Gibson335

I tend to agree with those who think the need should be identified first. True, the staff member who has just been handed the budget may not be fully aware of what all these things can do, so of course it should be a team effort (you and them) in going over the options, but for me it has to begin with the 'need' rather than the 'desire'. It's the same when people talk about i-Pads and then say what can we do with them, rather than saying here's what we want to do, should we go for a station/laptop/pad. As for the smart table, my wife works at a Primary where they bought one back in June, since when it has been used a handful of times playing games?!?! Not saying they all end up that way, but the need surely has to be established when anyone spends 20 grand.

You could consider adding DataCenter to your EES agreement, as this covers multiple servers and versions - ideal for virtual use. At some point you could also add Exchange as well.

We may have to look for new cablers. We're on the Leics/Northants border and would prefer a local company if possible, but willing to consider others. Any strong recommendations? Cheers.

I accept that domain login and SIMS login is not dual factor authentication, but does anyone actually have proper DFA at their school? I understand the desire to be protective of data, but it's an expensive thing to roll out, and hard to convince an SLT of the need if it's not a strict requirement - and I just can't find anything that states it is...despite reading threads here and in other places where people suggest it IS a legal requirement. For that matter, how is SLG dual factor?

I have read several posts on here about this, but does anyone have (a) a definitive answer to the question: if accessing SIMS via RDP, does the domain authentication followed by separate SIMS authentication count as an acceptable dual factor authentication?; and (b) a link to legislation outlining the dual factor requirement? Many thanks.

Outrageous. I remember discussing it last year and wondering whether MS would have the audacity to suck people in and then hike the costs way up further down the road - I didn't expect it to be so soon!! No effect on us until 2015, but that is a kick in the proverbails.

I must say that was my understanding, though my interest was only cursory as none of ours are FTE.

We have EES and this wasn't an issue for us, but it strikes me as odd if things like tills can't be covered by their original licence - in this instance because it is the only time the user comes into contact with an MS product. I thought FTE staff with no access to devices were exempt.

Does the licence not come with the till if it's embedded?

Seems like overkill to me - but as has been suggested, you can restrict access from the management module.

Ah...I get it now. Didn't see it was supposed to be a document, so thought it was the website we were reviewing!! Doh!

Probably just me, but I find that headline blue font oddly aggressive.

Can you do a Freddo instead of a mouse?

I think the issue here is more about the legaility of the licence that was purchased in the first place.

The OEM sticker should be on there, but sometimes they come with a media pack or similar with the laptop itself, and the OEM info can often be found there. If you have Windows installed and no OEM, but are not part of a scheme that includes volume licensing, then serious questions need to be asked of your supplier.

If I were you I wouldn't accept their word. Ask them to provide confirmation as to what licensing agreement they have sold you the OS and under what agreement you are entitled to downgrade using a single key, and get it in writing. Then check with a rival company - not naming names, not even saying it has happened, simply that you are checking the licensing agreements available.

Calling Microsoft is usually a waste of time - you could speak to 5 different people at 5 different times and get 5 different answers. As for the company you've dealt with...scale of company isn't always a factor in their integrity, but equally it could well be a member of staff who simply doesn't know what the rules are. There can obviously be downgrade rights from 8 to 7, but it very much depends on what type of licence was purchased or scheme that you run.

The OEM key is for that machine only - to use it on any other machine would be wrong...as far as I am aware. This sounds highly irregular to me.

My wife is a TA in a Primary. Her main responsibility is to work one-to-one with disabled children. Very often she does 'other duties' and has also often been left to be responsible for a whole class of kids for lenghty periods.

Looks as if rather more education ministers haven't worked in a school than have, then - and that it's much more likely to continue this way than change any time soon. I doubt education is alone in this.

Out of interest, how many previous education ministers had worked in schools? Genuine question, as I have absolutely no idea.

One caveat to this, whilst they do co-exist, remember they have a different 'my documents' structure so you may find that a single set up won't suit either - we had to do ours gradually and created separate OUs for XP and 7, ran different GPs and different scripts and moved people over as we migrated them. This isn't absolutely necessary, but worth considering. We tried without and found it was easier to spend a little bit of time on it than lots of time afterwards.

Admin only - don't see the need for the other one.

Ah - my understanding was that the Mac issue with .local had been resolved...is there still a problem that you're aware of?

Any particular reason why you'd move from one to the other?