the 6.2" S8+ isn't actually much larger in form factor than my current Nexus 5X. I also like that they've done away with the physical home button so it looks more like stock Android rather than the usual TouchWiz interface. I'm not sure if I'd buy a Galaxy as I generally prefer stock Android and Samsung are usually pretty slow when it comes to bringing out OS updates. The hardware design itself is stunning though!