wedemire

If you're going to jump into the Unifi product line, you should stick to Unifi and not mix with an Edgeswitch so they play better together - same management. Ubiquiti does have a Unifi fiber switch, the US-16-XG. I've been using Unifi switches (and APs) for over two years and have them in 3 schools and haven't had a single problem with them. I have a 48P beside my desk right now for testing and the fans can get a little loud as my office warms up (around 70db). I turn it off when its not needed. I've used multiple options for controllers: VM on my work desktop, cloud key, and now dedicated AWS server. The cloud key was painfully slow and the Windows controller (java based) was awful. We switched to a free tier AWS server as we needed a cloud based multi-school controller and it's been great (and cheap). I haven't had to use support yet, so I can't comment on that.

We have a similar issue (with other sites) and its caused by our router load balancing Internet connections. If your IP changes between requests to the server some sites will force a re-login.

I'm also very happy with Unifi. Switched one of my Elementary (K-Grade 7) campuses from Merkai over the summer (to avoid recurring licensing fees) and put an AC Pro in every second room. I have less stats (history) than with Meraki but for the cost savings it's well worth it. I'm planning on switching to Unifi at my other campuses over the summer. I was also fortunate to get a Unifi Cloud Key when they first came out (can't find them anywhere now) and it's been working great too. It's a PoE mini stick computer that just runs the controller.

You could also get a Mac mini to use as an app caching server.

I second the wireless display/miracast. We have a lot of teachers using this. Works well and let's you buy pretty much any projector. Computers need to be recent to support it. Microsoft sells a really inexpensive adapter.

We have been using teamviewer for three or four years now. We recently upgraded from version 6 to 10. We have a team of two and three locations that we manage. Teamviewer has been a great support tool. I can take over teachers' school laptops even when they are offsite. We also use it with our servers instead of rdp so we can both connect to the same desktop at the same time. It didn't cost that much compared to other software (less than $1400 Canadian to originally purchase). We have it configured with a set password that's the same for all clients and we have the options locked so you need a password to get in there. There are no one time passwords so the only thing that shows up on the teamviewer splash screen is the id. The worst thing students could do is close teamviewer but all of our student machines are set to reboot on logoff (deepfreeze) so it will start again when that student logs off. We haven't had a problem with this though.

With Meraki MDM and Apple VPP you first have to invite the apple ids to join your managed distribution from the Meraki MDM. You can then purchase licenses (for managed distribution - not codes) and assign them to those Apple ids. You can revoke/reassign those apps using the MDM. So it's not exactly as you want unless you know the Apple ids in advance. The staff would get the invite and have to agree to join. But yes, there is the potential for the hybrid you want.

I bought a Stream 13 to play with when they came out to check it out (pretty much the same as the Stream 11 except for the size). The machine was good for the money even though the screen wasn't great but what killed it for me was single band wifi. We already have problems on 2.4GHz in areas of one of our primary schools. Battery life was very good. They would be good if you didn't need them on the domain and you didn't have a saturated 2.4GHz band. I have a similar spec Asus x205 which I tried to upgrade windows to get it on the domain but had no luck through three or four different methods. I imagine the Stream 11 would be the same. Nice that they now have a pro version which should help with that problem.

We have been using Lenovo Thinkpad X series convertible laptops for a few (4) years and will be moving to Thinkpad Yogas this year. We also have a bunch of Lenovo Helixes. All of our classrooms have Miracast Wireless Display adapters connected to projectors. The (WiDi) technology has gotten so much better with Windows 8.1 I've given some Surface Pros to various staff to test out but the keyboard isn't great, the pen is easy to lose and they only have one USB port (why do people still use memory sticks?). Not all of our staff are willing to learn this technology but those that have taken the time are really into it. One Note plus a digitizer is amazing in the classroom. Our primary teachers love it for spelling and filling in worksheets. Our high school Math and Science teachers couldn't live without it. There is a common problem we've experienced. If you connect to the Wireless Display Adapter and don't disconnect but shutdown/hibernate it still thinks someone is connected and won't let anyone else connect. The device then had to be power cycled. There are a lot of times where our staff give up and just use a cable. A second problem we have is when we use this in a classroom with an IWB as Wireless Display isn't so great when you have to plug in a USB cable every time you want students to use the board.

Does she want to take pictures with the computer? The Thinkpad Yoga is a great machine, nicer to use than the surface pro in my opinion but doesn't have the rear camera. The Dell Venues aren't as good, especially the pen compared to the Wacom/n-trig if she is interested in that. The charging port on the Venues is awful. We have a Venue 11 with keyboard and a Venue 8 that we bought when they launched. The venue 8 won't charge anymore and our Venue 11 randomly reboots when connecting or disconnecting to the keyboard. Surface Pro would be the best bet for a rear camera computer on the domain. I used a surface pro first gen for a year and have demoed a surface pro 3.

We have the DEP in Canada/USA and unless you buy the iPads directly from Apple you can't add them to your DEP. You can still supervise devices you didn't purchase from apple using configurator, but you can't enroll them the same way with the Meraki MDM. DEP devices with Meraki MDM is really slick. They enroll themselves in the setup process.

We had a similar problem with uefi bios but due to time constraints ended up putting all our computers on legacy rather than fixing the problem.

We have a mobile lab that is 2.4 only and we run into 100% utilization on the 2.4Ghz band which leaves some computers without a network connection in areas that they only have access to one AP.

Cloud storage is expensive. I've started using crashplan which has a free version which lets you do site to site backups for free. It does an incremental backup of our file servers and stores them encrypted on an offsite computer that has a large raid 5 array (could just be one large hard drive though). This has worked great for us for almost a year. To pull the files back you just need to put crashplan on a new computer and login to your account and pull the files back. I also get email updates if the server hasn't backed up in a few days and weekly emails with the percentage backed up and space used. We also do a local backup of our virtual machines.

With Gmail you can use the + functionality to create multiple Apple IDs on one email account. http://lifehacker.com/144397/instant-disposable-gmail-addresses We don't use them as disposable, and we put the home room name or the students initial/last name behind the plus. It is a pain to set up all the IDs. We do it through iTunes, buy something free and create an account which doesn't require a payment method. We use the same info for all accounts. We use VPP to purchased managed distribution apps and assign them with Meraki. We can push and revoke and assign to another user. Revoke through this method gives us our license back instantly but keeps the app on the device for 30 days grace time.

We use minis for K-3 (5-8yrs) and they have been great. Cost savings is also a benefit.

I used an x230 as my main computer for quite a while. Very well built machine. My only complaints were battery life and screen resolution which are both things fixed (higher res is an option) in the x240.

We have a tablet and projector setup using wireless display/miracast in about 40 classrooms. We have been using this method over the past 3 years with Lenovo x220s, x230s and now Helixes. We currently use the netgear ptv3000 boxes connected to the projector to allow for widi or miracast....whatever the tablet/tablet laptop will support. This allows our staff to teach facing the students, teach from their desk, or walk around the room while teaching. The technology is far from perfect. Windows 8.1 natively supporting miracast has helped, but many staff still have difficulties. The ptv3000 boxes often need to be rebooted and staff don't always remember to disconnect after they are finished protecting which will make the box unusable until rebooted. Most of our staff have a vga cable for backup. Windows 7 wireless display is a gong show with the necessary Intel drivers. But I'm guessing most people now looking this direction would be going Windows 8.1. I'm interested to try the new kindle fire stick and Microsoft's miracast dongle.

The Empeg Car Mark II I got it after Diamond had bought them. I had the 12GB version. I had it in my car for 5 years and took it out when I sold the car. I still have it, but haven't powered it on since....8 years ago.

I purchased an Apple TV and an iPad3 last year for a tech savvy teacher to test uses in the classroom. The major problem we found is that airplay mirroring didn't take up the entire projector screen (in either orientation) and was difficult for students in the back to see. I was hoping he would use it as an overhead replacement (I got him some Wacom pens too) but he hasn't used it for that. He's been using it for specific apps that he's found that don't really add much to his curriculum. He has ended up using the iPad a decent amount, but not the Apple TV. Since then when I've had teachers ask about an Apple TV or projecting their iPad I've set them up with Air Server http://www.airserver.com/ which costs $12 for 3 licenses. It installs on the teachers laptop and it becomes an airplay device that they can mirror or push multimedia too. Again it doesn't do a good job of showing up full screen (probably due to the 4:3 ratio of iOS) but it works and the price is right.

We are using x220 tablets from Lenovo (not detachable...but I will be looking at their detachable model when it finally comes out) with Intel wireless display boxes connected via hdmi to projectors. Teachers run the wireless display program on their laptop to connect to the projector in the room. The technology is supposed to do 1080p at 30fps but its not always perfect. We chose these to remove the ancient overhead projectors from classrooms (teachers use one note/word with the pen/digitizer) and because we figured smartboards/iwbs don't get use to their potential...this setup also is less than half the price ($2000 vs $5500). We have been buying $400 benq projectors with hdmi for this setup with the intent of replacing the projectors rather than replacing bulbs/repairing them.

I have one e530 (replaced a stolen e520) and about 35 e520's (older version...older CPU). We've had 10 of them for over a year and a half and just bought 25 for a mobile cart in August. I haven't had any problems with the 25 but had to warranty 2 from the older group. One needed a new motherboard and the other wouldn't take a charge. I ended up taking them to a local depot so I don't have experience sending them away, but Lenovo phone support was easy to deal with. I was very happy when I found out I don't have to call support and can just go to the depot without a support ticket number. Both of these had a one week turn around at the depot. The laptop with the power issue was an e520 with an i5 and only came with a 1yr warranty. The problem happened after warranty but I was able to purchase another year from Lenovo and drop it off at the depot the day after getting the new warranty. I too have had great warranty experience with Dell but Lenovo has been awesome so far. We've only been buying Lenovo's for 2 years. As far as the computer goes you still get the thinkpad keyboard (which is the main reason I buy thinkpads) at a very good price. The screen is not that great, but they had to cut corners somewhere for the price point they're at. They are fairly light for a 15.6" laptop. I will continue to buy these for my non-teaching staff that don't need a more powerful machine.