MrMat

Ta da! As you can see it looks completely different. Overall it's quite an improvement however there are still oddly placed elements etc.

Failed due to Tolerance not met for target Solus 3 GUI by any chance?

Be careful with the account used. We've always had trouble when leaving the account as it is (NT Service). The installation is fine however the Capita SQL2012 Migration Tool almost always fails when the SQL service is running under those credentials. It will throw up a really stupid, ambiguous unhelpful error message too (something about SQLUtilities.exe missing from BINN folder). What we do is install SQL2012 using the default credentials, then go to Local Services and change the service to run as 'Local System' before running the Migration Tool. You can then change it back if required.

You're in luck. Support for SQL2008 and 2008R2 has been extended to include the Spring 2015 release. See thread: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mis-systems/138893-latest-technical-roadmap.html

We can't really use auto deploy For starters I have no idea where auto deploy now sits in 3.7... Seriously where is it? lol I can't find it. Mainly however, we have 1 Deployment Service that controls all of our Primary Schools which totals about 66 servers (not my idea, this is how it was set up when I started and as the guy who set it up is claiming his job back in a few months, I didn't feel it was right to redo it all). We manually select about 10 schools to deploy each night over a week or so when the release arrives. With each school there's nearly always one or two machines that don't upgrade correctly (usually due to a teacher trying to log into SIMS!!) which with only 10 or so schools at a time is manageable, however you times those 1 or 2 machines by all 60 odd schools and you have a royal sh**storm of broken machines the morning after which I would not be able to manage.

Maybe I interpreted it incorrectly but my impression is that it isn't just the SIMS Summer release that has a bug but the recent version of SOLUS3 that was released last week does too, hence why an updated version of S3 needs to be deployed. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually quite a fan of S3. We've been using it for sometime and don't have an issue with it. My comment was solely on the fact that we have to re-release S3.7 only a few days after releasing it for the first time and while it isn't a huge inconvenience (although my re-release has just failed for some reason hmmmmm, best investigate!), it simply doesn't instill confidence. In regards to the SIMS Summer Release, I don't have an issue with the Summer Release being postponed. As you say, it's much better that they've spotted the issue early and are hanging back a short while.

For those not already aware, Capita have managed to balls things up yet again: SOLUS3.7 An updated version is now available as SOLUS3.7.149.0 An issue has been discovered in the released version of SOLUS3.7 which can cause the Fileserver element of the imminent SIMS 2014 Summer Update to fail. This was not acceptable and needed to be resolved. This has been fixed and we have re-issued SOLUS3.7.149.0 for all directly supported sites and support teams. Customers who have already applied the original SOLUS3.7 release You will need to upgrade to the SOLUS3 release called ‘Solus 3 – 3.7.149.0’ This will update your Deployment Service to 3.7.149.0 and leave the other already upgraded elements as they are. We will be looking to de-authorise this release from SOLUS3 so if you have the 3.7 release scheduled would encourage you to replace this with the 3.7.149.0 update already available. Note: New agents installed from now on will be at the version 3.7.149.0 but they are fundamentally the same as the existing ones versioned at 3.7.147.0. Fortunately for us it's not much of an inconvenience but it does amaze how such a large company can get this stuff wrong time and time again.

Woohoo! *High five* Glad you got it sorted mate.

They just don't have access to the XML file so they can't import the wizard. Within the SIMS.net folder lies the AMPA folder which contains all the wizards. If they don't have SIMS installed locally each machine, then it's referring to the Program Files on the server i would presume (probably uses the path within your SIMS.ini file). Easily resolved though providing you're administrator, log into SIMS and import the wizards for them. It only needs to be done once.

A pack of Wrigleys and a pack of Hubba Bubba are sitting in a bar having a drink talking about their day. A pack of Airways walks in and all of sudden the pack of Hubba Bubba dives under the table and hides. The Wrigleys says: "Who you hiding from? The Hubba Bubba replied: "The Airways!! He's menthol!"

So far I've purchased myself: FarCry3 Dishonoured The Witcher 2 Assetta Corsa Only really played Assetta so far (which is a great driving Sim by the way) but look forward to plowing through the rest eventually. Got to love the Steam Sales.

Sounds like an innuendo...

Another update regarding the impending Solus3.7 update: [TABLE=width: 100%, align: center] [TR] [TD][h=2]SOLUS3.7 – Revised release date: Monday 23rd June[/h] The service outages to the SOLUS3 system have affected our ability to carry out the last phase of testing on SOLUS3.7 before we release it. We will therefore be releasing the SOLUS3.7 update on Monday the 23rd of June in order to accommodate carrying out this testing. We apologise for the inconvenience that this might cause, please feel free to email me directly if you have any particular concerns or questions at [email protected] Regards, Jonathan Wood SIMS Product Manager (Technical and Releases) [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Why they would be testing on the day they plan to release a product I have no idea...

SOLUS3 is currently un-available Unfortunately routine maintenance on the SOLUS3 servers has unexpectedly resulted in customers being unable to register new sites or download new packages. We are working on this as a matter of urgency and will update you when we know more, Regards, Jonathan Wood SIMS Product Manager

Error pops up when trying to add target definitions etc. Tried at a few different sites and all getting the same issue. Anyone else having trouble? I know there's meant to be an update for S3 coming today but I didnt see any mention of down time. Cheers, Alex

Truly fantastic news!

It was down on Friday for most of the day and is still currently still down at the minute. We gave Capita a call this morning and they advised they have no idea how longs it's going to be down for but they are working on it. Might be a while folks...

Technical Samyang spiel: The Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Aspherical IF MC Fisheye Lens is a high quality Fisheye type ultra wide angle lens for digital SLRS / DSLRS with an APS-C size Cropped Sensor (CS). Fisheye lenses are also popular for special effects use where distortion and field curvature, exaggerated perspective, or extreme depth of field are desired. Groups such as skateboarders are embracing the Samyang fisheyes for skate videos and photography, due to their very high quality, yet are an extremely affordable option; the alternatives are highly expensive, or are low quality lens adapters offering sub-standard quality. The aperture consists of six diaphragm blades, apertures available from f/3.5 to f/22. The lens hood is part of the body design and helps to alleviate flare from behind the lens. The Samyang 8mm fisheye lens offers some of the best optics in a lens for its class, and exceptional value for money. A specialist lens, affordable to every photographer. Cracking lens although a little niche. It's been used but still in excellent condition with no scratches to either the front element or the body. Comes with the original box, both front and rear caps and soft touch bag. This lens also has a 'built in' lens hood Great lens for action sports, urban, architecture etc. It's wide...oh so very, very wide. Please note this is a manual only lens I.e. manual focus and manual aperture however don't let this put you off, at 8mm the depth of field is huge so its extremely easy to nail focus. Also it has zero electronic contacts so no exposure settings etc will be recorded. This doesn't mean you have to shoot fully manual all the time, just set your camera to Aperture Priority (Av) and the camera will sort out the shutter speed for you while you sort out the aperture (using the ring on the lens) and the focus. Happy to post some example shots if there is any interest etc. Here is the link to the lens on Amazon. Looking for £200 (ONO) including postage. Cheers, Alex

I use a fair few pretty basic Macros. I sort of cheat as most of my Macros simply create and run Batch files! I've posted this before but I shall post again, here's my main use: The 'PowerPing' macro is my fav. Use the drop down box to select the SIMS machine on the network, hit PowerPing and it updates the status bar detailing if it's online or not, whether SIMS is currently in use, the version of SIMS and whether the SOLUS3 agent is installed. Being at the LA and having about 1500 SIMS machines on the network, it's very handy! From there you can then delete SIMS.net, uninstall the S3 agent, set the standard Connect.ini etc etc. It all helps to save a bit of time.

Install SQL2012 on 65 Primary School servers....

Completely agree. Easily the best of the big couriers.

Those of you that are having trouble, do you still have the SIMSLoad.exe included within your shortcut? SIMSLoad breaks it. Providing you're using S3 you don't need SIMSLoad included in your shortcut anyway so just delete it.

Right click your shortcut and select properties. Then add the following: Ta da! Edit: DOH! Beaten to it.

Couldn't agree more! Loved my 50mm 1.8 prime so much I decided to upgrade to the 50mm 1.4 Best decision ever.

Good work mate! 4 stone in 7 months is pretty good going. 2lb a week? Well done to everyone else whose making good progress! Woo. After spending the past few years on a constant 'bulk' to get into shape, I'm finally cutting back! I managed to gain a reasonable amount of size/muscle etc during that time but also a sizeable amount of fat to go with it. At my peak I was 16stone 3lbs and probably around 25% bf, as of today I'm weighing in at 15stone 5lbs and feeling much leaner, probably about 20% bf! Woo. Trying to keep it consistent and aiming for 1lb a week