Zoom7000

When I went yesterday, there was some "Asia Expo" Trade Exhibition going on downstairs and this Learning Technologies thing was on yesterday and today in Olympia 2. I swear the entire size of the exhibition was probably smaller than our main hall! I'll be staying away from that next year! Infosec Europe Next!

I'm not sure of a device based on all of your requirements. But you may wanna look at the "Blackberry" almost all those people you see on the Tube in fancy suits most likely working for an investment bank is using one. So there must be something good going on there. Alternatively, you may want to look at the O2 XDA. It's literally a PDA with Phone capabilities.

What is the best designed website(s) you have ever come across? As corny as it sounds, I am quite impressed by the design of wwe.com. It just comes across to me personally as a webpage that has had some pretty decent coding behind it. Also quite impressive is the new sites that Microsoft usually churn out. Windowsvista.com being one of them. Office Live is also impressive. So what website(s) make you think "Damn, why can't that webmaster do my school webpage"

Back in the day (80's) when Kinder Eggs cost more than my weekly (even monthly) pocket money... You used to get some really decent toys! I remember my fav was a motorbike that had a little motor that I'd get every so often. But 50p in the 80's was a very expensive Kinder Egg. Nowadays you get some stupid molded cartoon character that no one has ever heard of. It's only worth it for the unique chocolate. Those were the days! Look at me, getting nostalgic at 24!

Congratulations! I've never won anything in a prize draw... so well done! I did however manage to get a Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX Web Cam at Adobe's stand yesterday at Learning Technologies 2007 at Olympia. The exhibition was pretty rubbish though, that's the best thing that came out of it for me! I was tempted to put it up on ebay, but there's a whole host of them there and no one seems interested!

If anyone has brought the Retail Boxed Version, can they please post some pics? I've got my version via a Technet download so it's burned DVDs for me!

No, I never said Aero is needed, it's just that if Aero doesn't work, it leaves you with the "Windows Simple" interface. Personally, I feel that the Windows Simple interface makes Luna/Royale look like award winning art! MS should definately release a better theme for non Aero capable computers.

I was a Vista beta tester and have got myself a copy of Vista through our Technet Subscription. We have HPDC7600 PCs, DC7100s and IBM ThinkCentre 8189s. All similar specs, but no less than P4 2.8Ghz with 512Mb RAM. The RAM is not enough for Vista which although requests a minimum of 512Mb, really cries out for at least 1Gb. The major worry is the graphics. All of our machines have Intel 800 series graphics with 64Mb RAM and the only supported chipset is the 915 series. So therefore Aero doesn't run. Now the tendancy for schools nowadays is to go for Small Form Factor machines, hence you can't update the graphics card. Does this mean that schools going down the SFF route will be stuck with the horrible looking "Windows Simple" interface because Aero requires "Gaming Level Graphics"? Until we start getting SFF PCs with 128Mb graphics or above!

You might also wanna take a look at AutoPatcher I never bother with Windows Update anymore. Also, AP allows you to choose what updates you want to install so you're not forced to install Microsoft Malware, err... I mean WGA

Bloody Hell! I'm just confused! :? Maybe we should start very simple and work our way up, thing is, the Remote Access stuff is totally baffling me for some reason, maybe it's the lack of sleep cause of my daughter teething!

You have to be careful of getting "Trigger Happy" with nLite. I've had problems with it too, once I messed with an image and took out so many things that I didn't think I needed and well, I ended up with a machine that refused to join a domain! Nowadays, I leave almost all the removable features alone. I only take out the things I know won't cause any issues, like: Windows Messenger MSN Explorer Tour Briefcase DOCS Folder SUPPORT Folder VALUEADD Folder Everything else I leave pretty much alone, especially Drivers and Services. It's safe to make pretty much any of the tweaks, but the key thing to remember is, if you don't know what the tweak does, leave it alone! I always enable unsigned themes (uxtheme.dll) and turn off Windows File Protection. I also download, and integrate Boooggy's Windows Media Player 11 Addon and run XPize on the image just to make everything look nice! Finally, the icing on the cake, I replace the old Bliss wallpaper with the new EnergyBliss and replace Notepad with Notepad2. There's loads more you can do, but I don't wanna get into too much detail, unless anyone really wants to know!

I understand that, however, it still seems quite less, because say for example the night before an exam, or assignment deadline, I can just see students logging in, in their masses, 30 does seem quite a small number!

For all my RIS images I use standard Windows XP Images and every so often I customise them using the following tools: nLite - Cool program that allows you to do everything step by step and do lots of handy tweaks RyanVM's Post SP2 Update Pack - Can be integrated into the image so that you are fully up to date with all the critical updates from Microsoft. Also, contains other packages that can be integrated into the image. MSFN Unattended Windows XP Guide - Step by Step Guide on how to create the ultimate Unattended Installation. (See the Forum for more details on RIS)

I'm hoping to get some MCSE training paid for by my school. However, the MCSE is a long process, consisting of 5 day or so courses. Is there anywhere in London that offer "quicker" courses? I'm tempted to do the self study and get the school to pay for the exams, however, it would be much nicer and more helpful to do some courses.

30 or so users? That's seems a bit less doesn't it? I mean, I'm looking at a potential 1500 users, does that mean 1500/30 = 50 Servers? 8O

I'm interested in a Citrix system as I have seen it working well in a few other places and would be good for professional development. Just so I can get an idea how much would a Citrix setup cost to implement, in total including hardware. And exactly what additional hardware do I need? In addition to what I already have. We currently have 6 servers. 2 currently handle RIS, AD, User Documents, DHCP and pretty much everything else! Both are running Windows Server 2003. 1 other server is also running Windows Server 2003, it is intended for multimedia but not doing anything at the moment. The Admin server is running NT4, it is being replaced with a Windows Server 2003 system it also handles (will handle) AD for users on the admin domain, who access SIMS.net. The 5th server runs Windows 2000 and handles the the Sophos Anti-Virus management system and the very simple local Intranet and Photo Gallery. It is pretty old and almost out of disk space from all the Photos! The final server is a SQL Server that handles the database for SIMS.net. (It is managed by the LEA and so can't be touched)

We are looking to implement a Remote Access solution for Staff and possibly Students so they can remote access from home. In the initial stages, the desired objectives would be: Staff able to login and have access to SIMS.net. Staff able to access their documents and maybe launch applications remotely to access them. Maybe even, a full blown solution where anyone can remotely access and login and work as if they were at school. Now, we are lost as to where exactly we can start or what is available to us. Some ideas have been thrown about like Citrix etc. Would anyone be able to detail out a possible solution for us, how we would go about implementing it and what kind of costs we would be looking at? Also, any recommended companies that do this for education would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the info guys. At the end of the day as much as I am very disappointed by the fact that some bigshot company with CEOs and men in tophats on 6 figure salaries will be controlling how I work in my school, I can live with it if I have no choice. My main worry is whether my job is actually safe, and there is no way I will negotiate a lesser pay deal. Infact, I want more! The problem is with the SLT in most schools and their relationship with support staff. A quote I read once put it all very nicely. "Support staff are the necessary evil in schools" This is why I feel that we won't get the best deal, because the SLT won't give enough time and concentration in terms of the support staff and because support staff always seem to be overlooked. Maybe it's time to move away from the education sector. Thanks a lot Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

I never really knew about EduGeek until Tony mentioned it in an email he sent me after discussing LNM at another forum I visit. And well, the EduGeek stand at BETT just got me to start posting here more, so here I am. Nice place too.

I have managed to get the none MSI version installing FULLY silently. I would love to help you, however, I am currently at home recovering from a very painful back. I will have a look through my USB Flash Drives and see if I have the instructions and batch scripts.

My school is due to go the BSF route in 2009. I've heard all sorts of stories from everywhere but never been told anything official. So maybe someone can shed some light on the matter and answer some questions I have: As the Network (ICT) Technician, in a team of 2 people, is it true we will need to re-apply for our jobs? Since visiting BETT loads of people talked about an ICT contract and that in the new school, RM come in and you have to do everything their way, or no way. We currently run a vanilla Windows network, however, this will not be the case in the new school and that we will be forced to use CC3. Is there any truth to this? Another (rumour?) - I will no longer be the Network Technician for the school, but instead, I will be employed as an onsite technician for RM, but paid for by the school. Again, is there any truth to this? Regardless, could someone please enlighten me as to exactly what goes on in the BSF process and where exactly we stand as technicians? Zoom7000

How about Megabus? For next time if you book early you can get to London for as cheap as £1.50

I won Microsoft Student 2006 last year after answering a question at the MS seminar. It's still staring at me all still covered in it plastic wrapping, so I never bothered answering this year! Wikipedia is miles better than Encarta anyway! I got the usual stuff too, BBC Jam Mug and Bag (The bags were in super demand!) Adobe Highlighter pens Epson Bottle of Water! I still can't believe I paid £1.95 for that damn cookie at the cafe! Didn't notice any stress balls this year though, also missed out on the USB Flash Drive. Oh well, here's to my new 4Gb Corsair Flash Voyager! No free copies of Vista from MS and no complementary iPod Nano's from Apple! Very Very Poor!